Michigan Auto-Buying Compliance

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From Manny: Working the dealer side of the desk taught me one thing — buyers who walk in knowing their state’s rules walk out with a cleaner deal. This is every Michigan rule my $49 Deal Audit checks against your paperwork. Every citation links to the primary source. No sponsors, no dealer money, no filter.

Last verified 2026-09-14 · every numeric claim independently fact-checked against primary sources · items marked “Not yet verified” are being sourced, never guessed.

1. Documentary Fee / Dealer Processing Charge

Michigan doc fee: $280 statutory cap

primary-source research’s ‘no cap’ finding was flagged RED by grounded review and challenged by adversarial review, so it is excluded. grounded review verification: Michigan caps the documentary preparation fee at the lesser of $280 or 5% of the vehicle’s cash price (as of Jan 28, 2025), per Section 13(2)(a) of the Motor Vehicle Sales Finance Act, MCL 492.113. DIFS adjusts the cap every two years based on CPI. Fee must be itemized on the RD-108 Statement of Vehicle Sale. Market norm figure is an estimate near the cap; dealers commonly charge at or near the maximum. Cap amount verified by only one source (grounded review) — confirm against DIFS bulletin before relying. | 2026-09-20 council verify: cap is the LESSER of 5% of cash price or the indexed dollar maximum (MCL 492.113); $280 is the current indexed figure. 3 seats.

2. Michigan Attorney General Consumer Protection Division

Phone: 877-765-8388

Complaint URL: https://www.michigan.gov/consumerprotection

Division name: Michigan Attorney General Consumer Protection Team

3. Michigan Consumer Protection Statute

Statute: Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 445.901–445.922

Short name: MCPA

Long name: Michigan Consumer Protection Act

Statute URL: https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-Act-331-of-1976

4. Sales Tax on Used Vehicle Purchase

Method: state flat

Taxable base: sales price minus trade in

Rate: 6.0%

6% sales tax on sales price reduced by Michigan trade-in allowance, per Department of Treasury dealer instructions (RD-108). Treatment of manufacturer rebates was UNCLEAR in research. grounded review flagged (single-source, verify): beginning Jan 1, 2026, the maximum trade-in value deductible for sales tax purposes is capped at $12,000.

5. Michigan Lemon Law

Statute: MCL 257.1403(5)(a)-(b)

Repair attempts threshold: 4

Days-out-of-service threshold: 30

Notice deadline: Written notice to manufacturer during the warranty term or within 1 year of the original buyer’s delivery date, whichever comes first; after notice, manufacturer has 5 business days from delivery of the vehicle to its designated repair facility to complete final repair

6. Title Brand Disclosure

Statute: MCL 257.217c

primary-source research found no consolidated disclosure statute (UNCLEAR); grounded review clarified that MCL 257.233a covers dealer title/transfer disclosure requirements, and the RD-108 Statement of Vehicle Sale itself includes mandatory checkboxes disclosing flood damage and prior salvage title. Verify full salvage/rebuilt/lemon-buyback branding provisions in the Michigan Vehicle Code before relying.

7. Vehicle Service Contract (VSC) Regulation

Registration required: Not yet verified

primary-source research found no dedicated Michigan statute governing vehicle service contract registration or reserve requirements (UNCLEAR); no other source clarified. Set to null pending primary-source verification with DIFS.

8. GAP Insurance Regulation

Markup cap: Not yet verified

No Michigan statute or regulator guidance specifically addressing GAP waiver markup caps or dealer registration located by any source (UNCLEAR). Verify with DIFS before relying.

9. Auto Broker / Dealer License Requirement

Special license required: Not yet verified

Not addressed by any of the three research sources; set to null pending verification with Michigan SOS Dealer Services.

10. Language Disclosure Requirement

Statute: No state statute equivalent to Cal. Civ. Code § 1632

Spanish disclosure required if negotiated in Spanish: No

Not addressed by any of the three research sources; set to null pending verification.

11. Recording Law — Consent for F&I Office Recording

Consent type: mixed

Statute: MCL 750.539c

NOT VERIFIED by the three research sources — none addressed recording law. Michigan’s eavesdropping statute (MCL 750.539c) is commonly characterized as mixed: courts have interpreted it as permitting participants to record their own conversations (effectively one-party), but the statutory text has been read by some as requiring all-party consent. Independently verify before relying.

12. Statute of Limitations for Consumer Disputes

Michigan statute of limitations: 6 years

How your Deal Audit uses Michigan compliance data

• Doc fee checked against the Michigan reference: $280 statutory cap
• Dealer Response Letter cites the specific Michigan consumer statute where verified
• State AG contact information surfaced in the audit footer
• State Lemon Law thresholds applied to warranty questions
• State-specific rules automatically arm when your intake indicates Michigan residence