California BHPH Lots Regulated in Two Landmark New Bills

Buy-here, pay-here used-car dealerships in California that offer their own in-house financing will now be required to give 1,000-mile, 30-day warranties on every car they sell to consumers with impaired credit or low incomes, thanks to a bill signed over the weekend by Gov. Jerry Brown.

The new law also commands BHPH dealers to post fair-market values on cars as they offer buyers more flexibility in making payments. Brown vetoed a third bill that would have limited interest rates these lots could charge to 17% plus the federal funds rate, and give consumers a 15-day repossession grace period. It would have also structured the BHPH lots as lenders monitored by the Department of Corporations.

“I signed two ‘buy-here, pay-here’ consumer protection bills this session,” Brown wrote to accompany the latter bill’s veto. “If consumers need added protection once those bills are implemented, my administration will work with the Legislature to find appropriate, measured solutions.”