Ban on new-car sales on Sunday made official

Thursday, June 3, 2004 | 11:42 a.m.

The Las Vegas City Council Wednesday approved a new rule forbidding new car sales on Sundays, putting into law what previously had been a "gentleman's agreement" among the new car dealers not to sell on Sunday.

Clark County adopted a similar ordinance about two years ago, said Gary Ackerman of the Gaudin Automotive Group, who is president of the state's new car dealers association. He said the next step is to seek a similar rule for Henderson.

He said it benefits dealers and consumers by giving overworked salesman a day off and giving neighbors a break from the auto shops and other activity that typically are part of a new car dealership. It also gives consumers a chance to shop around without being approached by a salesperson, he said.

"Dealers are swamped on Sundays because people just want to look at cars and be left alone," Ackerman said.

The rule does not affect used car dealers. When Gary Swanciger, who helped push a Las Vegas city rule forbidding test drives on residential streets, asked council members why used car dealers were not included, Councilman Michael Mack said that "this was brought to us by new car dealers." He said to create a ban on used car sales on Sundays, "it would take used car dealers to come forward."