FTC Names All 97 Dealership Groups Flagged for ‘Deceptive’ Car Pricing Tactics

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has publicly identified 97 major dealership groups—covering 203 individual locations—after issuing warning letters over allegedly deceptive vehicle pricing practices. The agency’s crackdown targets hidden fees, misleading discounts, and other tactics that obscure the true cost of cars, including advertising prices that exclude mandatory fees or fail to match final transaction totals. The FTC’s letters emphasize that advertised prices must reflect all required fees and accurately represent what consumers will pay at the dealership, warning dealers against practices like inflating rebates, conditioning discounts on specific financing, or promoting vehicles that aren’t actually available.

While no fines were imposed, the FTC signaled that further enforcement actions could follow, framing the move as part of a broader effort to curb what it calls “deceptive pricing” in the auto retail sector. The agency’s director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, Christopher Mufarrige, stated that the Trump-Vance FTC is prioritizing transparency to ensure dealerships compete fairly on price without misleading tactics. The targeted groups include some of the largest publicly traded dealership chains in the U.S., such as Lithia Motors, AutoNation, Group 1 Automotive, and Sonic Automotive, as well as subsidiaries of Berkshire Hathaway Automotive and Hendrick Automotive Group. The FTC initially withheld the names of the recipients but later released them through its warning letter database following multiple Freedom of Information Act requests.

The agency also cited ongoing cases against operators like Asbury Automotive Group, Lindsay Chevrolet, and Leader Automotive Group as examples of the conduct it aims to prevent. The FTC’s warning letters outline several illegal pricing practices, including advertising non-existent vehicles, failing to account for mandatory fees, or requiring consumers to purchase add-ons not reflected in the advertised price. The move comes amid widespread criticism of the stressful and often opaque dealership experience, where consumers frequently encounter last-minute fee hikes or hidden costs. Whether the FTC’s actions will lead to meaningful changes in how cars are advertised remains uncertain, but the agency has made it clear that dealers are now on notice.

The full list of dealership groups that received letters is available through the FTC’s warning letter database.