BY JUSTIN PRITCHARD
The automotive market and industry are full of more abbreviations than most can track — though there’s one every vehicle shopper should be familiar with.
The OMVIC, or Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council, is responsible for administering the rules established in the Ontario Motor Vehicle Dealers Act (OMVDA). The Act was created in 1997 to establish a series of guidelines and standards by which all salespeople and dealers must abide.
In addition to enforcement and mediation of the Act, the OMVIC also maintains a compensation fund for consumers who suffer a financial loss arising from a transaction with an OMVIC-registered motor vehicle dealer. It all exists with the intent of protecting consumer interests.
The OMVIC’s president is a Sudburian. You might recognize Meredith Morris from her busy Hyundai dealership or a series of local TV commercials. She’s held the top spot at the OMVIC for the past two years.
Time and time again, consumers say the same thing about the car-buying experience — they want more honesty and less pressure.
Meredith Morris,
Sudbury Hyundai
“Time and time again, consumers say the same thing about the car-buying experience — they want more honesty and less pressure.”
It’s been a busy few months for Morris. In addition to a record-breaking year for Hyundai Canada, she’s also been busy working to implement some newly-introduced changes to the Ontario Motor Vehicle Dealers Act through the OMVIC.
Effective Jan. 1, 2010, a series of additional protections and measures kicked into play to put more responsibility on sellers of new and used vehicles.
One such additional protection deals with disclosure. Dealers are now obligated to disclose a vehicle’s true condition and history — including structural and flood damage, and the cancellation of the manufacturer’s warranty. In fact, dealers even have to disclose whether nor not a vehicle was used as a daily rental.
If it’s discovered that a dealer didn’t disclose some important fact about a vehicle’s condition, title or former life, the buyer could cancel the contract up to 90 days later.
Dealers are also now required to embrace “all inclusive” pricing to protect shoppers from hidden or additional fees, including freight charges. The only costs that can be excluded from pricing are PST and GST, in which case both must be clearly identified as additional. Note that manufacturers aren’t required to advertise all-inclusive pricing, but dealers are.
Additional protection comes in the form of increased claim coverage for financial losses suffered by shoppers, while fines have been increased for dealers and sellers who violate the act.
Consumers can make claims to the OMVIC’s compensation fund of up to $45,000, which is three times last year’s amount. Maximum fines for offending corporations have jumped to $250,000 from their previous $100,000 limit, too.
Ted McMeekin, Minister of Consumer Services, commented “buying a car can be an overwhelming experience with so many things to consider. That’s why we are improving protection for car buyers and leasees with the new Motor Vehicle Dealers Act. Consumers deserve to know exactly what they’re getting before they decide to buy.”
Morris stressed that new and used car shoppers should search for a vehicle being sold by an OMVIC-registered seller.
She said that buying a car from a private seller puts shoppers outside of the protection of the OMVIC compensation fund and may expose them to “curbsiders,” which are a dangerous type of vehicle scam artist.
In addition to consumer protection, OMVIC has programs to educate car shoppers and help them to make wise decisions. For instance, the council now provides a DVD called Know your Ride for use in high-school classrooms, to teach about the potential dangers of buying a car privately.
For more information on the OMVIC, visit www.omvic.on.ca.
