Friday, July 09, 2010
State says Sell It lot needs dealer's license
Owner Sean Phillips maintains he isn't a dealership because he won't take a cut of the profits of any vehicles that sell on his property.
MATT GENTRY The Roanoke Times
Sean Phillips opened the Sell It lot on U.S. 11 in Radford to give people a high-traffic area to display their vehicles for sale, but the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles has been investigating the legality of the business.
| Amy Matzke-Fawcett
amy.matzke-fawcett@roanoke.com, 381-1674
RADFORD -- The fate of a new business opened last month to help people sell their unwanted cars, trucks and motorcycles is still in question.
Sean Phillips opened the Sell It lot on U.S. 11 to give people a high-traffic area to display their vehicles for sale. But the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles has been investigating the legality of the business and whether Phillips has the right licenses to operate it.
A member of DMV law enforcement and a special agent of the motor vehicles board met with Phillips last week to discuss state laws regarding car sales, DMV spokeswoman Melanie Stokes said.
Phillips said this week he has no comment on the meeting or whether he plans to keep the business open.
According to Stokes, Phillips needs a motor vehicle dealer's license to operate the lot legally because his lot meets the state's definition of a dealer -- someone who displays more than five vehicles for sale in 12 months. Not having a motor vehicle dealer's license is a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum $2,500 fine and 12 months jail.
"Technically, no laws were broken at that time" because no vehicles are for sale on the lot, Stokes said. "He has been advised of what he needs to do."
In an earlier interview, Phillips has said he checked into the need for a dealer's license before opening the lot and said he doesn't need one because he won't take a cut of the profit when the vehicle sells.
The lot has designated spaces for about 25 vehicles, but Phillips estimates it could hold about 40.
Virginia law makes it illegal for "anyone except a licensed dealer to do anything for profit that involves any aspect of displaying, offering or attempting to sell motor vehicles for themselves or for others."
To sell a car by owner under Virginia law, it must be displayed on the owner's private land, Stokes said, or the landowner must be a licensed dealer.
