By Theresa Colbert
We took the leap and to our surprise, we found that getting CAR certified really isn’t that difficult.
I get calls every day from people who think eBay is no longer letting people sell airbags. This isn’t really the case – licensed auto recyclers can sell airbags on eBay, if you’re CAR certified. eBay now requires CAR certification to sell airbags.
For folks who aren’t familiar, CAR stands for “Certified Auto Recycler.” This certification comes from the Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA). My business is CAR certified. When we first looked at the certification process and saw that we’d need to pay money, order a “certification tracking record,” and participate in a “physical audit” … Well, being busy people, we were pretty reluctant. We started out by answering the “easy questions” on the audit. (Examples: How many employees? Provide your NMVTIS number). The most time-consuming part was the pictures; honestly, it took two of us part of a Saturday to get all the pictures and load them to the site. (Examples: pictures of your parking lot, fire extinguishers, first aid kits.)
But we took the leap and to our surprise, we found that getting CAR certified really isn’t that difficult.
Here’s the process in a nutshell:
- Sign up for CAR certification at aracertification.com. There’s a $250 fee.
- Complete a physical audit of your business. This is the biggest thing that goes into CAR certification. You’ll need to upload photos from your business to complete the audit.
- ARA will grade your audit. You’ll need to score at least 70% in each section. If you pass, you’ll get an email and a certificate in the mail, and ARA will contact eBay, to let them know you passed.
- eBay will call or email you, letting you know that you’re good to go!
After you’re certified, you’ll want to look at your eBay listings and make sure that they have the necessary disclaimers. If you use Checkmate, just call Car-Part.com (859-344-1925) to ask for an updated eBay template with a recall disclaimer. The web designers can do this for you, and it typically only takes a day or two. Also, Car-Part.com’s trainers can assist you with setting up your eBay business policies. You’ll need them to sell airbags on eBay. The trainers can also help you “clean up” your existing policies, and help you add a hazmat/airbag policy.
As a reminder, you want to be very honest on your self-audit. This year, 2023, is a self-audit, but in 2024, to keep your certification, you need to be a member in good standing of ARA, and you will need to have an ARA-certified third-party auditor to come to your yard, and do an onsite audit.
And I want to warn you – you really have to get CAR certified, to sell airbags or airbag-related components on eBay. If you’re not CAR certified, don’t even try to sell things like airbags, seatbelt pretensioners, airbag sensors, SRS parts, steering wheels with airbags, etc. eBay has already started banning people who list these parts without being certified. It’s not worth it!
I think the best part of getting CAR and hazmat certified (even though we don’t sell air bags at my yard) is that we used to feel so scared thinking, “What do we need to do to be compliant?” Now, we have it all laid out in front of us. Are we perfect? NO! We only got a “C” on the test! You guys know I am an “A” kind of girl! I have big plans to get an “A” very soon!
As always, if you have any questions, please get in touch.
Theresa Colbert owns Recycled OE Parts in Richland, MO opening it from scratch 3 1/2 years ago.
For the last 13 years, she is a Sales and Training Specialist at Car-Part.com. Her goal is to find the correct product to fit each customer and make sure that they are trained to use it. Reach Theresa at (859) 802-2382 via phone call or text, or email TheresaC@Car-Part.com.
