California has passed new a new law that further regulates the car-buying process, and the changes appear to be mostly positive. Automotive News reports that, beginning next July, dealers will need to slap a red warning sticker on any vehicle with a salvage title. That means any vehicle that has been legally deemed flood-damaged, junked or salvaged will receive the ominous label.
The new law will also mandate the use of electronic vehicle registration for new and used vehicle sales. This system will reportedly result in faster registrations, and a license plate will arrive in six weeks, which sounds good compared to the six months under the current system.
The dealers of California will need to pony up as a result of the new law, but in the end, the customer always foots the bill. The new legislation allows dealers to up documentation charges from $45 for leases and $55 for sales to $80 for both. That sounds like a lot, but AN points out that California car buyers will still pay less for documentation than all but one other state in the Union.
