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AutoNation Refuses To Sell Takata Airbag Recalled Vehicles | DrivingSales News

AutoNation Refuses To Sell Takata Airbag Recalled Vehicles

October 30, 2014 1 Comment

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The airbag recalls from Takata have made international headlines in recent weeks. The underlying story was how the NHTSA may have fumbled their response to the issue. That fumbled response was a crashing NHTSA website and inaccurately reported recall figures. The NHTSA announced earlier today that its putting pressure on Takata to respond. David Friedman, the current head of the NHTSA said, “We are compelling Takata to produce documents and answer questions under oath relevant to our ongoing investigation into defective air bags they have produced. We expect Takata’s full cooperation as we work to keep the American public safe.”

In light of the struggles that many consumers are or will face with some 8 million airbags having been recalled, AutoNation is attempting to put consumers at ease. In an official company blog posting yesterday, it was announced that AutoNation, “…will stop selling all vehicles equipped with Takata Corp. air bags. The announcement comes after a series of recalls from federal regulators that stated Takata produced air bags could explode.” More specifically, they will have them repaired before selling them.

There is not a legal requirement for dealers selling non-certified used cars to tell consumers about recalls or repair them presale, however, AutoNation appears to be doing it anyway. In a Wall Street Journal interview, AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson said, “We have decided we will not retail any vehicle that needs this air bag repair. We have 400 vehicles on hold. We just park them.”

The move by AutoNation comes at a time when each automaker has seemingly decided how it’s going to handle the situation. “We have a very difficult situation on our hands,” Jackson said. “Every manufacturer has a different policy. Reports indicate that Toyota is low on parts and they are handling the situation by simply disabling airbags and issuing a warning about sitting in the front seat. Honda, the company most widely affected by the recall has indicated that they do not have enough parts to field the 2.8 million recalls that have been announced. They are sending out notifications when parts become available. The priority for shipping those parts goes to areas with more humidity, which is one possible trigger to the Takata airbag defect.

AutoNation decided to take the lead on not selling unrepaired Takata airbag vehicles. Would your dealership consider a similar measure to put potential customers at ease? What are the pros and cons of that type of move? Do you agree or disagree with the move on the part of Takata?

About the Author:

The DrivingSales News team is dedicated to breaking the relevant and the tough stories affecting car dealers. Have questions for DrivingSales News? Reach the team at news@drivingsales.com.

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    Another solid business decision from the Leader in Automotive Retail!!

    Leave it to Mr Jackson to take the lead and do what is right for our consumers!! Curious to see if the rest take his lead!!!