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By George Barta
November 5, 2025 12:19 pm
GM dealership LaFontaine Chevrolet–Buick–GMC in China Township, Michigan, has had its license suspended by the state after investigators found it repeatedly sold used loaner vehicles as new, according to a report from Automotive News.
The Michigan Department of State announced the suspension on November 4th, following a September investigation that uncovered several violations of the state vehicle code. The state alleged that the dealership registered new vehicles in its business name for use as loaner vehicles, then pulled those same vehicles from the program and sold them to customers as new.
This latest action follows the state’s placement of the dealership on an 18-month probation and the levying of a $3,000 fine against it in December 2024. That initial penalty followed a prior investigation and educational outreach from both the state and the Michigan Auto Dealers Association, which explicitly warned dealers against selling used vehicles as new. Despite this probationary period and a teleconference with association officials to discuss the violations, a follow-up inspection conducted this past September found more than two dozen additional instances of the dealership continuing the practice.
A spokesperson for LaFontaine Automotive Group, Max Muncey, confirmed the license suspension and stated the group is working with state officials to review its processes. However, the group denied engaging in fraudulent activity, characterizing the matter as a “paperwork issue” and placing the blame on Michigan’s “outdated titling laws.”
In a formal statement, the company argued, “Under current manufacturer and lender definitions, vehicles utilized in manufacturer-approved rental or service loaner programs fully qualify as new vehicles.” The company contends that Michigan’s laws are out of step with those of other states and current industry standards, requiring vehicles that are eligible for new-car incentives and warranties to be classified as used.
This is not the first licensing issue the group has faced in recent memory. In December 2024, the state temporarily suspended the license of another group dealership, LaFontaine Hyundai in Livonia, for similar violations, including misrepresenting used vehicles as new. LaFontaine Automotive attributed the prior incident to “a few rogue employees” and pledged to enhance training and oversight across its operations.
By George Barta
George is an automotive journalist with soft spots for classic GM muscle cars, Corvettes, and Geo.
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Well, that’s one way around the nasty surprise we got when we bought a 2024 MY loaner with 2200 miles on it. We got the warranty as if it had zero miles but lost the entire 6 months that it was in loaner service, and that’s a lousy deal since time is more important to us than mileage. Had we known, I would have bought a brand new one.
Completely Normal in every other state.
Michigan requires the dealerships to actually buy the vehicles out of inventory to make them loaner vehicles as opposed to most states where the loaner vehicles are still new, unregistered vehicles despite having miles on them.
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