What the FTC's March 2026 Rule Requires
The FTC's Motor Vehicle Dealers Trade Regulation Rule (MVDTR) prohibits dealers from advertising, offering, or quoting a price for a vehicle that does not include all mandatory fees the customer will be required to pay. The rule targets "drip pricing" — a practice where a base price is quoted and fees are added progressively during the transaction.
| Requirement | What It Means in Practice |
|---|---|
| All-in pricing disclosure | Every quoted price must include documentation fees, title/registration fees, and any mandatory dealer-installed add-ons. No "plus fees and taxes" as a hidden catch-all. |
| No drip pricing | Dealers cannot quote a price and then reveal additional mandatory charges later in the negotiation or at signing. |
| Consistency across channels | The rule applies to all interactions — phone, chat, text, in-person, advertising. A $50,120 penalty can arise from a single phone call. |
| Dealer-installed add-ons | Any item the dealer makes mandatory (protection packages, nitrogen tires, etc.) must be included in the quoted price. Optional add-ons that customers can genuinely decline are excluded. |
| Penalty structure | Civil penalties up to $50,120 per violation. Each deceptive interaction is a separate violation. Class actions and state AG enforcement are also possible. |
How DealerAutoPilot Enforces Compliant Pricing Automatically
DealerAutoPilot's AI (Eve) calculates every price quote using the dealer's configured fee schedule. Mandatory fees are added to every pricing interaction — it is architecturally impossible for Eve to quote a base price without fees.
Dealer Fee Schedule
Dealers configure their fee schedule once in the dashboard — doc fees, title fees, mandatory add-ons. Eve applies these to every quote automatically.
All-In Payment Calculation
Every monthly payment estimate, out-of-pocket quote, or cash price Eve delivers includes all mandatory dealer fees as configured. No partial quotes.
No Drip Pricing Architecture
The platform does not support sequential fee disclosure. Fees are part of the configured price from the first interaction — no "plus fees" disclosure patterns are possible.
All Channels Covered
Phone calls, SMS/text, website chat, and inbound leads are all handled through the same pricing engine. Compliance is consistent across every touchpoint.
Full Audit Trail
Every pricing interaction is logged, transcribed, and stored for 2 years. If the FTC inquires, you have complete documentation of every quote Eve delivered.
24/7 Consistency
Human reps have bad days. Eve doesn't. Pricing compliance is enforced at 11pm on a Sunday the same as 9am on a Monday.
What Dealers Need to Configure
DealerAutoPilot enforces what you configure. The system is only as compliant as your fee schedule. Here's what dealers are responsible for:
Set Your Fee Schedule in the Dashboard
Enter every mandatory fee your dealership charges: documentation fee, title and registration fees, and any dealer-installed add-ons you require on every vehicle. Go to Settings → Fee Schedule in your DealerAutoPilot dashboard.
Categorize Mandatory vs. Optional Add-Ons
Only mandatory items — things every customer must pay regardless — need to be in your fee schedule. Genuinely optional items (extended warranty, service packages) should be marked optional and are excluded from base pricing calculations.
Keep Your Fee Schedule Current
When your documentation fee changes or you add a new mandatory dealer add-on, update your fee schedule immediately. Eve will apply the updated fees to all subsequent interactions within minutes of saving.
Review Pricing Interactions Periodically
Use the Dealer Dashboard to review pricing quotes Eve delivered. Verify that all-in prices match your expectations. The audit trail is also your compliance documentation.
Important: DealerAutoPilot is not a legal compliance service and this page does not constitute legal advice. Dealers are solely responsible for ensuring their fee schedule accurately reflects all mandatory charges and for compliance with applicable federal and state law. Consult qualified legal counsel for guidance on FTC compliance obligations specific to your dealership.
What FTC Violations Look Like at a Dealership
Human reps are the most common source of FTC pricing violations — not malicious intent, just inconsistency under volume.
- Sales rep quotes $29,495 on a phone call without mentioning the $895 documentation fee
- Internet manager emails a price that excludes the $499 nitrogen tire package you install on every vehicle
- Chat agent tells a customer "the payment would be around $489/month" without including the doc fee in the calculation
- Advertising shows a price that doesn't include a mandatory protection package added to every unit
- A busy Saturday with 40 inbound calls = up to 40 separate violations if fees aren't disclosed
With DealerAutoPilot, none of these are possible. Eve doesn't have a "busy Saturday." She doesn't skip the fee because she's juggling five conversations at once.
- Every phone call quotes all-in pricing including your configured fees
- Every chat interaction calculates payments with your doc fee included
- Every SMS response reflects compliant pricing from your fee schedule
- Every pricing interaction is logged with a timestamp and transcript
The Math on $50,120 Per Violation
A mid-volume dealership handles 200–400 inbound inquiries per week. If a human rep is quoting prices without fees on even 10% of those calls, that's 20–40 potential violations per week — up to $2 million in weekly exposure under the FTC's penalty structure.
The Sales AI plan starts at $699/month. The math doesn't require further explanation.
Eliminate Your FTC Pricing Exposure
Every plan includes FTC-compliant pricing enforcement. Configure your fee schedule once — Eve handles the rest, on every interaction, forever.
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