Car dealerships are among the most frequently targeted businesses for ADA website lawsuits. Inventory browsers, trade-in tools, and financing applications must be accessible. Dealership groups have faced serial litigation targeting multiple locations at once.
Dealership ADA lawsuits per year
Multi-location settlements
Dealership sites failing WCAG
Dealerships serve the general public and have high-value transactions. Plaintiff attorneys target dealership websites because they typically have many accessibility issues and the businesses can afford settlements.
Audit your vehicle inventory pages to ensure every photo has year-make-model-specific alt text and that search filters work via keyboard navigation alone. Test financing calculators and trade-in tools for keyboard operability, adding text input alternatives to any slider controls. Provide keyboard-navigable alternatives for 360-degree vehicle viewers, such as multi-angle photo galleries with descriptive captions. If you operate multiple locations on a shared platform, fix the template once and verify the fixes propagate to all dealership pages to prevent serial litigation exposure.
Dealership groups with multiple locations often share the same inaccessible website template across all their stores. A plaintiff attorney who identifies violations on one dealership page can file separate lawsuits for each location, multiplying damages and settlement costs. Groups with 10+ locations face especially high aggregate risk.
Every vehicle photo in your inventory needs descriptive alt text including the year, make, model, color, and relevant features visible in the image. Auto-generated alt text like 'vehicle-image-001.jpg' provides no useful information to screen reader users browsing your lot.
Most 360-degree vehicle viewers fail accessibility requirements because they rely entirely on mouse dragging to rotate the view. You must provide keyboard controls (arrow keys to rotate) and either descriptive text or a fallback gallery of static images from key angles that screen reader users can navigate with alt text.
Trade-in valuation tools and financing calculators must have labeled input fields, keyboard-operable controls, and results announced to screen readers. Range sliders for down payment or loan term must have text input alternatives. These tools are high-value conversion points and frequently have accessibility failures.
You are liable for the accessibility of your website regardless of who built it. If you use a third-party dealership platform (like DealerSocket, Dealer.com, or CDK), you are still responsible for WCAG compliance. Include accessibility requirements in your vendor contracts and verify compliance before deployment.
ADA website lawsuits against car dealerships & automotive businesses are increasing every year. Settlements typically range from $10,000 to $75,000+, and defense costs alone can exceed $25,000. The cost of proactive compliance is a fraction of a single lawsuit.
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