Why advertising compliance is a 2026 problem, not a 2019 one

Most of the enforcement examples dealers quote are old: a 2018 “as is, where is” case, a 2019 odometer warning, a 2020 Papakura fine. That history matters, but it has made some dealers complacent, assuming the Commission has moved on. It has not. Motor vehicle sales and vehicle finance sit on the Commission’s published enforcement priorities for 2025 and into 2026, and recent cases involved six-figure penalties and compensation orders against finance-linked dealers.

The practical risk is higher now than it was five years ago for one simple reason: almost every claim a dealer makes about a vehicle now lives online, permanently, in a form the Commission can screenshot. A misleading odometer claim on a printed forecourt sign used to disappear when the sign came down. The same claim on a Trade Me listing, a Facebook ad or your website stays indexed, cached and attributable long after the car has sold.

The Consumer Information Notice: what has to be in every used car ad

If your dealership sells more than six vehicles in 12 months, you are legally a registered motor vehicle trader under the Motor Vehicle Sales Act 2003, and every used vehicle you advertise needs a Consumer Information Notice (CIN). This is not a forecourt-only requirement. It applies to vehicle listing descriptions on your website, on Trade Me and anywhere else the car is offered for sale.

A valid CIN needs to show:

• Odometer reading at the time of the ad, stated accurately
• Vehicle history, including any money owing registered against the vehicle
• Cash price, inclusive of GST and any registration or licensing costs
• Dealer details, including trading name, business address and registration number
• Condition disclosures relevant to the specific vehicle

For online listings, the CIN itself (or a clear link to it) needs to sit with the ad for that specific vehicle, not buried on a generic terms page. Failing to display a CIN is an infringement offence under the Fair Trading Act, and the Commission has prosecuted dealers over it even when the underlying sale was otherwise fine.

“As is, where is” does not mean what dealers think it means

This phrase shows up constantly in used car ads, usually as a way to signal a lower price for a vehicle with an older warrant of fitness. The problem is that a meaningful share of dealers use it as shorthand for “no comeback,” and that is not what it does. The Commission has stated explicitly that a trader using “as is, where is” was attempting to avoid its obligations under the Consumer Guarantees Act, and a Papakura dealer was fined $67,500 partly over this exact issue.

“As is, where is” does not remove a registered dealer’s obligations under the Consumer Guarantees Act or the Fair Trading Act. It generally only signals that the vehicle’s WOF is older than one month.

If your listings or sales staff use this phrase to suggest a buyer has no rights after purchase, that wording is a liability, not a protection. The fix is straightforward: use the phrase only for its correct, narrow meaning, and never pair it with language implying the statutory guarantees do not apply.

Odometer and condition claims: the easiest way to get fined

Odometer disputes account for a disproportionate share of car dealer advertising rules enforcement in New Zealand, because they are so easy to get wrong and so easy to prove wrong. A Mosgiel dealer was warned after advertising a car at 160,000km when the actual reading was 166,000km. The gap does not need to be large or deliberate to breach the Fair Trading Act. It just needs to be inaccurate.

Before any vehicle goes live, check these against the physical car, not against what the previous system, trade-in paperwork or a staff member’s memory says:

1. Odometer reading matches the dash exactly, checked on the day the ad is published
2. Service history claims (“full service history”, “dealer serviced”) are backed by actual records you hold
3. Condition language (“immaculate”, “one owner”, “no accidents”) reflects what your own checks confirmed, not what the trade-in customer told you
4. Warranty and guarantee claims describe the actual product, not a blanket “full warranty” when it only covers specific components

Finance advertising: where CCCFA risk meets Fair Trading Act risk

Dealers who advertise finance options, weekly repayments or “no deposit” deals are now operating in the area the Commission has flagged hardest for 2026. The regulator’s own August 2025 advertising guidelines use a motor vehicle dealer finance ad as a worked example of what not to do, and a Wellington trader was ordered to compensate borrowers after charges under the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act.

If your dealership runs a car dealership finance calculator or quotes weekly repayment figures in ads, every figure needs to be a genuine representative example, not a best-case rate most buyers will never qualify for. Two things to check specifically:

• Advertised interest rates reflect what a typical approved applicant actually receives, not your lowest tier
• Weekly or monthly repayment figures disclose the loan term, deposit assumption and whether fees are included

Fair Trading Act vs Consumer Guarantees Act: who enforces what

Dealers often use these two names interchangeably, but they cover different things and matter differently for your advertising.

Law	What it covers	Relevant to ads because
Fair Trading Act 1986	Misleading or deceptive conduct, false representations, CIN display	Covers the actual wording and claims in your listings
Consumer Guarantees Act 1993	Statutory guarantees on quality, fitness for purpose, repair rights	Cannot be excluded or diminished by disclaimers in your ads
Motor Vehicle Sales Act 2003	Trader registration, CIN requirements	Sets who must register and what must appear in listings

The practical point: no wording in your advertising, website terms or sale paperwork can contract out of the Consumer Guarantees Act. Dealers who try, whether through “as is, where is”, “trade price, no warranty” or similar phrasing, create exactly the kind of evidence the Commission has used in past prosecutions.

What a compliance failure costs beyond the fine

The financial penalty is rarely the full cost. A Fair Trading Act prosecution or a Commission warning letter becomes public, and it lands at the same time a buyer is likely posting about their experience anyway. Dealerships that already have to manage a public dispute over a bad review know how quickly a single complaint about misrepresentation can spread across Google Business Profile, Facebook and word of mouth in a local market. An advertising compliance issue is often the root cause of exactly that kind of reputational damage, not a separate problem.

A pre-publish checklist for every vehicle listing

Before any listing goes live on your website, Trade Me or social channels, run it through this check:

1. CIN is attached or linked, and every field on it matches the physical vehicle
2. Odometer reading was checked against the dash on the day of publishing
3. Any “as is, where is” wording is used only for its correct meaning, never to imply no buyer rights
4. Condition and history claims are backed by records you can produce if challenged
5. Finance figures in the ad show a genuine representative rate and disclose the loan term
6. Price shown is inclusive of GST and on-road costs, with no hidden add-ons revealed only at the sale desk

Frequently asked questions

Do these car dealer advertising rules apply to Facebook Marketplace and social ads, or just Trade Me?

They apply everywhere you advertise a specific vehicle for sale, including your own website, Trade Me, Facebook Marketplace and paid social ads. The Fair Trading Act does not carve out an exemption for social media.

Does “as is, where is” ever legally limit a buyer’s rights in NZ?

No. A registered dealer cannot use that phrase, or any other disclaimer, to remove a buyer’s rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act. Its only accepted meaning relates to the vehicle’s WOF status.

What happens if a CIN is missing from an online listing?

Failing to display a CIN is an infringement offence under the Fair Trading Act, and the Commission can issue an infringement notice for each vehicle affected or pursue court action for a pattern of breaches.

Who counts as a “registered motor vehicle trader” under the Act?

Anyone who sells more than six vehicles in a 12-month period, whether from a yard, a website or purely online, is treated as a motor vehicle trader and must register and comply with the Act’s disclosure requirements.