Lemon
Law... The “no cooling off period”
rule
In
California, when a customer purchases or
leases a new motor vehicle, there is no
“cooling off period” rule. What this
means is just because you may think that
(after signing and taking delivery) that
it’s not the right vehicle for you, your
payments are too high, or other various
reasons that the sale/lease can be
cancelled – it cannot. The moment you
complete the sale/lease documents and take
physical delivery of the car (drive off
the lot), there is no “cooling off”
period in which to return the vehicle and
rescind the sale. At this point it is
yours.
The only exceptions to the “no cooling
off period” are dealer fraud, or if the
dealer has delivered the vehicle on a
“subject to lenders credit approval”
conditional sale, and it later turns out
that the dealer cannot secure the
necessary financing to complete the sale.
Be very careful when you are about to take
delivery on a new (or used) vehicle.
Sometimes vehicle’s that have problems
(both the vehicle and/or the contract)
right from the start can be avoided
entirely by the consumer following a few
guidelines:
1. Test-drive the vehicle before
signing the contract for
mechanical/operational problems.
2. Inspect the new vehicle under
fluorescent lights for body/paint flaws or
dealer-repaired damage. It’s easier to
start off with a vehicle that doesn’t
required post-sale paint repairs. NOTE:
even brand new vehicles may have
previously sustained damage during the
railcar transportation process, loading or
unloading, or while on the dealers lot.
3. If buying or leasing a
“used” vehicle, (whether or not it’s
“certified” or not) have it checked
out by a reputable mechanic. Also have a
reputable body shop check for undisclosed
collision damage repairs.
4. Make sure the contract lists all
accessories that you are purchasing as
part of the sale/lease. NOTE: Accessories
added by the dealer (especially
non-factory aftermarket accessories) are
not reimbursable in a “lemon law”
claim. “Lemon law” claims are based on
the vehicle ”as equipped” on the
factory Monroney label (window sticker).
Once you have purchased or leased your
choice of vehicle, and if it turns out to
be problematic with substantial defects
that may be applicable to “lemon law”,
we invite you to call our offices for a
free case “lemon law” review.
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