For Immediate Release:                       For More Information Contact:
February 21, 2013                                                 Ginny Whelan
Manassas, Virginia                                                      (571) 208-0428 (Phone) 
                                                                                          (571) 208-0430 (Fax)

ARA Applauds Automotive Recyclers of Canada's Adoption
of Gold Seal Certified Auto Recycler Program

Today, the Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA) announces that the Automotive Recyclers of Canada (ARC) has become the first international association to adopt the Gold Seal Program. As part of their decision, ARC also elected to have all of its automotive recycling members adhere to the Gold Seal standards. All ARC Members are already audited to the Canadian Auto Recyclers Environmental Code (CAREC), and now Gold Seal certification takes those qualified Members to the next level.

Automotive Recyclers Warn Ohio Citizens that
Senate Bill 273 is Now More Dangerous Than Ever

MANASSAS, Va., November 29, 2012 -- The Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA) and the Ohio Auto and Truck Recyclers Association (OATRA) expressed their deep concern  with an untenable amendment to Senate Bill 273 that was passed by the Ohio House Insurance Committee this week.  The amendment, introduced by Representative Anthony DeVitis, endangers Ohio citizens and further weakens the ability of Ohio law enforcement to access critical information on salvage-titled vehicles and opens salvage auctions to an increasingly large pool of unlicensed and unregulated buyers from in and out of the country.
 

Automotive Recyclers Urge Lawmakers to OPPOSE SB 273:
Stand Up for 30 Years of Law Enforcement and
Consumer Protection in Ohio

MANASSAS, Va., November 16, 2012 -- The Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA) and the Ohio Auto and Truck Recyclers Association (OATRA) provided powerful testimony this week detailing how Senate Bill 273 would abolish the protections that the Ohio State Legislature has provided its citizens for over 30 years. 

The two organizations, on behalf of the 794 independent businesses owned and operated by licensed automotive recyclers in Ohio, provided testimony to the House Insurance Committee on Wednesday in opposition to SB 273, a highly controversial piece of legislation that would enable unlicensed in-state and out-of-state buyers to purchase vehicles from Ohio salvage pools and auctions.  It was the first opportunity that Ohio's professional automotive recyclers have had to testify following the cynical attempts by lobbyists for the insurance industry to diminish the vital role played by the state's automotive recycling community that took place at a previous hearing in May. 
 

As a coalition of law enforcement support organizations we would like to address the risks to consumers from the purchase and resale of undisclosed damaged flood vehicles. As NICB noted in its recent press release, major natural disasters such as Katrina and now Hurricane Sandy do allow for fraudulent resale of flood damaged vehicles by 'unscrupulous salvage operators and dealers'. We believe however that the NICB communication does not focus on the underlying root of the problem, and does not offer the most direct method of addressing the bulk of the problem right
from the start.

Since NICB is made up of member insurance companies and may also include as members some of the largest public salvage auction companies who are used by the insurance companies to resell their total-loss salvage vehicles, it is perhaps understandable that NICB has directed its attention outward to those dealers that either intentionally or unknowingly resell such vehicles to the public rather than to the underlying sources of the problem itself.