Charles Gallaer, Esq. | Dealership Attorney

I've run a store and worked the OEM side. Now I represent dealers in buy-sells, M&A and franchise fights. Auto to aviation. Partner@ArentFox Schiff. Views mine.

[Charles Gallaer, Esq. | Dealership Attorney @DealershipAttny]

NJ's fair warranty reimbursement fight is over the trifecta: parts, warranty labor and time guides. This has been a back and forth between dealers and OEMs over retail-rate warranty pay for many years. What the law actually requires, and how dealers can make the case: https://t.co/EfvGvUXwlC

[Charles Gallaer, Esq. | Dealership Attorney @DealershipAttny]

Cummins says EPA's 2027 NOx rule probably lands in December and plans to pass NCP costs to customers. If you're taking deposits on 2027 trucks now, your order form has to answer who pays. https://t.co/LFNZvYh0vE

[Charles Gallaer, Esq. | Dealership Attorney @DealershipAttny]

MarineMax shareholders approved the Safe Harbor merger. Independent marine dealers looking to sell: be ready to back up your numbers with buyers, including the marinas and services, an attractive real estate play and revenue stream. https://t.co/5C2YY2BSdZ

[Charles Gallaer, Esq. | Dealership Attorney @DealershipAttny]

Good afternoon with dealers at the @WANADA meeting in Tysons today. The question I keep coming back to for anyone planning the next five years: if you sold tomorrow, would your OEM approve the buyer you have in mind? Worth knowing before you need to.

[Charles Gallaer, Esq. | Dealership Attorney @DealershipAttny]

@CarBizToday Ask the question early and get a real answer. A successor who's only half in is a risk the factory will weigh when it approves the transfer, and a family is often better off planning a sale than forcing a handoff.

[Charles Gallaer, Esq. | Dealership Attorney @DealershipAttny]

@MaxZanan Agree on the four hours. Most of that time isn't negotiating, though. It's waiting on the appraisal, the desk and the F&I office. Fix the handoffs and the deal gets shorter.

[Charles Gallaer, Esq. | Dealership Attorney @DealershipAttny]

Dealertrack says credit access is at its best since April 2015. Lenders aren’t the bottleneck right now. The monthly payment is. Stores that structure around the payment and keep F&I disclosures compliant will close more buyers who are already qualified.

[CBT News @CarBizToday]

Auto credit access hits highest level since 2015, Dealertrack reports

Auto credit availability improved for a sixth consecutive month in October, with Cox Automotive’s Dealertrack Credit Availability Index rising 0.1% to 107.1, its highest reading since April 2015 and 8.9% above a year ago. The overall loan approval rate increased to 73.9%, while subprime borrowers accounted for 17.9% of loans, up 50 basis points from September. Negative equity also climbed to 58.7% of loans, its highest level since March.

However, rising borrowing costs and fewer extended-term loans are creating headwinds. The average auto loan contract rate increased 24 basis points to 11.46%, its highest level since March, while loans exceeding 72 months fell to 31.1%. Certified pre-owned credit availability recorded the strongest monthly improvement among channels, rising 1.3% to its highest level since October 2022. For dealers, improving access to credit could support sales, but higher rates and growing negative equity remain important affordability and trade-in challenges.

[Charles Gallaer, Esq. | Dealership Attorney @DealershipAttny]

@JonMStoddard Same math in franchised dealerships, with one twist: you can't add a rooftop without factory approval, so buying an existing store is often the only way to grow in a brand. The cost hides in the seller's facility commitments and sales performance.

[Charles Gallaer, Esq. | Dealership Attorney @DealershipAttny]

@GuyDealership @bridgewaterchev Dealerships have to grow or their best people will go. A dealership that never opens a seat for its best GM usually finds out when they take an operating partner deal across town. Acquisitions and expansion are talent retention opportunities many dealers fail to grasp.

[Charles Gallaer, Esq. | Dealership Attorney @DealershipAttny]

@AINonline Ed Bolen spent more than two decades making the case for business aviation, and operators, brokers and dealers all benefited from it. Condolences to his family and the NBAA team.

[Charles Gallaer, Esq. | Dealership Attorney @DealershipAttny]

@OleksandrHarah1 @GuyDealership Fair point. A transfer gets fresh eyes, but only if the listing gets fresh effort too. New photos, a real description and the price adjustment should go with the car.

