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Office of the Attorney General
Attorney General Conway Urges FTC To Strengthen "Used Car Rule"
Attorney General Jack Conway has joined 42 other state attorneys general in asking the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to strengthen Buyer’s Guide notices to indicate if used cars, trucks, or SUVs that are for sale have been assigned titles indicating past flood or collision damage.
Under the FTC’s “Used Car Rule,” Buyer’s Guide notices must be posted on used vehicles for sale; however, the current rule only requires that the notices only tell prospective buyers whether the car is offered with a warranty, or is being sold “as is,” without a warranty.
“The current rule does not go far enough,” cautioned General Conway. “By not requiring disclosure of a vehicle’s damage history and prior use, consumers may not know the true value of the vehicle they are buying. Withholding information that is readily available can lead to deceptive sales practices by unscrupulous dealers and may pose safety hazards to consumers.”
Wisconsin already requires prior-damage information to be disclosed on their Buyer’s Guide, and the FTC approved the Wisconsin regulation.
“There simply is no excuse for the national Buyer’s Guide to fail to include vehicle history and title brand information,” said Conway. “The most important fact a consumer can know about a used vehicle is its damage, title and Lemon Law history.”
The states asking the FTC to strengthen the “Used Car Rule” include: AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, ND, OH, OR, RI, SC, SD, TN, VT, WA, WV, WI, WY, the District of Columbia, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
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