First Car Guide for First Time Car Buyers

No.

There is a general misconception that state or federal laws provide for a "grace" period or "cooling off" period in which a recently purchased automobile can be returned to a dealer for a refund. The confusion comes about because there are such laws that apply to certain other kinds of sales, including door-to-door sales. However, there are no such federal or state laws that apply to the sale of automobiles purchased or leased at a dealer location.

If you are in a situation in which you have decided you do not want a recently purchased car, your only chance of getting out of the deal rests with the willingness of the dealer to accommodate you, which would be rare. Actually, there is another possible way out. If you have serious credit problems and the dealer is not able to find a finance company to accept your loan or lease application, the dealer would be obligated to request that you return your new car. This might take place weeks after you purchased your car.