spam_texts ยท 6 min read

Spam Text From Car Dealership: Your Rights Under the TCPA

A spam text from a car dealership offering a "special deal" or "trade-in value" could be worth $500 per message, or up to $1,500 if the violation was willful. Under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), companies need your prior express written consent before sending you automated marketing texts. Many dealerships use mass texting software that qualifies as an autodialer, making their unsolicited messages illegal. This applies even if you have done business with them in the past. If you have received unwanted promotional texts from a car dealership, you may have a legal claim for statutory damages. Understanding your rights is the first step toward stopping the spam and potentially receiving compensation for the illegal contact.

What Does the Law Say About Car Dealership Texts?

The primary law governing these messages is the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). This federal law places strict rules on telemarketing, including text messages sent to your cell phone. For a car dealership to legally send you marketing texts using an autodialer, they must have your "prior express written consent." This means you must have signed an agreement that clearly and conspicuously states you agree to receive marketing texts from that specific dealership at the number you provided. Simply giving a salesperson your phone number or writing it on a service form or credit application does not count as consent for marketing.

This high standard of consent is central to protecting consumers from unwanted contact. Car dealership text marketing often falls short of this requirement. Many dealerships assume a past business relationship allows them to send you promotions indefinitely, but the law is clear that marketing requires its own separate, written permission. Numerous lawsuits have been filed over these exact issues, with many resulting in significant payouts as detailed in the TCPA Settlement Tracker. The burden is on the dealership to prove they have your unambiguous consent to send promotional messages.

When Are Unsolicited Car Dealership Texts Illegal?

An unsolicited car dealership text crosses the line into illegality under several specific conditions. The most common violation involves the use of an automated telephone dialing system (ATDS), or autodialer, to send messages without your prior express written consent. In practice, nearly all platforms used for mass texting are considered autodialers under the law. Therefore, if you received a promotional text you never signed up for, it was likely sent illegally.

Another clear violation occurs when a dealership continues to text you after you have revoked consent. Replying with words like "STOP," "UNSUBSCRIBE," or "QUIT" is a legally binding request to cease contact. If they send you even one more marketing text after that request, they have violated the TCPA. The law gives you four years from the date of the violation to file a claim, so even older texts can be part of a valid case. Keeping a record of these unsolicited car dealership texts is crucial for proving a pattern of non-compliance and holding the sender accountable.

How Much Money Can You Get for Spam Texts?

The TCPA empowers consumers by providing for statutory damages, which means you do not have to prove you lost money to be compensated. For each text message that violates the law, you may be entitled to recover $500. This amount can be tripled to $1,500 per violation if you can show the dealership sent the texts willfully or knowingly. A willful violation means the dealership knew they were breaking the law, or showed a reckless disregard for it, such as continuing to text you after you told them to stop.

These damages can add up quickly. For example, if a dealership sent you ten illegal promotional texts, you could be eligible for $5,000 in statutory damages. If those violations were found to be willful, that figure could increase to $15,000. It is important to know how much money spam text lawsuits are worth to understand the potential value of your claim. This article is for informational purposes only and does not create an attorney-client relationship. The TCPA's financial penalties are designed to be a powerful deterrent against intrusive and illegal marketing practices.

Real Examples of Illegal Car Dealership Texts

Illegal marketing texts from car dealerships often look like legitimate offers, but they are violations if you did not consent to them. Here are a few common examples of messages that could form the basis of a TCPA claim.

An offer sent long after you provided your number for a different purpose:

"Hi Alex! Great news from Supreme Auto. We're offering 0% APR financing for returning customers THIS WEEKEND ONLY. Visit us to see our new inventory! Reply STOP to end."

A trade-in offer sent to a number scraped from a public or private database:

"PUBLIC RECORD NOTIFICATION for Jane D. We want to buy your 2020 Honda Civic. Get an instant cash offer from Premier Motors today. Offer expires soon! Click here: [link]"

A message sent after you already told them to stop contacting you:

"Final Notice from DriveTime Deals! Your special discount on an oil change is about to expire. Don't miss out on these incredible savings. Call us at 555-123-4567 to book."

