Junk Car Fraud Protection Sought
in Bill by Feinstein

Sen. Dianne Feinstein arranged for a wrecked station wagon to drop by the Civic Center yesterday to give a boost to her proposed law regulating the sale of fixed-up junkers.

The car, a red 1998 Cherokee that had been in a rollover accident and whose roof had been severed from the body, is just the kind of car that unscrupulous mechanics buy from salvage auctions or other sources, fix up, then sell to unsuspecting consumers, Feinstein said.

'The bottom line is that the consumer has a right to know,' Feinstein said. 'The practice of selling rebuilt salvaged vehicles without informing the buyer is growing and threatens the safety of us all.'

Feinstein, joined by California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, Assembly Majority Leader Kevin Shelley and representatives from consumer groups, was in town to urge approval of her bill prohibiting the repair and sale of badly damaged cars and establishing a nationwide system for tracking salvage vehicles.

Rosemary Shahan, president of the Sacramento-based Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, praised Feinstein for 'taking on some powerful special interests on behalf of public safety.'"

– San Francisco Chronicle, January 21, 2000