WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Federal Trade Commission has sent warning letters to 97 auto dealership groups across the country, telling them that advertised vehicle prices must reflect the actual price a consumer is required to pay, apart from government charges such as taxes, title, and registration. The agency said the outreach is aimed at pricing practices that can make vehicles appear cheaper in ads than they are when buyers reach the showroom or finance office.
According to the FTC, the letters were issued March 13 and urge dealers to review their advertising and sales practices to make sure posted prices match what customers are really charged. The agency said it will continue monitoring the market and may take additional action where warranted under Section 5 of the FTC Act and other laws it enforces.
The warning campaign centers on six types of conduct the FTC says can be unlawful. Those include leaving mandatory fees out of an advertised price, promoting discounts or rebates that are not available to all buyers, omitting a required down payment from the advertised figure, tying a price to the use of dealer-arranged financing, requiring add-on products not included in the advertised total, and advertising vehicles that are unavailable or do not exist.
The template letter published by the FTC makes clear that the agency is not declaring every recipient guilty of wrongdoing. Instead, it says the letters are meant to put dealers on notice that the commission is concerned they “may be” using deceptive pricing methods and expects them to compare advertised prices with actual transaction prices to ensure they match.
In its public announcement, the FTC framed the dealer letters as part of a wider push for all-in pricing across multiple industries. The commission said it has also been working on price transparency issues involving rental housing, ticketing and hotels, grocery delivery services, and auto sales and leasing. That broader effort includes the FTC’s rule on unfair or deceptive fees for live-event tickets and short-term lodging, which took effect in May 2025 and requires covered businesses to disclose total prices more clearly.
The letters also point dealers to earlier enforcement actions already brought by the FTC. In the auto sector, the agency specifically referenced matters involving Lindsay Automotive Group, Leader Automotive Group, and Asbury Automotive Group. Those cases involved allegations ranging from falsely advertised low prices and unwanted add-ons to hidden charges and financing-related deception. In Leader’s case, the FTC said a proposed $20 million settlement was the largest monetary judgment it had secured against an auto dealer.
The new letters arrive after a major setback for the FTC’s Biden-era CARS Rule, a broader regulation designed to curb bait-and-switch tactics and require upfront pricing disclosures in auto sales. In January 2025, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out that rule, finding the agency had failed to follow required procedures when adopting it. Reuters reported that the FTC had previously argued the rule would save consumers more than $3.4 billion and millions of shopping hours annually.
That history gives the latest warning letters added significance. Rather than relying on the overturned rule, the FTC is now signaling that it can still pursue similar conduct through existing deceptive-practices authority, case-by-case enforcement, and formal warnings. Industry coverage from Kelley Blue Book and WardsAuto noted that the letters effectively revive pressure on dealer pricing practices even after the rulemaking effort collapsed in court.
Dealer groups responded cautiously. WardsAuto reported that the National Automobile Dealers Association said it takes potential advertising violations seriously and would continue working with the FTC on areas of concern. Auto Remarketing separately reported that the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association told members not to dismiss the letters, describing them as a serious compliance warning that could precede enforcement if problems are not corrected.
For consumers, the FTC’s message is straightforward: the number in the ad should generally be the number that gets the shopper in the door and through the deal, aside from required government charges. For dealers, the letters appear to be a warning that price advertising, disclaimers, finance conditions, and mandatory add-ons are likely to face fresh scrutiny in 2026 even without a standalone federal dealer rule in effect.
The FTC did not identify the dealerships that received warning letters, a common approach when the agency issues compliance notices rather than formal charges.
Joe Mcdermott is a staff reporter who keeps his eyes peeled for interesting automotive news. He works mainly for our Long Island Guide as well as our IT firm, SEARCHEN NETWORKS®. Mcdermott, one of our first and thus veteran reporters, is also a data analyst for select independent news and media organizations in the United States.