OMVIC advertising rules in plain English: all-in pricing and the disclosures that catch dealers

Two areas of the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act generate more dealer discipline than everything else combined: how you advertise the price, and what you disclose in writing. Both rules are genuinely simple — and both are broken constantly, usually by dealers who half-know them. Here's the whole picture in plain English, with the official sources linked so you can verify every claim.

The all-in price rule

Since 2010, Ontario has required all-in price advertising: if you advertise a price for a vehicle, that price must include every fee and charge you intend to collect. Only two things may sit outside it — HST and licensing (the actual vehicle-registration cost) — and the ad must clearly say they're not included.

Things that must be inside the advertised number:

• Administration and documentation fees;
• Government levies (air tax, the Ontario green levy, luxury tax);
• Pre-installed extras you charge for — nitrogen, etching/theft deterrent, tire packages, warranties;
• Freight/PDI on new vehicles, fuel, and anything else mandatory.

The companion rule is itemization: every fee bundled into the all-in price must be listed separately on the bill of sale, so the buyer can see exactly what they paid for. And the sanity check that keeps you safe: the advertised number, the negotiated number, and the contract number should be the same number, plus tax and licensing.

The safety certification wrinkle

Certification catches dealers in both directions. If you intend to charge for a safety certificate, the ad must say certification is available and at what price — and that charge can't be mandatory. If a current safety standards certificate has already been issued for the vehicle, you can't sell it as-is at all. Decide certified-or-as-is per vehicle, price it accordingly, and keep the ad, the contract, and the file telling the same story.

Selling as-is: the exact drill

As-is sales are legal, but the As-Is Sales Guideline is prescriptive: the contract must carry the prescribed as-is statement in bold type, and the buyer must initial it. The statement says, in substance, that the vehicle is not represented as roadworthy, may not be fit for transportation, may need substantial repairs, and may not be registrable in its current condition. Skip the statement — or bury it — and the “as-is” protection you thought you had evaporates.

The written disclosures (where complaints are born)

Section 42 of O. Reg. 333/08 lists roughly two dozen things that must be disclosed in writing on the contract. The ones that come up every week on a used lot:

• Accident or incident repairs over $3,000 — the single most litigated line in the regulation;
• Structural damage or structural repairs;
• Prior use as a daily rental (unless later privately owned), or as a taxi, limousine, or police/emergency vehicle;
• Fire damage; flood or liquid damage reaching the floorboards;
• Odometer trouble: broken, replaced, rolled back, or true distance unknown;
• Two or more adjacent body panels replaced (bumpers don't count);
• Brands and declarations: salvage, rebuilt, irreparable, total-loss declaration by an insurer;
• Registered outside Ontario — disclosable unless the vehicle has been in Ontario for the last seven-plus years;
• Theft recovery; cancelled manufacturer warranty;
• The catch-all: anything else that could reasonably affect the buyer's decision.

Three habits keep you on the right side of all of it: pull the history report on every unit before you advertise it, write the disclosures into the contract rather than saying them, and keep the proof in the deal file — see the OMVIC deal file checklist for how the whole record fits together.

Why this is worth doing properly

Beyond staying registered: buyers can rescind a deal or win compensation when disclosures were missed, complaints are free for a customer to file, and every complaint starts with someone pulling your file. A complete, consistent file — the ad matching the contract matching the disclosures — usually ends the conversation before it starts. An inconsistent one keeps it going for months.

The mechanical fix is the same one we recommend everywhere: generate the bill of sale from the deal data so the price and itemization are always consistent, and let the disclosures live on a checklist instead of in your memory. That's what Lot Jacket does for independent Ontario lots — the ad price, the contract, and the file stay one number and one story. Want to test it on a real deal? Book a free 15-minute demo. New to dealing? Start with how to become a licensed dealer in Ontario.