Overview
The California Combating Auto Retail Scams (CARS) Act (SB 766), operative October 1, 2026, imposes additional advertising, pricing-disclosure, and record-retention requirements on California-licensed dealers, layered on top of the FTC's regulatory framework. Fullpath prioritizes helping dealers navigate these additional regulations to reduce exposure risk.
Some of Fullpath's CARS controls overlap with our FTC tools, while others are engineered specifically for California's unique mandates. This article explains the guardrails Fullpath provides and where to learn more about each one.
How It Works
Key Fullpath guardrails for California dealerships include:
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48-Hour Window Ad Accuracy: Fullpath automatically updates vehicle information included in advertisements based on the dealership's website or inventory feed within 48 hours.
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Complete Term Transparency: Fullpath automatically adds the life of loan — how much the shopper will pay over the entire loan or lease — to all Audience Activation email and text message campaigns sent by dealerships located in California.
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AI Agent Compliance: Fullpath's Lead Handling AI agent automatically adheres to CARS compliance if a dealership is located in California, subject to the dealership's settings. Learn more
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Price Display in Vehicle-Specific Ads: Fullpath offers a setting that, when turned on, ensures a price always appears in any ad, message, or offer that references a specific vehicle. Learn more
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Two-Year Records: Upon request, Fullpath can provide records of all chat, specials, email, and SMS communications from the last two years. The latest version of any Digital Advertising campaign active during the last two years can be accessed on demand through the Fullpath dashboard. Learn more
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Fullpath's platform help us meet California's CARS total-price disclosure requirement?
Fullpath approaches CARS compliance in multiple ways. In Lead Handling, the AI agent is configured with a dedicated FTC and California CARS Act guideline set that you review and customize during setup, so its automated responses are written to meet the requirement.
For all other products, you have the option to automatically include the vehicle's total price in every VIN-level communication, so any message about a specific vehicle carries the total price with it.
Does Lead Handling include the total price in the first response about a specific vehicle?
Yes. When California dealership is checked in the agent's FTC & California CARS Act settings, the agent includes the vehicle's full total price the first time a specific vehicle, a monetary amount, or a financing term is mentioned.
Where does the price come from?
From the same all-in pricing used for FTC compliance. Whether your feed provides an all-in price or you itemize your fees for Fullpath to sum, that all-in figure is the one used here, so the total price a shopper sees is the number you set.
Which channels does this apply to?
All of them — email, text, website, and ads. Whenever a communication is specific to a VIN, the all-in price is included across every channel.
Is any setup required on our side?
Yes. Configure your all-in pricing and fees so the total price is accurate, and review your FTC and CARS guidelines during agent setup. If you prefer not to display the all-in price, there is a configuration option to turn that off.
We recommend that dealers consult their own legal counsel regarding their specific obligations under California and federal law.