60-1411.03 Unauthorized acts. - Nebraska Statutes

60-1411.03. Unauthorized acts.It shall be unlawful for any licensee or motor vehicle dealer to engage,directly or indirectly, in the following acts:(1) To advertise and offer any year, make, engine size, model, type,equipment, price, trade-in allowance, or terms or make other claims or conditionspertaining to the sale, leasing, or rental of motor vehicles, motorcycles,and trailers which are not truthful and clearly set forth;(2) To advertise for sale, lease, or rental a specific motor vehicle,motorcycle, or trailer which is not in the possession of the dealer, owner,or advertiser and willingly shown and sold, as advertised, illustrated, ordescribed, at the advertised price and terms, at the advertised address. Unlessotherwise specified, a motor vehicle, motorcycle, or trailer advertised forsale shall be in operable condition and, on request, the advertiser thereofshall show records to substantiate an advertised offer;(3) To advertise a new motor vehicle, motorcycle, or trailer at a pricewhich does not include standard equipment with which it is fitted or is ordinarilyfitted, without disclosing such fact, or eliminating any such equipment forthe purpose of advertising a low price;(4) To advertise (a) that the advertiser's prices are always or generallylower than competitive prices and not met or equalled by others or that theadvertiser always or generally undersells competitors, (b) that the advertiser'sprices are always or generally the lowest or that no other dealer has lowerprices, (c) that the advertiser is never undersold, or (d) that no other advertiseror dealer will have a lower price;(5) To advertise and make statements such as, Write Your Own Deal, NameYour Own Price, or Name Your Own Monthly Payments and other statements ofa similar nature;(6) To advertise by making disparaging comparisons with competitors'services, quality, price, products, or business methods;(7) To advertise by making the layout, headlines, illustrations, andtype size of an advertisement so as to convey or permit an erroneous impressionas to which motor vehicle, motorcycle, or trailer or motor vehicles, motorcycles,or trailers are offered at featured prices. No advertised offer, expression,or display of price, terms, downpayment, trade-in allowance, cash difference,or savings shall be misleading by itself, and any qualification to such offer,expression, or display shall be clearly and conspicuously set forth in comparativetype size and style, location, and layout to prevent deception;(8) To advertise the price of a motor vehicle, motorcycle, or trailerwithout including all charges which the customer must pay for the motor vehicle,motorcycle, or trailer, excepting state and local taxes and license, title,and other fees. It shall be unlawful to advertise prices described as unpaidbalance unless they are the full cash selling price and to advertise pricewhich is not the full selling price even though qualified with expressionssuch as with trade, with acceptable trade, or other similar words;(9) To advertise as at cost, below cost, below invoice, or wholesale,unless the term used is strictly construed that the word cost as used in thissubdivision or in a similar meaning is the actual price paid by the advertiserto the manufacturer for the motor vehicle, motorcycle, or trailer so advertised;(10) To advertise claims that Everybody Financed, No Credit Rejected,or We Finance Anyone and other similar affirmative statements;(11) To advertise a specific trade-in amount or range of amounts;(12) To advertise the words Finance, Loan, or Discounts or others ofsimilar import in the firm name or trade style of a person offering motorvehicles, motorcycles, and trailers for sale unless such person is actuallyengaged in the finance business and offering only bona fide repossessed motorvehicles, motorcycles, and trailers. It shall be unlawful to use the wordRepossessed in the name or trade style of a firm in the advertising of motorvehicles, motorcycles, and trailers sold by such a company unless they arebona fide repossessions sold for unpaid balances due only. Advertisers offeringrepossessed automobiles for sale shall be able to offer proof of repossession;(13) To advertise the term Authorized Dealer in any way as to misleadas to the make or makes of motor vehicles, motorcycles, or trailers for whicha dealer is franchised to sell at retail;(14) To advertise or sell new motor vehicles, motorcycles, and trailersby any person not enfranchised by the manufacturer of the motor vehicle, motorcycle,or trailer offered without disclosing the fact in each advertisement whichincludes the motor vehicle, motorcycle, or trailer, and in writing in thelease or purchase agreement that the licensee or motor vehicle dealer is notenfranchised by the manufacturer for service under factory warranty