Buying a car at a year-end sale? 6 pricing tricks the FTC warned 97 dealer groups about

Holiday and year-end sales bring a lot of car ads. If you're shopping for one this season, it helps to know which rules still protect you. In March 2026 the FTC warned 97 auto dealer groups about six pricing practices it says are illegal, even though its dedicated car-buying rule no longer exists.

What happened to the CARS Rule?

The FTC's Combating Auto Retail Scams (CARS) Rule would have set specific rules for dealer pricing and add-ons. On January 27, 2025, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated it in National Automobile Dealers Association v. FTC. The court found the FTC "violated its own regulations" by skipping an advance notice of proposed rulemaking. The FTC formally withdrew the rule in a Federal Register notice effective February 12, 2026.

The FTC Act still bans deceptive practices, and the FTC has kept using it.

What the FTC says now

On March 13, 2026, the FTC said it had sent letters to 97 auto dealership groups. The letters say an advertised price must be the total price buyers will have to pay, including all mandatory fees. They list six practices as examples of illegal pricing:

• advertising a price that doesn't include all required fees;
• advertising a price that relies on rebates or discounts not open to everyone;
• advertising a price that ignores an extra required down payment;
• making the advertised price depend on using dealer financing;
• requiring you to buy extra items not included in the advertised price;
• advertising cars that aren't available or don't exist.

On September 15, 2026, FTC staff published pricing FAQs for dealers. They say the advertised price must be the actual price any consumer can walk in and pay. Fees the dealer requires, including the full document fee, belong in it. Only government charges you pay directly, such as taxes, can be left out. Optional add-ons are allowed, but dealers can't present them as required, misstate their cost, or charge for ones you didn't agree to. The FAQs are staff guidance and aren't binding.

Used cars: read the Buyers Guide

Dealers have to display a Buyers Guide in every used car they offer for sale (motorcycles and most RVs are exceptions, and Maine and Wisconsin use their own version). It shows whether the car is sold "as is" or with a warranty, and the FTC says it overrides anything in your sales contract. If a salesperson promises a repair or a warranty, get it written on the guide. If the sale is conducted in Spanish, ask for a Spanish Buyers Guide.

There's no federal 3-day right to cancel

Federal law doesn't give you a three-day cooling-off period on a car purchase. The FTC says some states require dealers to offer a right to cancel, and in others you can only return a car if the dealer chooses to allow it. Check your state attorney general's rules, and get any return policy in writing before you sign.

A worked example

This is an illustration, not a real case.

Chris sees a used SUV advertised online at $24,995. At the dealership, the worksheet adds an $899 document fee and a $1,495 "protection package" that includes window etching. Before taxes, that's $27,389, or $2,394 more than the ad.

Under the FTC's FAQs, a doc fee every buyer must pay should have been in the advertised price. The FTC says dealers can't present optional add-ons as required, and Chris can ask for the package to be removed. Chris asks for an out-the-door price in writing, says no to the package, and takes a credit union preapproval to compare the dealer's financing.

What to do now

1. Get an out-the-door price in writing before you visit, including every fee.
2. Ask the price of each add-on and say no to any you don't want.
3. Get preapproved by a bank or credit union first. The FTC says the APR you negotiate at the dealer usually includes an amount for the dealer.
4. Read the Buyers Guide and contract before signing, and don't leave without a signed copy. Slow down if you're rushed through an e-signature on a tablet.
5. Pay for an independent inspection on a used car. A vehicle history report isn't a substitute.
6. Report pricing problems at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, with the ad and paperwork.

Questions

Is the CARS Rule coming back? Not as written. The FTC withdrew it in February 2026. For now it relies on the FTC Act's general ban on deceptive practices, as its March letters and September FAQs show.

Can a dealer leave out sales tax and other government charges? Yes. The FTC's FAQs say charges a government agency requires you to pay directly can be left out of the advertised price.

Can I return a used car I've changed my mind about? Only if your state requires it or the dealer offers it in writing. There's no federal right.

Ways to save

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Sources: Federal Register: FTC withdrawal of the CARS Rule, February 12, 2026, FTC: warning to 97 dealership groups, March 13, 2026, FTC: price transparency FAQs, September 15, 2026, FTC: automobile industry pricing transparency FAQs, checked November 8, 2026, FTC: buying a used car from a dealer, checked November 8, 2026, FTC: financing or leasing a car, checked November 8, 2026, FTC consumer alert on add-ons, August 2024