A Wreck of a Bill

"Lott's salvage-automobile bill only masquerades as consumer protection. The measure would set a ceiling, rather than a floor, for consumer protection."

"Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) is sponsoring a bill that is advertised as a consumer protection from unscrupulous car sellers who take wrecked vehicles and fix them up for sale. In fact, the bill would significantly erode consumer protections in many states, including California. Lott's folly could result in more college-age, low-income and minority buyers being snookered into purchasing salvaged vehicles that may be affordable but unsafe.

Salvage fraud is among the biggest consumer problems facing buyers of used vehicles. The nonprofit advocacy group Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety reports that about 2.5 million vehicles a year nationwide are declared a total loss and become 'salvage.' About a million of those are patched together and eventually resold, even though they may be structurally unsound. These frauds are estimated by consumer groups to cost buyers and the auto industry about $4 billion a year."

– Los Angeles Times, Editorial, July 30, 1998