About WATDA

The Wisconsin Automobile & Truck Dealers Association, located in Madison, is the only trade organization representing franchised and used car and truck dealers in Wisconsin.

In 1928 a group of car dealers from Milwaukee joined together for the purpose of taking strong legislative action in the 1929 session. The Wisconsin Automobile Trades Association was formed statewide to eliminate the personal property tax on automobiles and on dealer inventory. The tax was killing car sales in the months prior to the annual May first assessment date. By 1934 the dealers' proposal to offset the loss of revenue by repealing the personal property tax with an increase of one cent to the gas tax was accepted by the legislature. This resulted in savings to motorists of hundreds of millions of dollars and increased car sales. Today the Association vigorously fights all attempts to impose a property or excise tax on cars and trucks.

WATDA changed its name to Wisconsin Automobile & Truck Dealers Association (WATDA) in 1976.

Other areas where WATDA has been successful on behalf of the dealer body include pioneering franchise laws to protect dealers from unjust manufacturer action, implementing the WATDA Insurance Trust offering low cost hospital insurance for members, and eliminating the statutory finance reserve $25 cap. In addition, retaining trade-in difference for sales tax, the Sunday closing law, overtime exemptions, and practical disclosure laws are among the issues WATDA has continued to represent dealers' interests to government and the public.

Since 1929 WATDA has been dedicated to serving the car and truck dealers' needs in Wisconsin. United through membership in WATDA, members seek to achieve through "one voice" that which is impossible or too expensive to achieve alone.

WHAT WATDA DOES. . .

• Provides dealers a forum to solve dealer problems
• Speaks out as the "dealers' voice" on issues
• Coordinates legal actions affecting dealers
• Conducts conferences, regional, district and town meetings
• Presents high quality dealer and employee education programs
• Publishes a Reference Manual with legal and other information for dealer operations, including directories, resource materials and more
• Provides timely bulletins on legal, legislative and service issues
• Represents the dealers before state agencies and the legislature
• Prepares and sells legally correct forms for dealer use specific to Wisconsin
• Works with the news media
• Listens to dealer concerns, ideas and provides counsel as appropriate
• Encourages industry cooperation
• Fights for franchise rights and equity
• Works with dealer councils
• Provides health benefit programs for employees
• Provides Workers Compensation programs for dealerships
• Manages the Foundation of the Wisconsin Automobile & Truck Dealers Association for education and charitable giving

WHY DO WE NEED WATDA?

• Governments may make choices, by design or by mistake, which can severely impact the ability of a dealership to carry on
• Customer expectations change, and dealers are expected to know how to keep up and remain competitive
• Employee expectations and professional management changes directly affect the dealerships responsiveness as an ongoing modern enterprise
• Manufacturers and other suppliers have unusual power over dealers and from time to time that power is abused
• Research and bargaining for various complex services upon which dealers must rely is often frustrating for individual dealers to handle alone
• Some essential services and education opportunities for dealers do not exist in the general marketplace
• The image of a single dealer may be good in the community, but someone is always around fostering negative notions of the trade in general
• If there was no WATDA, the first thing dealers would do is join together to create an association to expand their base of power

Mission Statement:
The Wisconsin Automobile & Truck Dealers Association, an organization of licensed dealers of new and used motor vehicles, is dedicated to advancing the common good of its members, consumers and their communities by promoting professionalism and prosperity through education, advocacy, information and service.

Objectives: