301.567. Advertising standards, violation of, when.

MISSOURI STATUTES AND CODES

301.567. Advertising standards, violation of, when.

Advertising standards, violation of, when.

301.567. 1. For purposes of this section, a violation of any of thefollowing advertising standards shall be deemed an attempt by theadvertising dealer to obtain a fee or other compensation by fraud,deception or misrepresentation in violation of section 301.562:

(1) A motor vehicle shall not be advertised as new, either by expressterms or implication, unless it is a new motor vehicle as defined insection 301.550;

(2) When advertising any motor vehicle which is not a new motorvehicle, such advertisement must expressly identify that the motor vehicleis a used motor vehicle by express use of the term "used", or by such otherterm as is commonly understood to mean that the vehicle is used;

(3) Any terms, conditions, and disclaimers relating to the advertisedmotor vehicle's price or financing options shall be stated clearly andconspicuously. An asterisk or other reference symbol may be used to pointto a disclaimer or other information, but not be used as a means ofcontradicting or changing the meaning of an advertised statement;

(4) The expiration date, if any, of an advertised sale or vehicleprice shall be clearly and conspicuously disclosed. In the absence of suchdisclosure, the advertised sale or vehicle price shall be deemed effectiveso long as such vehicles remain in the advertising dealership's inventory;

(5) The terms "list price", "sticker price", or "suggested retailprice" shall be used only in reference to the manufacturer's suggestedretail price for new motor vehicles, and, if used, shall be accompanied bya clear and conspicuous disclosure that such terms represent themanufacturer's suggested retail price of the advertised vehicle;

(6) Terms such as "at cost", "$....... above cost", "invoice price",and "$ ..... below/over invoice" shall not be used in advertisementsbecause of the difficulty in determining a dealer's actual net cost at thetime of the sale;

(7) When the price or financing terms of a motor vehicle areadvertised, the vehicle shall be fully identified as to year, make, andmodel. In addition, in advertisements placed by individual dealers and notline-make marketing groups, the advertised price or credit terms shallinclude all charges which the buyer must pay to the dealer, exceptbuyer-selected options and state and local taxes. If a processing fee orfreight or destination charges are not included in the advertised price,the amount of any such processing fee and freight or destination chargemust be clearly and conspicuously disclosed within the advertisement;

(8) Advertisements of dealer rebates shall not be used, however, thisshall not be deemed to prohibit the advertising of manufacturer rebates, solong as all material terms of such rebates are clearly and conspicuouslydisclosed;

(9) "Free", "at no cost" shall not be used if any purchase isrequired to qualify for the free item, merchandise, or service;

(10) Bait advertising, in which an advertiser may have no intentionto sell at the prices or terms advertised, shall not be used. Baitadvertising shall include, but not be limited to, the following examples:

(a) Not having available for sale the advertised motor vehicles atthe advertised prices. If a specific vehicle is advertised, the dealershall be in possession of a reasonable supply of such vehicles, and theyshall be available at the advertised price. If the advertised vehicle isavailable only in limited numbers or only by order, such limitations shallbe stated in the advertisement;

(b) Advertising a motor vehicle at a specified price, including suchterms as "as low as $.......", but having available for sale only vehiclesequipped with dealer-added cost options which increase the selling priceabove the advertised price;

(11) Any reference to monthly payments, down payments, or otherreference to financing or leasing information shall be accompanied by aclear and conspicuous disclosure of the following:

(a) Whether the payment or other information relates to a financingor a lease transaction;

(b) If the payment or other information relates to a financingtransaction, the minimum down payment, annual percentage interest rate, andnumber of payments necessary to obtain the advertised payment amount mustbe disclosed, in addition to any special qualifications required forobtaining the advertised terms including, but not limited to, first-timebuyer discounts, college graduate discounts, and a statement concerningwhether the advertised terms are subject to credit approval;

(c) If the payment or other information relates to a leasetransaction, the total amount due from the purchaser at signing with suchcosts broken down and identified by category, lease term expressed innumber of months, whether the lease is closed-end or open-end, and totalcost to the lessee over the lease term in dollars;

(12) Any advertisement which states or implies that the advertisingdealer has a special arrangement or relationship with the distributor ormanufacturer, as compared to similarly situated dealers, shall not be used;

(13) Any advertisement which, in the circumstances under which it ismade or applied, is false, deceptive, or misleading shall not be used;

(14) No abbreviations for industry words or phrases shall be used inany advertisement unless such abbreviations are accompanied by the fullyspelled or spoken words or phrases.

2. The requirements of this section shall apply regardless of whethera dealer advertises by means of print, broadcast, or electronic media, ordirect mail. If the advertisement is by means of a broadcast or printmedia, a dealer may provide the disclaimers and disclosures required undersubdivision (3) of subsection 1 of this section by reference to an Internetweb page or toll-free telephone number containing the information requiredto be disclosed.

3. Dealers shall clearly and conspicuously identify themselves ineach advertisement by use of a dealership name which complies withsubsection 6 of section 301.560.