I don't understand this. What does the Bureau of Motor Vehicles have to do with the NCAA? The dealerships could have sold new cars to the players for $10 if they wanted to; it's not illegal, is it? Why are taxpayers paying for the BMV to do investigations of things like this?

It's also odd that they'd address the issue of whether players drove dealer cars. That would be an NCAA violation; it's not an issue that the DMV has any business speaking to.

Quote:

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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles says its investigation of Ohio State football players' car purchases found no evidence players received improper deals.

The agency undertook its review following allegations that two Columbus-area dealers sold vehicles to Ohio State athletes and family members at below market rates.

The BMV's 65-page report issued Tuesday said the certificates of titles for cars sold by Jack Maxton Chevrolet and Auto Direct to players and families accurately reflected the vehicles' sales prices.

Questions about players' car purchases arose in the wake of a scandal in which some players received cash and tattoos for autographs, championship rings and equipment.

...

The report also addressed what it called "persistent allegations" that Ohio State athletes and coaches have been allowed to drive dealer-owned cars using dealer license plates.

That practice is not illegal and is allowed under BMV rules, the agency said.

"On the contrary, the statute that governs the use of dealer-plated vehicles by third parties expressly permits dealers to allow any member of the public to operate dealer-owned vehicles," the agency said in its report.

link

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It's a tax issue for the BMV. If players were sold cars at less than market price then the taxes paid to the state would have been less than what was actually due and the difference in market price and actual price paid would be income for tax purposes for the players.

jcmayo;521197 said:

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It's a tax issue for the BMV. If players were sold cars at less than market price then the taxes paid to the state would have been less than what was actually due and the difference in market price and actual price paid would be income for tax purposes for the players.

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The report said the certificates of title were correct, Do you think the Ohio BMV actually saw a check for what was paid? Or was the BMV investigating that the "reported" purchase price was correct?

The BMV looked at the actual money deposited after each sale. Apparently, if the dealer made money on the sale the sale was proper.

jcmayo;521197 said:

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It's a tax issue for the BMV. If players were sold cars at less than market price then the taxes paid to the state would have been less than what was actually due and the difference in market price and actual price paid would be income for tax purposes for the players.

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I don't think the BMV would do its own investigation about state taxes, but you're right that they'd care about the sale price because the registration fee is a percentage of that (at least in this state) and I think that's supposed to be based on FMV.

jcmayo;521200 said:

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The BMV looked at the actual money deposited after each sale. Apparently, if the dealer made money on the sale the sale was proper.

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That's what annoys me about the BMV announcing that there was no wrongdoing -- if the dealers sell a car for $1000 above invoice to most people and $100 above invoice to players that's an NCAA violation but not a BMV violation.

BearyWhite;521202 said:

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I don't think the BMV would do its own investigation about state taxes, but you're right that they'd care about the sale price because the registration fee is a percentage of that (at least in this state) and I think that's supposed to be based on FMV.

That's what annoys me about the BMV announcing that there was no wrongdoing -- if the dealers sell a car for $1000 above invoice to most people and $100 above invoice to players that's an NCAA violation but not a BMV violation.

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+1

BearyWhite;521202 said:

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That's what annoys me about the BMV announcing that there was no wrongdoing -- if the dealers sell a car for $1000 above invoice to most people and $100 above invoice to players that's an NCAA violation but not a BMV violation.

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The Ohio BMV didn;t announce that there was no 'wrongdoing' in these car sales, they said there was nothing illegal. The media chose to word it as 'no wrongdoing' in their headlines.

Yeah, motor vehicle was concerned about revenue. They did not address the "loaning of cars" for extraordinary test drives to athletes and other favors. The NCAA will explore this further - IMO.............

ColoradoBear1;521439 said:

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The Ohio BMV didn't announce that there was no 'wrongdoing' in these car sales, they said there was nothing illegal. The media chose to word it as 'no wrongdoing' in their headlines.

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I just don't get why they were even investigating, let alone making their results public; I didn't think anyone had been accused of breaking any laws, and if so, it would be the police doing the investigating, right? I guess I just underestimate how Div 1 football is weaved into the fabric of Ohio life. Maybe Ohio State requested the studies and the BMV makes the results of such requests public.

dinan3;521459 said:

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Yeah, motor vehicle was concerned about revenue. They did not address the "loaning of cars" for extraordinary test drives to athletes and other favors. The NCAA will explore this further - IMO.............

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They did address the loaning issue, if only to say it wasn't against their rules, which everyone knew anyway.

Let's not confuse "illegal" and "an NCAA violation." What Reggie Bush did is not "illegal." What the ducks are being accused of is not "illegal." It seems that the BMV is saying that what the atheletes did is also not illegal. Means nothing relative to the NCAA violation (though if it was illegal, I imagine the NCAA would be more required to act than it currently is).

BearyWhite;521508 said:

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I just don't get why they were even investigating, let alone making their results public; I didn't think anyone had been accused of breaking any laws, and if so, it would be the police doing the investigating, right? I guess I just underestimate how Div 1 football is weaved into the fabric of Ohio life. Maybe Ohio State requested the studies and the BMV makes the results of such requests public.

They did address the loaning issue, if only to say it wasn't against their rules, which everyone knew anyway.

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I wonder which team the BMV head roots for on Saturdays...

I doubt it is the team in Maize and Blue!

Gunga la Gunga;522010 said:

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Let's not confuse "illegal" and "an NCAA violation." What Reggie Bush did is not "illegal." What the ducks are being accused of is not "illegal." It seems that the BMV is saying that what the atheletes did is also not illegal. Means nothing relative to the NCAA violation (though if it was illegal, I imagine the NCAA would be more required to act than it currently is).

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yeah that's my point -- no one was accused of doing anything illegal, so why was the BMV investigating whether the players or dealers broke someone else's rules? you'd think they had better things to do, judging by the routinely endless lines at the DMV.

I have a sister that lives in Columbus. I remember her telling me a story about her buying a BMW 750 12 cylinder, 5 years used(car was a 1999 i believe) several years ago. On the title, the 'dealer' showed value of $2000 and my sister REgistered the car with this value. What she did was Paid in two checks. $2000 on first check, $22000 for second check. That way, 'dealer'(i dont know if it was a reputable one or not, sorry) paid taxes on $2000, and probably hid the other $22000 under the table somewhere.

Not trying to cast aspersions, but the Ohio DMV is about as efficient as the California DMV.