SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — Motor vehicle officials in New Jersey have proposed some changes to the temporary tag system for selling used cars.
There are more than 4,000 licensed car dealers in New Jersey. More than half of them sell little to no cars directly to retail customers, according to Jim Appleton, president of the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers. He says many of these smaller dealerships issue far more temporary tags than cars sold, essentially acting as short-term, month-to-month leasing agents.
“Temporary registrations are going on much longer than the 30 days or 60 days permitted because it’s really not a sale of a used car vehicle,” explained Appleton, who adds the vehicles sometimes aren’t properly insured.
“They have no reason to be on the temp tag system, other than to abuse the system and use it for purposes for which it was not intended,” Appleton said.
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Under the proposed rules, New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission officials would get more power for oversight. However, without more resources for enforcement or a reduction from dealers, Appleton doesn’t see the problem going away because these practices are already illegal.
“Making something double secret illegal doesn’t change behavior,” he said, “so I think that what we really should be trying to do is create a new category of licensure for wholesalers.”
The proposed changes have been posted in the New Jersey Monitor and public comments will be accepted until Sept. 15. MVC officials say they will address specific concerns raised after that date.
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