BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — StopCurbstoning.com recently analyzed the financial impact of curbstoning, using a California case as an example.

The California DMV recently concluded an investigation into this type of illegal vehicle selling which led to a felony arrest on 12 counts of perjury and filing false documentation.

StopCurbstoning.com discovered that in the cities where the curbstoner operated, more than $56,000 was lost in sales tax revenues alone. The state of California lost $168,000.

The group went on to point out that other financial costs include lost license revenue, lost local business and potentially increased emergency response burdens due to unsafe vehicles on the road. And all this is just from one curbstoner, according to StopCurbstoning.com.

"Because there are so many curbstoners out there, even small things add up a lot," pointed out Charles Redden, president of AutoTec, one of the companies behind the effort to stop curbstoning.

"Take the annual state license fee for used-car dealers: In California it's $176 for the first year and $126 to renew. But for every thousand curbstoners, that's over a quarter-million dollars every two months," Redden stressed.

"With local governments increasingly strapped for cash, enacting and enforcing anti-curbstoning laws can be a quick way to boost revenues and enhance their communities at the same time," he went on to point out.

He believes communities should ramp up their enforcement of anti-curbstoning laws. Basically, he said the community enhancement and public safety aspects of enforcing anti-curbstoning laws are harder to quantify, but should not be underestimated.

"Getting curbstoned vehicles off the streets frees up parking for local businesses, reduces obstacles to traffic and eliminates eyesores," Redden suggested. "It also eliminates a major source of unsafe vehicles — cars that can look OK, but have major structural damage or missing safety equipment. How do you place a dollar value on all that? It's priceless."

For more information on the California case, visit www.StopCurbstoning.com/case-study/ca. Or for more general information on the fight against curbstoning, visit www.StopCurbstoning.com.