EXHIBIT 99.1

For Immediate Release

CHAIRMAN ADOPTS RULE 10b5-1 SHARE TRADING PLAN

TO DIVERSIFY HIS INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO

MORGAN HILL, Calif., Nov. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — The Coast Distribution System, Inc. (NYSE MKT: CRV) today reported that it has been informed by Thomas R. McGuire, the Company’s Chairman, that he has established a plan, pursuant to Securities Exchange Commission Rule 10b5-1, to sell up to a total of 62,500 of the more than 495,000 shares of Coast common stock that he owns. It is expected that those 62,500 shares will be sold in brokerage transactions over a period of approximately five quarters.

Mr. McGuire is the Company’s largest stockholder, owning 10.8%, of its outstanding shares (which does not include an additional 40,000 shares that he has a right to purchase on exercise of stock options).

Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 allows officers and directors to adopt written plans for trading securities in a non-discretionary, pre-scheduled manner in order to avoid concerns about initiating stock transactions when the officer or director may be aware of non-public information. Such plans also allow officers and directors to diversify their holdings and to minimize the market effect of stock sales by spreading them out over time.

Mr. McGuire stated “I have decided to implement this plan primarily to diversify my investment portfolio. I remain confident about Coast’s future prospects and I have no plans at this time to sell any additional Coast shares and will continue to own more than 400,000 shares even after completing the sale of the 62,500 shares under this Rule 10b5-1 plan.”

About The Coast Distribution System

The Coast Distribution System, Inc. (www.coastdistribution.com) is one of North America’s largest wholesale aftermarket suppliers of replacement parts, supplies and accessories for the recreational vehicle (RV), pleasure boat and outdoor recreation markets. Coast supplies more than 10,000 products through 17 distribution centers located in the United States and Canada. Most of Coast’s customers consist of independently owned RV and marine dealers, supply stores and service centers. Coast is a publicly traded company, and its shares are listed on the NYSE Amex under the ticker symbol CRV.

Forward-Looking Information

Statements in this news release regarding our expectations and beliefs about our future financial performance and financial condition, as well as trends in our business and markets are “forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements often include words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “estimate,” “project,” or words of similar meaning, or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” or “may.” The forward-looking statements in this news release are based on current information and, because our business is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, our actual operating results and financial condition in the future may differ, possibly significantly, from the future financial performance and financial condition expected at the current time as set forth in those forward looking statements. Those risks and uncertainties include the possible occurrence of declines in discretionary income and loss of confidence among consumers regarding economic conditions, a tightening in the availability of and increases in the cost of consumer credit, increases in the costs of and shortages in the supply of gasoline, and unusually severe or extended winter weather conditions, all of which can adversely affect the willingness and ability of consumers to purchase and use RVs and boats and, therefore, their need for and willingness to purchase the products we sell. Moreover, the recent economic recession and credit crisis may have longer term consequences for our business and future financial performance, because they (i) have caused the closure or bankruptcies of a large number of RV and boating dealers which could significantly reduce the number of aftermarket

customers who purchase products from us in the future; and (ii) may lead to changes in consumer spending and borrowing habits that could extend well beyond the economic recovery and, therefore, could result in longer term declines in purchases and the usage of RVs and boats by consumers and, consequently, also in their purchases of the products we sell. Additional risks include, but are not limited to, our dependence on bank borrowings to fund a substantial amount of our working capital requirements, which can make us more vulnerable to downturns in economic conditions; further increases in price competition within our markets that could further reduce our margins and, therefore, our earnings; and our practice of obtaining a number of our products from single-manufacturing sources, which could lead to shortages in the supply of products to us in the event any of our single source suppliers were to encounter production or other problems or terminate their product supply arrangements with us.

These risks and uncertainties, as well as other risks to which our business is subject, are more fully described in Item 1A, entitled “Risk Factors,” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 30, 2012, and readers of this news release are urged to review the discussion of those risks and uncertainties in that Report.

Due to these and other possible uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this news release, which speak only as of today’s date, or to make predictions based solely on historical financial performance. We also disclaim any obligation to update forward-looking statements contained in this news release or in the above-referenced 2011 Annual Report, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law or the rules of the NYSE MKT.

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