Washington State Vehicle Sales Regulations

• Dealers must keep records of vehicle sales, purchases, or leases for 5 years.
• Document preparation fees are allowed but cannot exceed $150, with proper disclosure.

Retail Installment Contract Disclosures

Buyers must be alerted within the contract to:

• Whether the contract includes liability insurance.
• Not sign the contract before reading or if it contains blank spaces.
• The buyer's entitlement to a copy upon signing.
• The buyer's right to pay off the full unpaid balance and receive a partial service charge rebate.
• Installment sale and consumer lease agreements must be available in English.
• Washington State does not have credit application disclosure requirements beyond federal regulations.
• There isn't a state-specific cosigner notice.
• The state-imposed maximum finance charge is the rate agreed upon by the parties and set out in the contract.
• The seller or seller's agent isn't required to sign the contract when the buyer signs.
• Late charges can be no more than what is agreed to by the parties in the contract.
• State law doesn't address the late charge grace period.
• A lien must be released within 10 days after demand.
• Default judgment attorney fees are permitted if reasonable and provided in the contract.
• Court costs tied to a default judgment can be passed to the customer if reasonable and specified in the contract.

Sales/Use Taxes on Leases

• Instead of sales tax on the original sale or lease of a vehicle, sales tax may be imposed on gross monthly lease receipts at a rate of 6.5%.
• Local sales taxes are added, varying by the county the vehicle was bought in.
• An additional tax of 0.3% of the retail sale price of each vehicle is collected for the state's Multi-Modal Transportation Account.

Advertising Regulations

Dealers can't:

• Advertise a new vehicle for sale above or below cost without calculating cost as the exact factory invoice amount for the specific vehicle.
• Advertise a certain percentage of a vehicle's sale price can be financed when financing isn't offered in a single document evidencing the entire security transaction.
• Advertise no down payment is required when it is, or that a vehicle can be purchased for a smaller down payment than actually needed.
• Advertise a special price on a specific model without stating the number available when the dealer has a limited quantity at that price.
• Under Washington's GAP Waiver Act, GAP waivers must disclose the borrower can cancel within the "free look" period for a full refund if no benefits were provided. If benefits were received, a partial refund may be available per the waiver terms.

Telemarketing

• If a called party asks not to be contacted again or to be removed from the list, they can not be contacted for 1 year.
• Additionally, their information can not be sold or given to another company.
• The statute of limitations is 4 years.
• Any unearned credit insurance premium must be refunded if someone prepays their installment sales agreement.
• Consumers don't have the right to cancel insurance sold within an installment agreement.
• Creditors can force-place property insurance if the consumer fails to provide the required coverage or lets it lapse.
• When it comes to errors or clerical mistakes in a RISC it does provide for the clerical or bona fide error defense.
• The state allows for correction of mistakes to avoid civil or criminal penalties in lease agreements.
• Reliance on rules or interpretations of state law is not a safe harbor.
• For class action lawsuits involving violations of the act, the court may award damages available under Washington's Consumer Protection Act or the Federal Consumer Leasing Act.