The FTC Used Car Rule — What Your Buyers Guide Really Says (2026)

Manny Ruiz · Real Talk Media Group — Last Verified 2026-07-04

TL;DR

If you buy a used vehicle from a dealer in the United States, federal law requires that dealer to post a Buyers Guide on the vehicle before you sign anything. The rule lives at 16 CFR § 455 — the FTC’s Used Car Rule. The guide tells you two things that carry legal weight: whether the car is being sold “AS IS” or with a warranty, and what percentage of major system repair costs the dealer will cover if it’s a warranty. Every used vehicle offered for sale gets one. If yours doesn’t have a Buyers Guide, or the terms on the guide don’t match what the paperwork says, you have a federal-law claim. (Last Verified 2026-07-04.)

The Statute / The Law

The FTC Used Car Rule is codified at 16 CFR § 455 (the “Used Motor Vehicle Trade Regulation Rule”). It was promulgated by the Federal Trade Commission under Section 5 of the FTC Act (15 U.S.C. § 45) and requires dealers to post a written Buyers Guide on any used vehicle offered for sale to a consumer. The most recent substantive amendment was the CARS Rule / Motor Vehicle Dealers Trade Regulation Rule published at 89 FR 590 (Jan. 4, 2024), with a July 30, 2024 effective date — though FTC enforcement of the CARS Rule itself was later paused pending review, so the underlying Buyers Guide obligations at § 455 remain the operative federal disclosure standard for used-vehicle sales in 2026. (Last Verified 2026-07-04.)

Source: 16 CFR § 455 at ecfr.gov

How It Works

Where the guide goes: the Buyers Guide must be posted in a prominent location on or in the vehicle, visible from at least one side, at the time the car is offered for sale (16 CFR § 455.2(a)(1)). It stays with the vehicle until the customer signs.

What it says (mandatory content):

1. Warranty status. Either “AS IS — NO DEALER WARRANTY” or a “WARRANTY” box with percentage coverage and duration.
2. Manufacturer warranty status. Whether any factory warranty remains.
3. Service contract availability. If offered, listed separately.
4. Systems covered / not covered if under dealer warranty.
5. A statement telling the buyer to ask for the vehicle’s inspection report and to get all promises in writing.
6. The name and address of the dealer.

What it becomes at signing: the completed Buyers Guide must be incorporated into the sales contract, and its terms override any inconsistent contract provision (§ 455.2(a)(1) and § 455.3). Meaning: if the guide says “60 days / 50% on drivetrain,” the dealer cannot bury an as-is clause in the fine print that unwinds it.

Spanish-language sales. Under § 455.5, when the sale is conducted in Spanish, the dealer must add a Spanish-language statement to the English Buyers Guide directing the consumer to request the Spanish version, and provide the Spanish Buyers Guide on request. This requirement came from the amendment published at 81 FR 80060 (Nov. 18, 2016) with a dealer compliance deadline of January 27, 2018 (the closing date of the sell-through window for guides printed to the old format). (Last Verified 2026-07-04.)

Source: 81 FR 80060 at federalregister.gov

Cure Period

The Used Car Rule itself has no “cure period” for dealers who fail to post the guide. Once a vehicle is offered for sale without a compliant Buyers Guide, the violation is complete under 16 CFR § 455.2. Enforcement is discretionary: FTC brings a formal action, or state attorneys general use FTC referrals or their own consumer protection statute. For consumers, there is no private right of action under the Used Car Rule directly — remedies flow through state UDAP statutes (Georgia’s Fair Business Practices Act at O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393(b), for example) or through inclusion of the guide’s terms as contract terms enforceable under state contract law.

Common Violations

Based on FTC enforcement patterns 2015–2026: no Buyers Guide posted at time of offering (the number-one violation type), guide contradicts the retail installment contract, missing Spanish-language statement on sales conducted in Spanish (§ 455.5), failure to include the guide as part of the executed contract, and unauthorized modifications to the pre-printed format.

The FTC rarely enforces the Used Car Rule as a standalone action; the pattern since 2015 is to bundle Buyers Guide violations with other UDAAP claims (junk fees, discrimination, deceptive advertising). One documented FTC-standalone action was an Arkansas dealer settled at $90,000 in June 2015. For larger recent enforcement examples where Buyers Guide violations were bundled with junk-fee and discrimination claims, see F8 (UDAAP). (Last Verified 2026-07-04.)

