Advertised Price Rules for Car Dealers in 2026: FTC Checklist

Short answer: in 2026 the FTC made its position clear: the price you advertise must be the total price a buyer will have to pay, including every mandatory fee. Only required government charges such as taxes and registration can be left out. If your online price, your window sticker and your buyer's order do not match, fix that before a regulator, or an angry customer, finds it for you.

Key takeaways

• In March 2026 the FTC sent warning letters to 97 auto dealership groups about advertised prices.
• The FTC's rule of thumb: an advertised price "must be the total price—including all mandatory fees—that consumers will be required to pay."
• The letters list six practices that can mislead buyers, from hidden fees to cars that are not available.
• A proposed October 2026 settlement with a Florida dealer group shows how the FTC measures the gap between the ad and the final price.
• Used cars are not exempt. The FTC's example in that case included a used SUV.

What the FTC said in 2026

On March 13, 2026, the FTC announced it had sent warning letters to 97 auto dealership groups. The letters tell dealers to check that the prices they advertise match the prices they actually charge. The FTC said it "will take additional action as warranted to ensure compliance with the FTC Act."

The letters are not a new law. They are a reminder, in writing, of how the agency reads existing law, and a signal that it is watching dealer advertising. Treat them as a free checklist.

The six practices the FTC flagged

The FTC listed these examples of what it considers misleading:

1. Advertising a price that does not reflect all required fees.
2. Advertising a price that reflects rebates or discounts not available to all consumers.
3. Advertising a price that fails to take into account an additional required down payment.
4. Conditioning the advertised price on consumers using dealer financing.
5. Requiring consumers to buy additional items not reflected in the advertised price.
6. Advertising unavailable or non-existent vehicles.

Number six matters for every independent lot. A car that sold last week but is still online is, in the FTC's words, an unavailable vehicle.

What a real case looks like

In October 2026 the FTC announced a proposed settlement with a Florida dealer group. The details show how an investigation measures the problem.

• The FTC looked at transactions at four dealerships between March 1, 2023 and May 6, 2026.
• It found that more than 92% of buyers of vehicles advertised on third-party listing sites paid more than the advertised price.
• Those buyers paid an average of at least $3,354 extra, not counting government charges or optional add-ons.
• One example was a used SUV advertised at $18,800 whose price sheet showed $23,539.85 before government charges, including a $995 fee that applied only to some customers.

The settlement is proposed and still needs approval from a federal judge. The dealer group neither admitted nor denied the allegations, and the proposed order includes no fine or customer refunds. But the terms are a useful preview of what regulators expect:

• Prices must include all mandatory dealership charges, excluding only required government charges.
• In visual price ads, the total vehicle price must be the most prominently displayed item.
• No misleading claims about availability, financing requirements, whether products or fees are optional, or prizes and giveaways.
• The FTC may monitor compliance by posing as customers.

A 6-step price audit for your lot

This is practical guidance, not legal advice. Ask your attorney to review your advertising, especially if you sell in a state with its own rules.

1. Pull ten live ads and compare

Pick ten cars at random. Compare the price on your website, each listing site, your social posts and the window sticker. Then compare against the buyer's order you would write today. Any difference you cannot explain is a problem.

2. Put every mandatory fee in the number

If the customer must pay a documentation fee, dealer prep fee or reconditioning fee, it belongs in the advertised price or must be shown with the price so clearly that nobody can miss it. Leave out only taxes, title and registration that the government requires.

3. Remove conditional discounts from the headline

If a price only works with dealer financing, a trade-in or a special status such as a loyalty fee exemption, do not make it the headline price. Show the price every buyer can get.

4. Keep sold cars off your site the same day

Make taking down a sold car part of the delivery checklist. Check your listings once a week for cars that are gone.

5. Make the total price the biggest number

In photos, banners and video text, the total price should be the most prominent figure. Small print under a big number is exactly what regulators object to.

6. Keep records

Save screenshots or exports of your ads with the date. If a customer says the ad was different, you can show what it actually said.

Why clear pricing also sells cars

This is not only about avoiding trouble. A buyer who sees one honest number can decide faster, and the first call is more likely to be about the car, not the fees. Pair a clear price with clear photos of the actual car and a printed sheet that shows the same number on the lot. For the paperwork side, see our window sticker and Buyers Guide checklist, and for the photo side, our 20-shot photo checklist.

Make the number match everywhere

The easiest way to keep the price the same on your site, your listings and your lot is to produce it once and reuse it. With the CarMagics window sticker generator you enter the price and details once and print a sticker with a QR code, so what the shopper scans matches what is on the glass. The Dealer Package covers 12 cars a month for $100; see packages.