Advertising of Motor Vehicles

Scope: 940 CMR 5.02(1) through (15) shall apply to any advertisement published, delivered, broadcast or circulated within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, whether or not the person placing the advertisement maintains an office in Massachusetts, if the person placing the advertisement intends to sell or actually sells motor vehicles to Massachusetts residents. (1) It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a motor vehicle dealer to advertise any motor vehicles for sale unless the advertisement discloses the business name and address of the dealer. (2) It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a motor vehicle dealer to advertise any vehicle for sale which is not new unless the advertisement clearly and conspicuously discloses: (a) The stock number of the vehicle; (b) That the vehicle is used; and (c) A designation of the vehicle as a demonstrator, taxicab, police car, leased or daily rental vehicle, if the dealer knows or, in the exercise of reasonable care, should know that the vehicle was previously so used. (3) It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a motor vehicle dealer to advertise the price of motor vehicles unless such price includes all charges of any type which are necessary or usual prior to delivery of such vehicles to a retail purchaser, including without limitation any charges for freight, handling, vehicle preparation and documentary preparation, but excluding taxes and optional charges for the dealer's preparation of title and assistance in registering a vehicle. (4) It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a manufacturer to advertise the price of motor vehicles unless the advertisement clearly and conspicuously discloses the nature of all charges which are not included in the advertised price, including without limitation any charges for freight, handling or vehicle preparation, which are necessary or usual prior to delivery of such vehicles to a retail purchaser. If a manufacturer advertises the price of motor vehicles and the name of any specific motor vehicle dealer is mentioned in such advertisement, the advertised price shall include all charges for freight, handling, dealer preparation and documentary preparation which are necessary or usual prior to delivery of such vehicles to a retail purchaser by the named motor vehicles dealer. (5) It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a motor vehicle dealer to use, in connection with the advertising or sale of motor vehicles, the terms, "dealer's cost", "wholesale", "invoice price", "factory billing", or other terms of like import or any other representation that a motor vehicle will be sold at, above, or below a cost or price standard, unless: (a) The cost or price standard represents the total consideration paid by the dealer to the manufacturer for the motor vehicle, and where no hold back, rebate, promotional fee or any other consideration has been or will be paid by the manufacturer to the dealer prior or subsequent to the purchase of the motor vehicle which in any way reduces, diminishes or offsets the cost to the dealer of purchasing the motor vehicle; and (b) The advertisement discloses, for each vehicle or class of vehicles offered for sale, and in close proximity to the reference to such standard and in equivalent type or print size thereto, the exact dollar figure represented by the standard and the actual price at which the vehicle or class of vehicles is offered for sale. (6) It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a motor vehicle dealer to fail or refuse to sell a motor vehicle in accordance with any terms or conditions, including price or warranty, which the dealer has advertised or otherwise represented. (7) It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a motor vehicle dealer to advertise motor vehicles for sale at a specified price when the price does not include certain standard equipment with which such vehicles are actually equipped or with which such vehicles are usually or ordinarily equipped unless the advertisement clearly and conspicuously discloses that such equipment is not included in the advertised price. (8) It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a motor vehicle dealer to advertise a sale or promotion in connection with the sale of motor vehicles without clearly and conspicuously disclosing in such advertisement the expiration date and any other conditions of such sale or promotion, including whether the supply of vehicles or other sale goods is limited. (9) It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a motor vehicle dealer or manufacturer to make any representation or statement of fact in an advertisement if the dealer or manufacturer knows or should know that the representation or statement is false or misleading or if the dealer or manufacturer does not have sufficient information upon which a reasonable belief in the truth of the representation or statement could be based. (10) It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a motor vehicle dealer to advertise or represent in any manner the price which will be paid by such dealer for trade-in vehicles unless the price of the vehicle sold by such dealer to the owner of the trade-in vehicle is within the range of prices at which the dealer usually sells such vehicles and is not increased because of the amount paid for the trade-in vehicle. (11) It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a motor vehicle dealer to advertise or represent in any manner that a specific price will be paid by such dealer for trade-in vehicles unless either the advertised price will be paid for all trade-in vehicles, regardless of their condition or age, or the advertisement clearly and conspicuously discloses any conditions which trade-in vehicles must meet before such price will be paid. (12) It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a motor vehicle dealer to advertise or represent in any manner that a range of prices (such as "up to $500" or "as much as $500") will be paid by such dealer for trade-in vehicles unless the advertisement clearly and conspicuously discloses the criteria (such as age, condition or mileage) which the dealer will use to determine the amount to be paid for a particular trade-in vehicle. (13) It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a motor vehicle dealer or manufacturer to use the terms "standard factory equipment," "fully equipped" or words of like import in any advertisement offering motor vehicles for sale; but a dealer or manufacturer may, at its option, list in an advertisement any or all of the specific equipment or accessories with which the advertised vehicle is equipped. (14) It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a repair shop to advertise that it will perform a "tune-up" on a motor vehicle unless the specific work to be performed on the vehicle is listed and, if a price is advertised, unless the advertisement clearly and conspicuously discloses whether the price includes parts or labor or both. (15) It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a repair shop to advertise or represent in any manner that it will perform a particular repair on motor vehicles at a specified price unless the price specified includes the total charge to the customer for all parts and labor necessary to perform such repair.