Putting Ads for Car Leases Into Sharper Focus

The fine print on long-term car leases is about to get a little clearer.

Six automobile distributors and dealer associations have agreed to stop burying the total cost of leasing a car in tiny print at the bottom of their advertisements, New York State Atty. Gen. Robert Abrams said Thursday.

Abrams called the ads, which promote low monthly payments but obscure the fact that there is a hefty down payment, “deceptive and misleading.”

Since most car ad campaigns are national, Abrams predicted that the settlement would affect consumers across the country.

“We found that this has been an industrywide problem, not limited to the companies we have agreements with,” Abrams said.