If you have received messages like these without giving the dealership explicit permission, you should document them and submit them for a free case evaluation.

How to Document Spam Texts for a Claim

Properly documenting illegal texts is the most important step in building a potential TCPA claim. Solid evidence is what separates a complaint from a winning case. Start by opening the messaging app on your phone. Do not delete any of the spam texts, as the messages themselves are the primary evidence of the violation.

Next, use the search function within your messaging app to find all messages from the dealership. You can search for the dealership's name, the phone number, or keywords from the messages like "trade-in," "APR," or "financing." Once you have located the messages, take clear screenshots of each one. A good screenshot should capture the sender's phone number or short code, the full content of the message body, and the date and time it was received. For a detailed guide, see our post on how to take screenshots of spam texts on iPhone and Android.

Finally, create a simple log or note to keep track of this information outside of your phone. Write down the sender's number and the date of each message. This ensures you have a backup of the key details and makes it easier to organize your evidence when you are ready to submit your claim. This careful preparation can make a significant difference in the success of your case.

Check Your Phone Right Now

Take a moment to check your phone for potential evidence. It only takes a minute and could be worth thousands.

Open your messages and search the word STOP.

This simple search will show you every conversation where you have tried to opt out of messaging. Many of the texts you find containing the phrase "Reply STOP to unsubscribe" may have been sent illegally. Car dealerships, lenders, and other marketers often send these automated messages without getting your prior express written consent. If you find texts from a car dealership you never agreed to hear from, you may have a claim. You can learn more about why spam text messages say "Reply STOP to unsubscribe".

Collect screenshots of any unsolicited offers you find. When you are ready, you can Submit screenshots at SpamClaims.com for a free, no-obligation review by a legal professional.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a car dealership text me if I gave them my number?

It depends on why you gave them your number. If you provided your phone number on a form that explicitly and clearly stated you agree to receive marketing text messages, then they may have consent. However, if you simply gave them your number for a test drive, on a service form, or as part of a credit application without that specific marketing consent language, they cannot legally send you marketing texts. The TCPA requires "prior express written consent" for promotional texts, which is a higher standard than just having your number on file. Non-marketing texts, like an alert that your car repair is finished, are generally permissible.

What if I bought a car from them years ago?

A past business relationship does not give a car dealership a permanent right to send you marketing texts. Consent under the TCPA is not perpetual. Even if you agreed to receive messages at the time of purchase, that consent can be revoked at any time by replying "STOP." Furthermore, if you never gave written consent for marketing texts in the first place, any promotional messages they send, whether a week or a year after your purchase, are potential violations. Each unsolicited marketing text they send can be a new violation, starting the 4-year statute of limitations over again.

Is replying "STOP" to a car dealership text an admission of anything?

No, replying "STOP" is not an admission of anything. It is you exercising your legal right under the TCPA to revoke any consent the dealership may have thought they had. It is a legally binding command that the sender must honor. Far from hurting a potential case, it can actually strengthen it. If the dealership sends you another marketing text after you have replied "STOP," they have committed a knowing and willful violation. This can increase the statutory damages for that subsequent text from $500 to $1,500. Trying to stop car dealership spam is an important step in documenting their non-compliance.

How long does a spam text lawsuit take?

The timeline for resolving a spam text lawsuit can vary widely. Many cases are resolved relatively quickly, sometimes within a few months, through a demand letter and settlement negotiations. In these instances, the sender may agree to pay to avoid the cost and risk of litigation. You can see many such examples in our TCPA Settlement Tracker. If the company is unwilling to settle, the process of filing a lawsuit, discovery, and motions can take longer, potentially lasting a year or more. However, a large percentage of TCPA claims are settled out of court, providing a faster resolution for consumers.

TLDR

Submit your spam screenshots for attorney review

This article is for informational purposes only and does not create an attorney-client relationship.