How dealers can check their website for FTC pricing issues
By Uptify · Last updated
Start with the price a shopper sees, then follow the offer through its terms and the actual sales quote. This checklist helps a dealership find pricing issues to review with its advertising team and counsel.
1. Capture the offer as a shopper sees it
Open your homepage, specials page, inventory results and a vehicle detail page on a phone and a computer. Include banner images and any offer that mentions a price, payment, APR or savings amount.
For each offer, record the page URL, date, vehicle or stock number, headline price and the terms visible beside it. Save a screenshot of the full offer and a second screenshot of the fine print. Open expandable terms before saving them. Keep customer information out of the review.
- Use one row per offer in a spreadsheet.
- Add columns for the issue, evidence, owner, correction and recheck date.
- Keep the original capture when you save a corrected version.
2. Compare the headline price with the actual quote
The FTC's dealer warning letter calls out advertised prices that omit required charges. It also identifies prices tied to restricted rebates, dealer financing or extra purchases, omitted required down payments, and ads for unavailable vehicles.
Compare the advertisement with what your team would quote for that exact vehicle. Separate government charges from dealer charges. Trace every adjustment to the headline price and flag any condition a shopper would need to meet.
3. Review the fee and rebate language
Use the LotIntel review checklist to search offer text for doc, processing, handling, freight and destination charges. A phrase saying a mandatory charge will be added deserves a closer look. Record the amount, where it appears and whether the quote already includes it.
Check military, first responder, graduate, loyalty and conquest offers separately. Note whether the advertised total subtracts an incentive that requires qualification. Also look for language tying the price to financing through the dealer or a named lender. Have the person responsible for the offer resolve each mismatch before republishing.
4. Read payment offers and image text by hand
The internal checklist flags missing fine print on priced offers. For leases, it prompts a review of term length, amount due at signing and mileage allowance. For APR offers, it checks the term and qualification language. For savings claims, identify the vehicles and conditions behind the amount.
These are review prompts, not a complete statement of disclosure law. Ask counsel to check the offer's applicable finance, lease, state and manufacturer requirements. Read small text in banners yourself: automated text extraction can miss it or attach it to the wrong offer.
5. Assign corrections and check the published pages again
Give each finding to the person who controls that part of the website or feed. Include the exact URL, screenshot, conflicting text and the quote used for comparison. Ask for a corrected offer and a date to recheck it.
After the change, repeat the same path on mobile and desktop. Check that the banner, search results and vehicle page agree. Mark a finding resolved only after reviewing the published version. Repeat this check when prices, incentives or advertising templates change.
Where a tool can help
FTC Checker by RedlineWorks is a $300 one-time Claude Code skill download for reviewing Dealer Inspire website advertising. Read its setup requirements and coverage before buying. A finding needs human review; a clean scan is not a legal compliance certification.
Sources and scope
This checklist uses the LotIntel FTC advertising ruleset and its saved compliance source documents. The FTC warning letter provides the pricing examples above; the September 2025 NADA remarks provide background on the agency's price-transparency approach. The workflow and evidence log are practical review steps. This guide is not legal advice.