Weekend tire kickers may find their shopping time cut short by a day if a bill from Sen. Paula Julander, D-Salt Lake City, becomes law.
SB163 would prohibit the sale or lease of vehicles on consecutive Saturdays and Sundays. Practically, that would mean Utah dealers would close on Sundays, since Saturdays are typically big car-shopping days.
The bill passed unanimously out of the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Development Committee Thursday.
Julander said car dealers approached her with the bill. Craig Bickmore, president of the Utah Auto Dealerships Association, said it was designed to bring the car business in line with other industries.
"It's really just a bill to put us in line with what's already going on in the industry," Bickmore said. "And, we're supportive of it because it also puts us in line with banks, financial institutions and regulatory industries that are already on a five- or six-day work cycle."
John Mecham, president of John Mecham Chrysler Plymouth Jeep in Salt Lake City, said his company is already closed on Sunday. "I've spoken with other dealers in other states who are open seven days a week, and frankly there's really no gain," Mecham said. "All you really do is make people work when they should be home with their families. There's really no advantage and no net gain on the seven-day work week."
But Michael Greco, general sales manager for Intermountain Volkswagen, questioned whether the bill would inconvenience customers who want to shop on Sunday. Intermountain Volkswagen is one of a handful of dealerships open on Sundays.
"It's something we've been doing for a little while," Greco said. "It was kind of instituted for our customers, who asked us why we weren't open on Sundays. Some folks said, 'We work on Saturdays like you do, and it would be more convenient if you were available to us on Sundays.' "
Greco said his organization will comply with whatever the state mandates.
But, he said, "I would hate to think that they might be affecting some of the folks who find it convenient to shop on Sundays. I guess everyone doesn't work on Saturdays, but some do."