[Charles Gallaer, Esq. | Dealership Attorney @DealershipAttny]

@seancassy Persistence with a memory is the right way to put it. The tech makes sending easy. Keeping the do-not-text list current is the part that keeps a store out of trouble. Always appreciate your threads, Sean.

[Charles Gallaer, Esq. | Dealership Attorney @DealershipAttny]

@GDWilkins @CarBizToday Agreed. The agreement can only protect what's already been built. If the next layer of managers isn't ready and key relationships still run through the owner, there's not much legacy left to write into the LOI. That work starts years before a buyer shows up.

[Charles Gallaer, Esq. | Dealership Attorney @DealershipAttny]

@bogart_parra @CARandDRIVER I just need it to do this and I’m sold

[Charles Gallaer, Esq. | Dealership Attorney @DealershipAttny]

Nissan’s Q2 operating profit fell 96% and it cut its sales forecast a second time. When an OEM is restructuring, the pressure on dealers usually shows up in sales performance and facility demands.

Nissan dealers: know what your rights are under your dealer agreement and state’s laws before the zone asks.

[CBT News @CarBizToday]

Nissan expands exports of China-developed vehicles as competition intensifies

Nissan plans to expand exports of China-developed vehicles from two models to five, targeting 12 regional market clusters in the near term. CEO Ivan Espinosa said the strategy will leverage China’s technology, lower production costs and faster development cycles to help Nissan compete with increasingly aggressive Chinese automakers. The expansion comes as Nissan lowered its fiscal 2027 global sales forecast for the second time, reducing its outlook from 3.15 million vehicles to between 2.97 million and 3 million.

Financial pressures remain significant, with second-quarter operating profit plunging 96% year over year to 2.1 billion yen ($13 million), despite an 8.2% increase in revenue to 3.1 trillion yen. Nissan said its turnaround plan has generated 365 billion yen in savings after approximately 18 months, with restructuring efforts including a 15% workforce reduction and a smaller global manufacturing footprint. The company is increasingly relying on regional development strategies to address changing consumer demand and intensifying competition.

[Charles Gallaer, Esq. | Dealership Attorney @DealershipAttny]

Franchised dealers can’t add a rooftop without factory approval. Carvana’s 140+ Google listings at government buildings, homes, and parking lots are now “temporarily closed” but still route clicks. The online playing field still isn’t level.

[Car Dealership Guy @GuyDealership]

NEWS | Closed sign, open door: Carvana’s phantom Google listings still let users click their way to national site:

Most of the more than 140 Carvana Google Business Profiles at government buildings, homes, parking lots and other non-Carvana sites now say “Temporarily closed,” weeks after CDG News and researcher Chris Wood first reported on them.

But all 109 temporarily closed listings still have a website button that takes users to https://t.co/GGkTMU7Rfq, with a tracking code showing which listing the visitor came from.

“Temporarily closed doesn’t take a listing down,” SavvyDealer VP of sales and strategy Nick Chivinski said. “It hangs a sign on it.”

Google’s own help page says temporarily closed businesses “can rank after open businesses” on broad searches.

Bottom line: If those locations aren’t real stores, Chivinski said, the clean fix is to remove them or mark them permanently closed.

Read today's top automotive stories, presented by @Experian_Auto : https://t.co/DC9vXseDp8

(Source: CDG News Reporting)

[Charles Gallaer, Esq. | Dealership Attorney @DealershipAttny]

Maryland just said a 2001 Ford ROFR beats a 2009 law that tried to limit it. In a buy-sell, the year your dealer agreement was signed is now a diligence item. https://t.co/aekucb3cvR

[Charles Gallaer, Esq. | Dealership Attorney @DealershipAttny]

@ShaunTiwari The dealership version is a factory event between LOI and close: a stop-sale, a lost line, an OEM approval that drags. Decide in the LOI who carries that risk, whether through a price adjustment, an escrow or a right to walk. It's much harder to negotiate after.

[Charles Gallaer, Esq. | Dealership Attorney @DealershipAttny]

@aandreus Weekly, and by unit age. Floorplan is one expense that grows every day a car sits. By the time you get the monthly statement, the aged units have already cost you interest and possibly curtailments.