Written by Alysha Webb
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is cracking down on false advertising more aggressively than ever before. Dealerships are now being held accountable for any discrepancies in advertised pricing, regardless of where those prices appear.
Participants in Rosenfield & Co.’s recent webinars examined this new normal from several perspectives, including legal considerations, employee training, and dealership practices.
They demonstrated that while increased FTC diligence may seem like an imposition, it also presents an opportunity to attract and retain customers through transparency. And loyal customers are the foundation of dealership profitability.
However, according to a recent Cox Automotive survey, dealers need to do more to tout their transparent pricing practices to fully reap the rewards.
Building Customer Loyalty Through Transparency
Smart dealerships recognize that transparent pricing reduces friction. That was certainly the case at Autobahn BMW in Fort Worth, Texas.
“You can still have a very profitable transaction with transparency,” said Jason Kopp, the dealership’s general manager. “It’s just how you approach it. You know, the customer needs to trust the numbers.”
When the online price matches the in-store experience, it builds customer confidence, Kopp said, and “that trust is what turns a transaction into a long-term relationship and ultimately creates loyalty.”
Kopp was a panelist in the September webinar, “Beyond Clear Pricing: Turning FTC Compliance into Operational Advantage.”
The BMW dealership is part of the Autobahn Fort Worth dealership group, which encompasses eight new-car dealerships in the Texas city, all but one representing luxury brands.
When the group began considering what compliance with the FTC’s pricing transparency guidelines would mean, they decided to approach it from the customer’s perspective, Kopp said.
That meant considering what customers saw online, including dealership websites and third-party platforms, and what they heard when communicating with the dealership by phone, email, or text.
“If those things don’t line up, it creates friction in the transaction,” Kopp said. They also create distrust, he added.
Kopp shared how viewing compliance as an opportunity for process improvement helped his dealership enhance the customer experience, a major driver of customer loyalty.
Indeed, CDK’s Friction Points Study 2026, published before the FTC letter was sent, concluded that “transparency may be the buzzword for 2026.”
One in five shoppers “were annoyed” by additional fees during the purchase process, up 15% from 2025, CDK noted. “There’s repeated demand for more transparent pricing,” the report said, “including what customers see as addition and often unnecessary add-ons.”
Presenting a crystal-clear (and speedy) transaction was one of the top ways to improve the customer experience, according to the report.
A Missed Opportunity for Dealers
On March 13, the Federal Trade Commission sent a letter to 97 dealership groups warning them “that the prices they advertise must be the total price, including all mandatory fees, that consumers will be required to pay” for a vehicle.
That initial letter was difficult to interpret. Beyond determining exactly what constituted advertising, the requirement that advertised prices include all mandatory fees “raised the most hackles in the dealer community,” said Bert Rasmussen, a shareholder at Los Angeles-based law firm Scali Rasmussen.
Rasmussen was a panelist in Rosenfield & Company’s July webinar, “Clear Pricing, Stronger Dealerships: Navigating the FTC’s Focus on Transparency.”
That is because documentary fees are treated differently across states, Rasmussen explained. Additionally, advertised prices cannot reflect discounts or rebates that are not available to every potential buyer, he said.
Dealerships sought more clarity. On September 15, the FTC published “Price Transparency FAQs for Auto Dealers” on its website.
The FAQs helped clarify some questions, according to a Cox Automotive poll of dealers conducted September 21–22. When asked how clear they found the FAQs, 39% of dealers rated them clear or very clear. About 63% of dealers said the FAQs were extremely likely or likely to help their dealerships comply with the FTC’s pricing transparency requirements.
However, 20% of dealers surveyed had not read or reviewed the FAQs.
That may slow their progress toward full compliance, representing a missed opportunity to educate consumers about the dealership’s commitment to transparency.
Training Is the Foundation of Compliance
Cox Automotive also surveyed consumers over the same period. A majority—60%—were not very familiar or not at all familiar with the FTC’s pricing transparency requirements. That represents an opportunity for dealers to educate their customers. But first, they must educate their employees, and not just those in the sales department.
No matter how compliant a dealership is with pricing transparency requirements, if its employees can’t clearly explain what that means, the benefit is lost. And transparency doesn’t stop at pricing, Rasmussen warned. It is an operational issue, and every dealership department, including inventory, marketing, sales, and F&I, must be compliant.
Training is the best compliance tool, Rasmussen said, and should reinforce one key principle: Could the customer purchase the vehicle exactly as advertised? That principle should be supported by standardized pricing practices, management oversight, and consistent documentation.
Autobahn Fort Worth doubled down on training to stay ahead of the FTC’s pricing transparency requirements, Kopp said. This included randomly asking salespeople to explain individual fees and conducting hours of training with F&I associates to ensure pricing and payment terms were clearly explained on the showroom floor before customers entered the F&I office.
Building a Culture of Compliance
While understanding the legal aspects of compliance is crucial, ensuring a dealership is compliant and remains so comes down to establishing clear rules and making sure employees follow them, said Matthias Stoever, co-founder and CEO of RockED, who was also a panelist in the July webinar.
RockED is a training, development, and coaching platform for dealerships that delivers content through mobile microlearning modules.
What employees do when no one is checking is the true measure of a company’s behavior, and that comes down to company culture and leadership, Stoever said. He agreed that a lack of pricing transparency creates friction and viewed the FTC’s emphasis on transparency as a positive development for the industry.
“Sometimes, you need an external stimulus, or you need external help to fix a dilemma like this and to go back to operating in a situation that is really beneficial for the industry as a whole,” Stoever said.
Specific measures help drive a culture of compliance, Stoever said. These include leadership that sets the tone, creating an environment where employees feel safe speaking up about noncompliance, reinforcing expectations through everyday training, and aligning accountability with recognition. Everyone should be held accountable, regardless of position.
Recognition should extend to everyone, from the salesperson who sells the most cars to the F&I manager with very few cancellations, which likely indicates they are doing a good job of explaining the value and pricing of products, Stoever said. Recognize anyone who is “crushing it in their very different roles,” he summarized.
Understanding evolving FTC pricing expectations is also part of supporting that culture of compliance, Stoever said.
The Research Behind Customer Loyalty
Acquiring a new customer costs significantly more than retaining an existing one. That’s something dealers know well. And research supports the idea that transparency pays off. A study published in the August 14, 2026, issue of the International Journal of Ethics and Systems concluded that “price transparency, customer perceived ethicality and perceived price fairness are all significant determinants of customer loyalty.”
So, perhaps the FTC has actually done dealers a favor with its latest action.
