CarGurus Resolves Conflict With State of Texas

The CarGurus situation in Texas has been resolved. We reported previously that CarGurus was in the midst of a conflict with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles Enforcement Division. That state department sent a letter to CarGurus saying, “Currently advertises price drops and savings claims on the used vehicle inventory of Texas dealers in violation of 43 TEX. ADMIN. CODE § 215.262.” The problem for CarGurus was that in Texas there are very tight laws on used vehicle advertising.

Describing any sort of special deal or discount is out of the question. CarGurus product tells consumers what level of deal they will receive and the Texas DMV didn’t approve. They threatened to fine dealers who advertise on CarGurus $10,000 per day per violation. However, the situation was quickly remedied itself.

In a document obtained by DrivingSales News, the state of Texas has declared the conflict with CarGurus to be resolved. In a letter from Corrie Avlarado, an attorney for the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles Enforcement Division, the situation between the state and CarGurus is updated.

Part of the letter by Avlarado reads, “The CarGurus website was reviewed for compliance with department rule 43 TEX. ADMIN. CODE § 215.262, which prohibits any person from advertising savings, claims or discount offers on used motor vehicles. On May 8th 2015, CarGurus submitted revisions to the Texas used motor vehicle advertisements appearing on the CarGurus website. The revisions included removal of the savings data connected to the historical price information and the Instant Market Value as well as disclaimer language added to the Instant Market Value section. The department reviewed the revised content and has determined that the Texas used motor vehicle advertisements appearing on CarGurus are now in compliance with the department rule. With this decision, the case file is being closed.”

CORRECTION: We inaccurately reported that CarGurus had changed their policy to only list “Great” deals in the state of Texas. This was not accurate and we apologize for any confusion that this may have caused. CarGurus lists deals in Texas, like other states, in their appropriate tier (fair, good, great etc.).