§ 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 conditions pertaining 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, or described, at the advertised price and terms, at the advertised address. Unless otherwise specified, a motor vehicle, motorcycle, or trailer advertised for sale shall be in operable condition and, on request, the advertiser thereof shall show records to substantiate an advertised offer; (3) To advertise a new motor vehicle, motorcycle, or trailer at a price which does not include standard equipment with which it is fitted or is ordinarily fitted, without disclosing such fact, or eliminating any such equipment for the purpose of advertising a low price; (4) To advertise (a) that the advertiser's prices are always or generally lower than competitive prices and not met or equalled by others or that the advertiser always or generally undersells competitors, (b) that the advertiser's prices are always or generally the lowest or that no other dealer has lower prices, (c) that the advertiser is never undersold, or (d) that no other advertiser or dealer will have a lower price; (5) To advertise and make statements such as, Write Your Own Deal, Name Your Own Price, or Name Your Own Monthly Payments and other statements of a 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, and type size of an advertisement so as to convey or permit an erroneous impression as 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 comparative type size and style, location, and layout to prevent deception; (8) To advertise the price of a motor vehicle, motorcycle, or trailer without 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 unpaid balance unless they are the full cash selling price and to advertise price which is not the full selling price even though qualified with expressions such 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 this subdivision or in a similar meaning is the actual price paid by the advertiser to 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 of similar import in the firm name or trade style of a person offering motor vehicles, motorcycles, and trailers for sale unless such person is actually engaged in the finance business and offering only bona fide repossessed motor vehicles, motorcycles, and trailers. It shall be unlawful to use the word Repossessed in the name or trade style of a firm in the advertising of motor vehicles, motorcycles, and trailers sold by such a company unless they are bona fide repossessions sold for unpaid balances due only. Advertisers offering repossessed automobiles for sale shall be able to offer proof of repossession; (13) To advertise the term Authorized Dealer in any way as to mislead as to the make or makes of motor vehicles, motorcycles, or trailers for which a dealer is franchised to sell at retail; (14) To advertise or sell new motor vehicles, motorcycles, and trailers by any person not enfranchised by the manufacturer of the motor vehicle, motorcycle, or trailer offered without disclosing the fact in each advertisement which includes the motor vehicle, motorcycle, or trailer, and in writing in the lease or purchase agreement that the licensee or motor vehicle dealer is not enfranchised by the manufacturer for service under factory warranty provisions. No person shall transfer ownership of a motor vehicle by reassignment on a manufacturer's statement of origin unless the person is enfranchised to do so by the manufacturer of the motor vehicle; (15) To advertise used motor vehicles, motorcycles, or trailers so as to create the impression that they are new. Used motor vehicles, motorcycles, and trailers of the current and preceding model year shall be clearly identified as Used, Executive Driven, Demonstrator, or Driver Training, and lease cars, taxicabs, fleet vehicles, police motor vehicles, or motorcycles as may be the case and descriptions such as Low Mileage or Slightly Driven may also be applied only when correct. The terms demonstrator's, executive's, and official's motor vehicles, motorcycles, or trailers shall not be used unless (a) they have never been sold to a member of the public, (b) such terms describe motor vehicles, 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 authorized dealer in the same make of motor vehicle, motorcycle, or trailer. Phrases such as Last of the Remaining, Closeout, or Final Clearance and others of similar 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 current and preceding model year are offered in the same advertisement, such offers shall 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 executive of the motor vehicle, motorcycle, or trailer manufacturer or by an executive of 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 prior to the appearance of the advertisement; (17) To advertise motor vehicles, motorcycles, and trailers owned by or in the possession of dealers without the name of the dealership or in any other manner so as to convey the impression that they are being offered by private parties; (18) To advertise the term wholesale in connection with the retail offering of used motor vehicles, motorcycles, and trailers; (19) To advertise the terms auction or auction special and other terms of 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 highest bidder and under such other specific conditions as may be required in the Motor Vehicle Industry Regulation Act; (20) To advertise free driving trial unless it means a trial without obligation of any kind and that the motor vehicle, motorcycle, or trailer may be returned in the period specified without obligation or cost. A driving trial advertised on a money back basis or with privilege of exchange or applying money paid on another motor vehicle, motorcycle, or trailer shall be so explained. Terms and conditions of driving trials, free or otherwise, shall be set forth in writing for the customer; (21) To advertise (a) the term Manufacturer's Warranty unless it is used in advertising only in reference to cars covered by a bona fide factory warranty for that particular make of motor vehicle, motorcycle, or trailer. In the event only a portion of such warranty is remaining, then reference to a warranty may be used only if stated that that unused portion of the warranty is still in effect, (b) the term New Car Guarantee except in connection with new motor vehicles, motorcycles, and trailers, and (c) the terms Ninety-day Warranty, Fifty-fifty Guarantee, Three-hundred-mile Guarantee, and Six-month Warranty, unless the major terms and exclusions are sufficiently described in the advertisement; (22) To advertise representations inconsistent with or contrary to the fact that a motor vehicle, motorcycle, or trailer is sold as is and without a guarantee. The customer contract shall clearly indicate when a car will be sold with a guarantee and what that guarantee is and similarly shall clearly indicate when a car is sold as is and without a guarantee; and (23) To advertise or to make any statement, declaration, or representation in any advertisement that cannot be substantiated in fact, and the burden of proof of the factual basis for the statement, declaration, or representation shall be on the licensee or motor vehicle dealer and not on the board. History: Laws 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.