The Federal Trade Commission, working jointly with 12 partner agencies in seven states, conducted the first compliance sweep of car dealerships since its amended Used Car Rule took effect earlier this year, the regulator announced today.
The sweep was conducted in 20 cities nationwide between April and June 2018. According to the FTC, inspectors found Buyers Guides on 70% of the more than 2,300 vehicles inspected, with almost half of those displaying the revised Buyers Guide. Of the 94 dealerships inspected, 33 had the revised Buyers Guide on more than half of their inventory, and 14 had revised Buyers Guides on all of their used cars.
“Why check things out now? Well, dealers were required to start using the new version of the guide on January 28, 2018,” wrote Colleen Tressler, a consumer education specialist for the FTC, wrote in a blog posted today on the regulator’s website. “And here’s what we found. Of the more than 2,325 vehicles inspected, almost half had the revised Buyers Guide. Dealers not displaying the revised guide received letters warning them to bring their dealerships into compliance.”
Under the amended Used Car Rule, which took effect on Jan. 28, 2018, dealers must display a revised window sticker, or Buyers Guide, on each used car they offer for sale. The revised guide changes the description of an “As Is” sale, places boxes on the face of the guide dealer can check to indicate whether a vehicle is covered by a third-party warranty and whether a service contract may be available, and adds airbags and catalytic converters to the Buyers Guide’s list of major defects that may occur in used vehicles, among other changes.
Dealers who fail to comply face penalties of up to $41,484 per violation. State and local law enforcement agencies also enforce the recently amended rule.
Over the coming weeks, according to the FTC, dealerships that were not displaying the revised Buyers guide can expect follow-up inspections to ensure they have brought themselves into compliance with the amended rule.
The FTC, along with its partner agencies, inspected dealership in the following areas: 1) Burbank, North Hollywood, Richmond, San Bruno, San Jose, San Pablo, and Van Nuys, California; 2) Jacksonville, Florida; 3) Chicago, Illinois; 4) New York, New York (Queens); 5) Brooklyn Heights, Cleveland, East Cleveland, and Cleveland Heights, Ohio; 6) Arlington, Dallas, and Grand Prairie, Texas; and 7) Lakewood, Puyallup, and Tacoma, Washington.
Agencies involved include the California Department of Motor Vehicles Inspection Division; district attorney’s offices in Contra Costa County, Los Angeles County, Santa Clara County, San Mateo, Calif.; the Florida Bureau of Dealer Services; the Cuyahoga, Ohio, County Department of Consumer Affairs; the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles; the City of Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection; the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs; the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles; and the Washington State Office of the Attorney General.
Editor's note: This news story first appeared on F&I Showroom, a companion publication.
