Regulations Across Your Dealership: The Sales Team
There’s no overstating the importance of your automotive dealership’s sales team. They’re the department responsible for generating much of your company’s revenue. They’re the people who communicate your organization’s unique value and culture. And they’re the ones whom customers remember when assessing the overall experience of leasing or purchasing a vehicle from your lot.
Accordingly, dealerships tend to place great emphasis on their salespeople’s engagement and productivity. But this dedication is short-sighted without an equivalent focus on workforce compliance. Make sure your team is up to speed on the following federal rules regarding advertising and labeling:
- The Federal Trade Commission’s Door-to-Door Sales Rule, also known as the Cooling-Off Rule, gives consumers the right to cancel any sale within 3 days, as long as the sale doesn’t occur at the seller’s place of business. Keep in mind that the rule does not cover sales closed at auto shows and certain other premises considered “extensions” of a dealership’s permanent location, nor to sales completed entirely online.
- The FTC’s fuel-mileage advertising regulations require that a dealership advertising a vehicle’s fuel economy use data from the Environmental Protection Agency and disclose that the numbers are estimates. The FTC also recommends that dealerships avoid using mileage ratings that don’t specify context (e.g whether the data comes from city or highway driving).
- Dealerships must also comply with the FTC’s alternative-fueled-vehicle advertising rules by labeling each new vehicle’s estimated cruising range and environmental impact, as well as general information about alternative-fueled vehicles (e.g. sustainability, operating costs, and availability of the fuel type) so consumers can comparison-shop.
- To comply with the FTC’s Used Car Rule, dealerships must display “Buyers Guides” on a vehicle’s side windows. These guides should contain specific information about the vehicle, including its make, model, and vehicle identification number, as well as a written warranty. If the vehicle is being sold “as-is” in a state that permits such a sale, a dealership must use an alternate version of the Guide.
Next: The Body Shop
In the next installment in this series, we’ll explore what rules your body shop personnel need to know. But you don’t have to wait until then to overhaul your workforce compliance program. See how easy it is to manage workforce compliance initiatives across your dealership using our automated compliance platform.
Welcome to our series on the numerous federal rules and regulations that impact automotive dealerships. In this and upcoming articles, we’ll be taking a look at the roles employees at each department play in keeping your dealership compliant.
If you missed Part 1, which provides a bird’s eye view of regulations across your dealership, click here.
