Cars.com, LLC’s (“CARS”) marketplace connects its dealership customers (“Dealer”) with consumers to facilitate a seamless car buying experience. CARS remains an industry leader that protects the integrity of its Cars.com marketplace (“Marketplace”) by encouraging and enabling its Dealers to provide price transparency and facilitating a process in which Cars.com consumers can provide feedback on Dealers’ listings and their consumer experience. This Cars.com Vehicle Listing Policy (“Listing Policy”) sets forth the terms and conditions to which Dealers must adhere when listing vehicles on Cars.com and are incorporated in the the Cars.com Terms and Conditions: https://www.carscommerce.inc/marketplace-terms-conditions/.
Cars.com also requires Dealers listing on its site to understand the laws that protect consumers who purchase goods or services from businesses, which include but are not limited to laws implemented to prevent unfair and deceptive advertising practices, (“UDAP” laws).
Dealer Obligations and Responsibilities
Dealers that list on Cars.com are solely responsible for appropriate and transparent listings, and Dealers are solely responsible for complying with applicable governing regulations. The Listing Policy generally requires Dealers to comply with the following obligations and responsibilities, including but not limited to:
- GOVERNING ADVERTISING LAWS: Dealers must understand vehicle advertising laws and related services and product sales regulations in the states in which Dealers conduct business. These laws include but are not limited to federal and state UDAP laws.
- ON LOCATION VEHICLES: Dealers must only list vehicles that are currently available for purchase at the Dealer’s location listed on the Dealer Profile Page. Dealers with multiple dealership locations are responsible for ensuring that Dealer listings only reflect the inventory at each specific location that is advertising with Cars.com. Dealers must promptly remove all sold or unavailable inventory from the listing feed as soon the Dealer sells the vehicle or the vehicle becomes unavailable.
- TOTAL VEHICLE LIST PRICE: Except as permitted by applicable local, state and federal regulations, Dealers must provide the total and comprehensive list price that the consumer would pay to purchase the vehicle (the “Total Vehicle List Price”). Dealers may exclude governmental titles, discounts, taxes, fees and any other excludable fees (pursuant to applicable regulations) from the Total Vehicle List Price but Dealers must disclose these fees in the Listing Notes. Dealers must list each vehicle for a monetary price in United States dollars. Dealers cannot list vehicles for $0.00 (zero dollars) or refer to other sources for pricing information including but not limited to “Call Dealer for Pricing.” Dealers cannot require pricing conditional including but not limited to dealer financing, down payments or credit incentives or pricing that is available to selected individuals including but not limited to employee or friends and family discounts. The Dealer must ensure the Total Vehicle List Price is up to date.
- CONTENT REQUIREMENTS: If a Dealer listing contains media content, including images and videos, the media must accurately depict the vehicle the Dealer is selling (“Content”). Dealers cannot use Content to promote special offers, prices other than the price offered in the listing, or to model potential payments or financing. Dealers must only use Content that Dealer owns or has a valid license to post on the Cars.com site. If the Content contains individual images/media, the Dealer must have each individual’s written consent to use the individual’s name, image, and likeness usage on the Cars.com site as required pursuant to Cars.com Terms and Conditions.
Deal Badging
Cars.com lists Dealer vehicles on the Marketplace in order to generate consumer leads for Dealers. As a technique to generate leads and to provide the Cars.com consumer with valuable vehicle shopping information, Cars.com will, for certain vehicles, and solely in Cars.com’s discretion, evaluate the Total Vehicle List Price and offer an evaluation of the vehicle sale based on known factors including geographic location and comparable vehicle prices with same or similar trim, mileage and usage (“Deal Badging”). In order for the Deal Badging process to maintain integrity, Dealers must provide accurate Total Vehicle List Prices. If Dealers fail to provide accurate Total Vehicle List Prices, then Cars.com, in its sole discretion, may refrain from issuing a Deal Badging for a Dealer’s vehicle or the Dealer’s entire inventory. Dealer is solely responsible for any damages or liability related to inaccurate Total Vehicle List Prices, including any liability or damages that Cars.com incurs, without limitation of liability.
Violation of the Listing Policy
Dealers are solely responsible for the integrity of their vehicle listings. Cars.com has certain mechanisms to identify limited listing concerns and at its discretion will provide Dealers with information regarding their non-compliant listings. Cars.com also reviews concerns from regulatory agencies and complies with government mandates to provide vehicle listing information for their investigations. Cars.com also reviews vehicle listing concerns for consumers and other Dealer customers. Cars.com allows any person or party with a listing concern to contact siteadherence@cars.com. All listing concerns must include 1) the name and location of the Dealer, 2) the URL link to the listing concern, and 3) any other documentation showing a UDAP or Listing Policy violation.
While Cars.com will endeavor to provide Dealers with notice and a remediation period, in certain instances Cars.com may remove the listing concern without notice. Cars.com will base its decision to remove listings based on potential or actual violations of the law or this Listing Policy, harm to consumers, and/or harm to the Cars.com reputation. If Cars.com, in its sole discretion, determines that a Dealer repeatedly provides inaccurate Total Vehicle List Prices in a manner that will not only jeopardize the Dealer but also places Cars.com and its consumers at risk, then Cars.com may in its sole discretion suspend the Dealer from listing vehicles on Cars.com and, if it allows the Dealer to reinstate listings, may require the Dealer to agree to additional safeguards that will ensure listing compliance.
Last Revised: January 12, 2026
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