Valley car dealer Coulter agrees to pay to $2.6M to settle FTC lawsuit, denies accusations

PHOENIX — A longtime Valley car dealer agreed to a $2.6 million settlement after being accused of discriminatory practices and deceptive pricing, authorities announced Thursday.

However, Coulter Motor Company denied the allegations made in a lawsuit brought by the state of Arizona and Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Coulter is a family-owned business that has been selling cars in and around Phoenix for about 100 years.

The lawsuit targets the Cadillac and Buick/GMC dealerships in Tempe and general manager Gregory Depaola, accusing them of deceptive online pricing and charging Latino car buyers more in interest and add-on products.

“Coulter used junk fees and other illegal tactics to drive up prices for consumers, especially Latino consumers,” Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a press release. “The FTC will continue cracking down on practices that drive up prices, cheat consumers and undercut honest sellers.”

Why did Valley car dealer agree to settlement?

The Valley car dealer said it agreed to the settlement rather defend itself in what could be a lengthy court process.

“The dealership respects the mission of the FTC to protect consumers. Hopefully this settlement furthers that mission while enabling us to improve our already stellar record of customer satisfaction,” the management of Coulter Buick GMC in Tempe said in a press release.

“There is no way this dealership could attract and retain customers if the claims laid out by the FTC were endemic to Coulter Tempe, but that doesn’t mean we can’t improve.”

According to the lawsuit, Coulter’s Latino customers paid nearly $1,200 more in interest and add-on charges than non-Latino white buyers. The Valley car dealer also allegedly advertised prices that were thousands of dollars below the actual sales prices, using “market adjustments” and “bogus fees and charges” to increase the bottom line, according to the federal complaint.

“Coulter’s deceptive and discriminatory practices are unacceptable,” Arizona Attorney General Mayes said in a press release. “Arizonans should be able to buy a car without being misled or charged more because they are Latino. My office will not tolerate this kind of predatory behavior, and we will do everything we can to stop these unfair practices and protect Arizona consumers.”

Most of the penalty, $2.35 million, will go toward refunds for consumers impacted by the allegedly discriminatory and deceptive practices.

Coulter is also required to establish a comprehensive fair lending program.

Follow @kstonezone