IADA Will Again Fund Our Dealers to Defend the Illinois Dealership Model — Please Partner with Us

Once again, the IADA Legal Defense Fund is throwing its support behind an important franchise dealer case soon to be in front of the Illinois Motor Vehicle Review Board. This new case has huge implications for all franchised dealers.

And now, along with CATA, we plan to fund a fight against Volkswagen over the manufacturer’s plan to impose a warranty reimbursement surcharge on all Illinois Volkswagen and Audi dealers for warranty repairs made starting Sept. 1.

These unjustified surcharges are a second attempt by Volkswagen to retaliate against dealers over expenses it incurred starting in 2022 from Public Act 102-232 that increased warranty time allowances. You’ll recall that Volkswagen’s constitutional challenge to P.A.102-232 was dismissed in federal court just a few months ago.

IADA believes that the Motor Vehicle Franchise Act clearly prohibits manufacturers from recouping warranty expenses by surcharging dealers. As with other OEM issues, if one is successful in unfairly shifting revenue from dealerships, others will most likely follow. This is why IADA fights these battles, and this is why IADA exists: to protect your dealerships and defend the Illinois dealership model.

These Important Efforts Cost Money

Our commitment to funding the Volkswagen challenge to the dealership model isn’t our first. We spent more than a million dollars and won the case before the Illinois Motor Vehicle Review Board to help Ford dealers challenge the onerous requirements under the proposed Ford Model e Program. We also made a significant investment to challenge the Illinois SOS and AG offices from allowing Rivian and other manufacturers to deliver vehicles in Illinois without utilizing a franchise system.

Our association business model allows us to keep membership dues to a minimum, and we intend to keep it that way. Because the cost of these fights is significant, we’re asking for your partnership so that together, we will have continued success.

Please Support the IADA-CVR Program

IADA created an easy way for our dealers to benefit from our united efforts. It’s simple — partner with us and utilize our significant IADA member programs.

We earn our highest level of funding from our IADA-CVR program. This is not an outside-endorsed ERT service. The CVR program is a member benefit, and nearly our entire staff is responsible for inventory management, auditing and processing your customers’ transactions. We’re confident this is the best ERT program available. Equally important, the revenue generated goes back to you as we fight these battles to defend the Illinois dealership model.

If you’re not in our IADA-CVR program, please consider joining us. If you recently left during the CDK cyberattack issue, please consider coming back. Absolutely no CVR data was compromised by the cyberattack on CDK, further strengthening the fact that CVR provides dealers with the highest level of cybersecurity in the industry. Don’t sacrifice security for untested shiny gadgets. CVR is back and better than ever. You can also check out all our other quality association member programs at www.illinoisdealers.com.

Please work with us so we can most successfully fight for your dealership investment.