Ready for an Audit?

By David Cardella, CEO, CIADA

If an investigator from the Motor Vehicle Dealer Board visits your dealership, are your licenses posted on the wall and are your books available to be reviewed? When you were granted the Dealer’s License to operate in Colorado, you agreed to abide by those requirements. That means between the hours of 9am-5pm or your posted operating hours, the investigator can look at the last five years of deals. Normally that will only happen in extreme cases where they are looking for a pattern of repeated violations, but you must be prepared in case they ask.

Recently, I was contacted by CDPHE about vehicles being advertised and sold without the proper emissions equipment. This is a violation of federal law and, if you have a vehicle that fails the emissions test, they are following the vehicle to make sure it is not being sold to a consumer. If you plan to sell a vehicle as a tow-away, it must be due to engine internal mechanical failure, internal transmission and mechanical failure, differential or transfer case failure or structural damage that prevents the vehicle from being driven to the testing station. You CANNOT sell a vehicle as a tow-away because it failed an emissions test or is missing the required emissions equipment. If you have a vehicle that continues to fail the emissions test, contact the state repair center 303-744-0127 for help.

If you have questions or need help, contact us 303-239-8000 and remember to visit our website ciada.org as we keep it updated with important information.

Finish strong and I hope to see many of you at our Charity Gala on November 22nd when we will induct our newest member to the CIADA Hall of Fame, announce the 2025 Quality Dealer of the Year while raising money to help communities across Colorado.