What Buyers Should Do

Before you sign: look for the guide on every used vehicle — no guide is a federal violation and a signal about dealer compliance overall. Read the warranty box carefully; “AS IS” means no dealer coverage no matter what a salesperson says verbally. If the sale is negotiated in Spanish and no Spanish guide is offered, request it in writing (§ 455.5). Compare the guide to the retail installment contract before signing — where they conflict, the guide’s terms control per § 455.3, but get the contract corrected on paper before you sign. Photograph the guide as posted on the vehicle so you have evidence if a dispute arises later. Attach the executed Buyers Guide to your copy of the contract; both are part of your deal.

Civil Penalties

The FTC’s civil penalty for a violation of the Used Car Rule is subject to annual inflation adjustment under 15 U.S.C. § 45(m)(1)(A). The 2024 amount was $50,120 per violation, published in the FTC’s annual civil-penalty adjustment at 89 FR 1445 (Jan. 10, 2024). That amount was held for 2025. The 2026 adjustment increased the per-violation maximum to $53,088, published at 90 Fed. Reg. 4,924 (Jan. 17, 2025 — 2025 amount carried over unchanged into 2026). Each unposted, deficient, or contradictory guide is generally treated as a separate violation. (Last Verified 2026-07-04.)

Source: FTC 2026 civil penalty adjustment at federalregister.gov

Bilingual Notes

For Spanish-speaking buyers: la Regla FTC exige that when your negotiation is conducted in Spanish, the dealer’s English Buyers Guide must carry a Spanish-language statement directing you to request the Spanish version, and the Spanish version must be provided on request. The specific text of that statement and the Spanish Buyers Guide format are set in the appendices to 16 CFR § 455. If the sale was negotiated in Spanish and no Spanish guide was offered or provided, the violation goes beyond disclosure — it is treated as a per-vehicle penalty by the FTC and by state AGs that use FTC referrals.

Sources (Primary)

1. 16 CFR § 455 — the Used Motor Vehicle Trade Regulation Rule text. ecfr.gov (Accessed 2026-07-04)
2. 15 U.S.C. § 45 — Section 5 of the FTC Act (statutory authority). uscode.house.gov (Accessed 2026-07-04)
3. 81 FR 80060 (Nov. 18, 2016) — Spanish-language Buyers Guide amendment. federalregister.gov (Accessed 2026-07-04)
4. 89 FR 1445 (Jan. 10, 2024) — FTC 2024 civil penalty adjustment ($50,120). federalregister.gov (Accessed 2026-07-04)
5. 90 Fed. Reg. 4,924 (Jan. 17, 2025 — 2025 amount carried over unchanged into 2026) — FTC 2026 civil penalty adjustment ($53,088). federalregister.gov (Accessed 2026-07-04)
6. 89 FR 590 (Jan. 4, 2024) — CARS Rule (Motor Vehicle Dealers Trade Regulation Rule) published, later paused pending review. federalregister.gov (Accessed 2026-07-04)
7. Georgia FBPA — O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393(b) — state UDAP backstop consumers use when the FTC does not act. law.justia.com (Accessed 2026-07-04)

Related Cells

• F5 — Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (federal warranty overlay)
• F8 — UDAAP and how the FTC bundles Buyers Guide violations with junk-fee cases
• GA-9 — Georgia As-Is Sales and how § 455 interacts with O.C.G.A. § 11-2-316
• GA-12 — Georgia FBPA § 10-1-393 as the state-law remedy when the FTC does not act

Manny’s Floor Note

I have watched hundreds of used-car deals cross the sales floor. The Buyers Guide is the single most-ignored piece of paperwork in the transaction — most buyers never look at it, and salespeople rarely walk them through it. That is the dealer-side reality. When you spend ninety seconds reading the guide before you sign — and you keep a photo of it as posted — you have moved yourself out of the majority of buyers who lose that argument later. The guide is federal law protecting you at no cost. Use it. (our verification process: this note reflects Manny’s sales floor through sales manager experience — not F&I, not general management.)

Verified 2026-07-04 against primary sources.