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Free dealer guide · 2026 edition

The Dealer Website Compliance Playbook

The FTC's CARS Rule was struck down. The enforcement wasn't. Here are the federal and state rules your website, listings and lead forms may already be breaking, and how to fix them before a regulator or a plaintiff's attorney finds them first.

  • What the FTC now expects your advertised price to include
  • Federal rules plus Texas, California, Colorado and Florida
  • The eight states where dealer enforcement is hottest
  • A 25-point self-audit you can run on your site this week
Cover of The Dealer Website Compliance Playbook
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97
dealer groups sent FTC warning letters on advertised pricing (March 2026)
$53,088
maximum FTC civil penalty per violation
$20M
Leader Automotive Group settlement with the FTC and Illinois AG
Oct 1
California's own CARS Act (SB 766) took effect in 2026
What's inside

Twelve chapters. Written for owners, GMs and marketing managers, not lawyers.

Each chapter covers what the rule says in plain English, what regulators have actually gone after, and the specific website checks to run. Built from statutes, regulations, court records, agency guidance and published expert analysis, current as of October 2026.

  1. 01The rule died. The risk didn't.
  2. 02Advertised price: the one number that matters
  3. 03Inventory honesty: sold, in-transit and stock photos
  4. 04Finance and lease advertising
  5. 05Credit applications and the Safeguards Rule
  6. 06Tracking pixels, chat and privacy laws
  7. 07Reviews and testimonials
  8. 08Texting and calling leads
  9. 09Website accessibility
  10. 10Where enforcement is hottest: state by state
  11. 11Your vendors are your liability
  12. 12The 25-point website self-audit
A look inside

Practical, specific, and built to hand to your team.

Advertised price: what passes and what fails
Advertised price: what passes and what fails
State enforcement map and state-by-state rules
State enforcement map and state-by-state rules
The 25-point website self-audit
The 25-point website self-audit
Get the full playbook free →
Deep dives

Federal rules plus four state playbooks

FTC Act Section 5, Truth in Lending and Consumer Leasing ads, the Safeguards Rule, the Reviews Rule, TCPA and accessibility, then state-specific rules on pricing language, doc fees and disclosures.

FederalTexasCaliforniaColoradoFlorida
Enforcement map

Where state regulators are most active

Ranked by recent attorney general actions and settlements against dealers, with what each state has gone after so you know what to fix first.

1California2New York3Maryland4Illinois5Connecticut6Massachusetts7Arizona8New Jersey
Free offer

Free Dealer Website Compliance Scan
A second set of eyes on your live site.

We review your website and inventory listings against the pricing, inventory, tracking and accessibility points in the playbook and send you a written findings summary with the fixes, ranked by risk. No cost, no obligation.

  • Advertised price consistency across cards, detail pages, schema and feeds
  • Sold, in-transit and photo checks on a sample of live inventory
  • Tracking scripts on finance and credit application pages
  • Pre-consent trackers versus your privacy policy
  • Core accessibility failures

The scan is a marketing and technical review, not a legal opinion.

Request your scan

Prefer to talk? Call (817) 431-6700. We will not spam your email or phone.

Not legal advice. The Dealer Website Compliance Playbook is general educational information prepared by Think Cre8tive, a marketing agency, not a law firm. It is based on publicly available sources and published expert analysis as of October 2026. Think Cre8tive makes no representations about its accuracy, completeness or current status and assumes no liability for any action taken in reliance on it. Consult a licensed attorney in your state who represents motor vehicle dealers before changing your practices.