A longtime Valley car dealer accused of deceptive pricing and discriminatory practices has agreed to settle a complaint by the Federal Trade Commission and Arizona attorney general.
The complaint filed in U.S District Court in Arizona claims Coulter’s Cadillac and Buick/GMC locations in Tempe and former general manager Gregory Depaolo advertised lower prices online to attract customers and then tacked on hundreds or thousands of dollars in fees and unwanted products.
Coulter is also accused of charging Latino customers, on average, $1,200 more in financing and add-ons than their non-Latino white customers.
In a press release, Attorney General Kris Mayes said, “Coulter’s deceptive and discriminatory practices are unacceptable. Arizonans should be able to buy a car without being misled or charged more because they are Latino.”
A statement provided on behalf of Coulter to KJZZ News said, “While it respectfully disagrees with the assertions made by investigators, the company decided to enter into a settlement and pay a fine rather than spend a great deal more defending itself in court and could realistically take years to get through the court system. Coulter Tempe still takes the matter very seriously and will update all policies and procedures to comply with the settlement.”
The AG said “Coulter and Depaola are required to pay a $2.6 million judgment, of which $2.35 million will be used to provide refunds to consumers harmed by their allegedly unlawful actions.”
