![[VIDEO] FTC Proposes New Rule Targeting Auto Dealers Bait-and-Switch Tactics and Junk Fees](https://www.corvetteblogger.com/images/content/2022/063022_1b.jpg)
With the new 670-hp Corvette Z06 expected in dealers showrooms later this year, we’ve been horrified at some of the stories emerging from Corvette enthusiasts about how their local Chevrolet Dealers are treating their customers as ATM machines and trying to extract the maximum amount of dollars to buy the new car. While high market adjustment fees over MSRP are the most egregious in our book, dealers are also requiring add-on fees, directed donations, and other mandatory services as a requirement to purchase the new Corvette. Unfortunately, GM has been unable (or unwilling) to go after the worse offenders and so maybe a new rule from the FTC can help protect consumers.
The Federal Trade Commission has recently proposed a new rule aimed at automotive dealers and it would prohibit dealers from making certain misrepresentations in the course of selling, leasing, or arranging financing. The FTC is now seeking comment from the public for the proposed rule which can be viewed and downloaded here.
The FTC says the proposed Rule will help to “ban junk fees and bait-and-switch advertising tactics that can plague consumers throughout the car-buying experience.” The FTC cites surging vehicle prices and the high number of consumer complaints regarding the automotive buying process.
Here are some of the key points in the new rule that could impact how dealers sell Corvettes include:
- Prohibit misrepresentations concerning “the costs or terms of purchasing, financing, or leasing a vehicle.” This provision would bar deceptive practices surrounding, among other things, the total cost, price for added features, other charges, terms and finality of financing, and availability of discounts.
- Prohibit misrepresentations concerning any “costs, limitation, benefit, or any other material aspect of an Add-on Product or Service.” Add-ons are a particularly problematic area in auto sales and financing. The cost and coverage of an add-on are likely to affect a consumer’s conduct, including the consumer’s decision to purchase the product or service.
- Prohibit misrepresentations regarding “whether the terms are, or transaction is, for financing or a lease.” If a dealer advertises vehicles for low monthly payments or other terms that apply in financing offers, but the offer is actually for a lease only, that conduct misleads consumers.
Some of the points of interest to Corvette buyers in this proposed rule are the so-called “junk fees” which require consumers to purchase such add-ons as nitrogen-filled tires or window tinting packages, as well as having dealers provide a clear and concise total cost of the car that includes taxes and government docs.
For a legal analysis of this proposed new rule, we turn to consumer/automotive lawyer Steve Lehto who breaks down the rule in clear terms and discusses what dealers were doing and how the rule might curb those sales practices.
Source:
Steve Lehto / YouTube
Related:
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Chevrolet Raises the Prices of the 2023 Corvette Stingray
Shots Fired! GM North American President Steve Carlisle Warns Dealers Against Market Adjustments on Z06
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 is proposing a new rule targeted at automotive dealerships that's designed to cut down on junk fees and make the automotive buying process more transparent.){kind=link}
Car dealers have done this for years. The difference is that in the past, there have been discounts, rebates, etc that have offset some of their BS and it has been a bit of a shell game. Now, with little to no discounts/rebates, their BS is out in the open and the mark ups only highlight their normal shady practices.
JUST DONT BUY FROM THESE DEALERS ………MY DEALER IS THAT WAY WONT BUY FROM THEM AGAIN…..
Not mentioned here is the most egregious and legally questionable practice that dealers have been engaging in as of late. This is the business of taking a deposit to order a car for a buyer and then insisting upon an increased price once the vehicle is actually delivered. Sometimes even refusing to refund the customer’s deposit.
My Chevy dealer in Wake Forest, NC charged me a BS nitrogen and window tint fee. Kind of hard to take the nitrogen out of the tires but the worst is a local shop that does window tinting showed me that I didn’t have tint on my windows. Have not been back since and I now take my Corvette to a Chevy dealer in North Raleigh. The Wake Forest dealer keeps emailing and sending letters that they have a trade-in deal for my C7 on a new C8. I will never do business with them again. They are scum. If you go to your web site and look for pricing they have this stupid spin the wheel of fortune to get your discount.
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