provisions.No person shall transfer ownership of a motor vehicle by reassignment on amanufacturer's statement of origin unless the person is enfranchised to doso by the manufacturer of the motor vehicle;(15) To advertise used motor vehicles, motorcycles, or trailers so asto create the impression that they are new. Used motor vehicles, motorcycles,and trailers of the current and preceding model year shall be clearly identifiedas Used, Executive Driven, Demonstrator, or Driver Training, and lease cars,taxicabs, fleet vehicles, police motor vehicles, or motorcycles as may bethe case and descriptions such as Low Mileage or Slightly Driven may alsobe applied only when correct. The terms demonstrator's, executive's, and official'smotor vehicles, motorcycles, or trailers shall not be used unless (a) theyhave never been sold to a member of the public, (b) such terms describe motorvehicles, motorcycles, or trailers used by new motor vehicle, motorcycle,or trailer dealers or their employees for demonstrating performance ability,and (c) such vehicles are advertised for sale as such only by an authorizeddealer in the same make of motor vehicle, motorcycle, or trailer. Phrasessuch as Last of the Remaining, Closeout, or Final Clearance and others ofsimilar import shall not be used in advertising used motor vehicles, motorcycles,and trailers so as to convey the impression that the motor vehicles, motorcycles,and trailers offered are holdover new motor vehicles, motorcycles, and trailers.When new and used motor vehicles, motorcycles, and trailers of the currentand preceding model year are offered in the same advertisement, such offersshall be clearly separated by description, layout, and art treatment;(16) To advertise executives' or officials' motor vehicles, motorcycles,or trailers unless they have been used exclusively by the personnel or executiveof the motor vehicle, motorcycle, or trailer manufacturer or by an executiveof any authorized dealer of the same make thereof and such motor vehicles,motorcycles, and trailers have not been sold to a member of the public priorto the appearance of the advertisement;(17) To advertise motor vehicles, motorcycles, and trailers owned byor in the possession of dealers without the name of the dealership or in anyother manner so as to convey the impression that they are being offered byprivate parties;(18) To advertise the term wholesale in connection with the retail offeringof used motor vehicles, motorcycles, and trailers;(19) To advertise the terms auction or auction special and other termsof similar import unless such terms are used in connection with motor vehicles,motorcycles, and trailers offered or sold at a bona fide auction to the highestbidder and under such other specific conditions as may be required in the Motor Vehicle Industry RegulationAct;(20) To advertise free driving trial unless it means a trial withoutobligation of any kind and that the motor vehicle, motorcycle, or trailermay be returned in the period specified without obligation or cost. A drivingtrial advertised on a money back basis or with privilege of exchange or applyingmoney paid on another motor vehicle, motorcycle, or trailer shall be so explained.Terms and conditions of driving trials, free or otherwise, shall be set forthin writing for the customer;(21) To advertise (a) the term Manufacturer's Warranty unless it isused in advertising only in reference to cars covered by a bona fide factorywarranty for that particular make of motor vehicle, motorcycle, or trailer.In the event only a portion of such warranty is remaining, then referenceto a warranty may be used only if stated that that unused portion of the warrantyis still in effect, (b) the term New Car Guarantee except in connection withnew motor vehicles, motorcycles, and trailers, and (c) the terms Ninety-dayWarranty, Fifty-fifty Guarantee, Three-hundred-mile Guarantee, and Six-monthWarranty, unless the major terms and exclusions are sufficiently describedin the advertisement;(22) To advertise representations inconsistent with or contrary to thefact that a motor vehicle, motorcycle, or trailer is sold as is and withouta guarantee. The customer contract shall clearly indicate when a car willbe sold with a guarantee and what that guarantee is and similarly shall clearlyindicate when a car is sold as is and without a guarantee; and(23) To advertise or to make any statement, declaration, or representationin any advertisement that cannot be substantiated in fact, and the burdenof proof of the factual basis for the statement, declaration, or representationshall be on the licensee or motor vehicle dealer and not on the board. SourceLaws 1971, LB 768, § 13; Laws 1972, LB 1335, § 10; Laws 1974, LB 754, § 11; Laws 1980, LB 820, § 3; Laws 1984, LB 825, § 18; Laws 1989, LB 280, § 3; Laws 1995, LB 564, § 6; Laws 1997, LB 271, § 33; Laws 2010, LB816, § 68.