Vehicle Pricing Transparency: Preparing for the California CARS Act

Pricing transparency is quickly moving up the list of buzzed-about terms in automotive retail this year right after affordability and AI. 

Both evolving regulatory requirements and, perhaps just as importantly, rising consumer expectations are putting greater focus on how dealerships advertise and communicate vehicle pricing throughout the entire purchase process.

At the federal level, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has continued to focus on deceptive pricing and advertising practices in automotive retail. The FTC’s Combating Auto Retail Scams (CARS) Rule was ultimately vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, yet the FTC retains broad enforcement authority under Section 5 of the FTC Act, which dealers should remain mindful of.

At the state level, California has taken its own action. The Combating Auto Retail Scams (CARS) Act introduces new requirements affecting how dealers communicate vehicle pricing and financing information to consumers. Key provisions of the law are set to take effect Oct. 1. 2026, bringing pricing transparency to the forefront for California and the rest of the country.

Pricing Transparency Is Increasingly a Customer Experience Issue

Regulatory requirements are only part of the story for dealers focusing on transparent pricing.

Today’s consumers expect the price they see online to remain clear and consistent as they move from a dealership website or third-party listing into the buying process. When vehicle pricing, discounts, incentives or other information differs from one channel to another, it can create confusion and erode trust before a customer ever reaches the showroom. Maintaining that consistency isn’t always simple.

Vehicle inventory changes quickly. Pricing strategies change. Incentives can fluctuate. Vehicle information may need to appear across dealership websites, digital retail experiences, advertising and third-party marketplaces. That makes accurate inventory and pricing data an operational priority and a growing area of regulatory focus.

Create Greater Consistency Across the Inventory Process

Marketing inventory quickly has proven to move units faster. Pricing transparency means displaying the accurate price the moment a vehicle hits your lot. 

CDK Vehicle Inventory Suite brings inventory management and pricing capabilities together to give dealers greater visibility and control over their inventory by: 

• Identifying nonnegotiable dealer fees and add-on costs that may need to be disclosed in listings
• Allowing dealers to configure those fees to maintain more consistent pricing across their own website as well as syndicated vehicle listings 
• Managing these fees in one place, reducing the need to manually update pricing information across multiple listing platforms
• Presenting clearer, more transparent vehicle pricing

By centralizing key inventory and pricing workflows, dealerships can gain greater control over vehicle information from the start, helping deliver more consistent data as each vehicle moves through the marketing funnel and across customer-facing channels.

These capabilities are designed to help dealerships reduce pricing discrepancies, improve operational control, and support the transparent shopping experience consumers expect.

For California dealerships preparing for the Oct. 1 requirements, it may be worth reviewing the processes and technology used to manage vehicle pricing and inventory information as part of broader readiness planning.

Increase Transparency and Protect Profits

Dealers can create more consistent pricing strategies, improve accountability and make informed decisions that maximize profitability across their inventory if they consolidate costs, recondition estimates, fees and pricing data into a single view. Learn more about the CDK Vehicle Inventory Suite.