FTC Warns Dealers Over Advertising, The $1K Negotiator, BYD Eyes North America

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Episode #1294: The FTC puts 97 dealership groups on notice over deceptive advertising, a former car salesman is making $200K a month helping car buyers negotiate deals, and BYD is quietly building a path into North America

The Federal Trade Commission is sending warning letters to 97 dealership groups over advertising practices the agency says may violate federal law. The FTC says transparent pricing is a priority and outlined six specific practices it considers illegal in vehicle advertising.

• The letter lists six examples of illegal dealership behaviors including:
  • Advertising a price that does not reflect all required fees
  • Advertising a price that reflects rebates or discounts not available to all consumers
  • Advertising a price that fails to take into account the amount of an additional required down payment
  • Conditioning the advertised price on consumers using dealer financing
  • Requiring consumers to buy additional items not reflected in the advertised price
  • Advertising unavailable or nonexistent vehicles.
• The FTC said it is “concerned” these dealer groups may be engaging in improper advertising practices, though it emphasized the letters do not represent conclusions of wrongdoing.

Meet the guy who spent a decade on your side of the desk — and now uses everything he learned to work against it. Tomi Mikula has built a thriving business negotiating car deals for buyers, and he's got 600,000 followers watching every move.

• • Tomi Mikula, a former car salesman and F&I pro, charges buyers a flat $1,000 fee to negotiate their next vehicle purchase on their behalf.
  • His company, Delivrd, has a team of five negotiators and generates about $200,000 in revenue per month — plus a social media following of 600,000 across TikTok and YouTube.
  • "You're hiring a middleman to deal with the middleman to make the middleman more efficient," Mikula said.

The world's largest EV maker isn't just knocking on North America's door anymore — it's looking for a key. BYD is studying Canada for a wholly owned manufacturing plant and signaling it's open to acquiring a struggling legacy automaker to fast-track its global expansion.

• BYD Executive Vice President Stella Li confirmed the company is studying Canada for a wholly owned factory — and made clear it has no interest in a joint venture, saying "I don't think a JV will work."
• Li said BYD is open to acquiring a legacy automaker
• BYD is already one of three finalists bidding for a 230,000-unit Nissan-Mercedes plant in Mexico, but is still avoiding the U.S. market, with Li calling it a "complicated environment."

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