About this episode

The episode discusses the FTC's crackdown on deceptive dealership pricing practices and shares a personal story related to car buying.

Think hidden fees, fake discounts, rebate games, mandatory add-ons, and vehicles advertised at prices you can't actually get are just part of buying a car? The FTC doesn't think so. In this episode, The Car Chick® breaks down the six dealership advertising and pricing practices the FTC says may violate federal consumer protection laws. But before we get into the legal stuff, I share a real-life dealership fiasco that happened while shopping for a military family's Ford Transit van — a deal th...

People in this episode

Host: LeeAnn Shattuck

Topics covered

• dealer pricing
• consumer protection
• automotive advertising
• hidden fees
• FTC regulations

Keywords

• dealer pricing
• FTC
• hidden fees
• car buying
• consumer protection
• automotive
• advertising practices

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: FTC

Products: Ford Transit van

More episodes of The Straight Shift with The Car Chick

• The New Cold War: Why Your Car Is Caught in the Middle · July 15, 2026 · 32 min
• Will Your Next Car Be a Blank Slate? · July 1, 2026 · 35 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Straight Shift with The Car Chick podcast page.