Nearly 65 Percent of US Consumers Believe Car Dealerships are Unethical

A recent survey has found that many people believe car dealerships are unethical.

Total Dealer Compliance, a car dealership compliance-auditing firm, conducted a survey online in July with 200 U.S. adults over the age of 18 and found that nearly 65 percent of respondents believe that U.S. car dealerships’ business practices are not ethical. In addition, the survey also found that more than half of consumers are more likely to shop at a dealership if their code of ethics were clearly displayed.

SEE ALSO: Top 10 Worst Car Dealerships by Brand

The survey also highlighted one common theme, which is overall consumer fatigue towards car dealerships’ sales processes, with 40 percent of respondents saying it would not make a difference if a dealership’s code of ethics was clearly displayed upon purchasing.

Although the survey is on the lower end of what some would consider statistically significant with 200 respondents, it does suggest that most U.S. car shoppers assume that a dealership is going to be unethical, and they believe there’s little choice but to deal with it.

“A code of ethics is designed to reinforce a dealers’ personal commitment to quality service and high ethical standards,”said Max Zanan, President of TDC. “Our survey confirmed that the trust between the consumer and car dealer is well and truly broken. Ensuring a code of ethics is on display will be the first step in rebuilding the consumer’s trust, where compliance is of top priority.”