Up until a few years ago our automobile dealership
industry was wracked with fraud and deception. Some time ago
many unethical persons operated dealerships with the sole
intent of defrauding the customer. Things have changed
dramatically since then. Now both the Federal Government and
the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles require dealerships
to operate with the highest ethical standards possible.
After countless fraudulent dealer transactions had been
reported to the Federal Government the Federal Trade
Commission, which protects consumers against fraudulent
businesses, created a new law called the Federal Trade
Commission Buyers Guide law.
The Federal Trade
Commission revised the FTC Buyers guide and has required the
new, revised edition to be displayed since December or 2018.
If you were ever a dealer in the past and you have old FTC
Buyer Guides, dispose of them immediately and make sure you
are using the new, revised version. Make sure your buyers
guides match the ones used in this course.
The
Federal Trade Commission Buyers Guide law requires every
dealership in the United States to disclose whether or not
they offer a warranty on any vehicle they sell. This
information must be disclosed before the test drive and can
be done with a free Federal Trade Commission Buyers guide.
Buyer Guides are only required to be displayed on cars and
light trucks with GVWR 8500 pounds or less.
Dealers in Texas must be sure to enter whether you are
offering a full warranty, in which you would pay one hundred
percent of all parts and labor costs, or a limited warranty,
in which you would clearly designate a percentage of the
parts and labor the dealer will pay. Enter a duration of the
coverage such as 30 days or 1000 miles, whichever occurs
first to ensure your warranty coverage will end on a
specific date.
If offering any warranty be sure to
enter a duration of the warranty otherwise you may be giving
your customer a warranty that never ends and you could be
liable for repair costs several years after the vehicle has
been sold.