Tips on Buying Cars: new car, right of rescission, nc dmv


Question
After buying a new car and you are not totally satisfied with it, do you have a certain time period that you can go back and cancel deal in the State of North Carolina?

Answer
Hi Sandra,

Great question, and one that I’ve been asked several times. Usually this is a result of a dealer ‘selling’ you what they want, and not necessarily what you want to buy.

I have to start by telling you that, living in Texas, I am not familiar with the NC dealer laws. For specifics as they relate to you, I recommend you contact the Bureau of Motor Vehicles as a start, tell them your question, and they will route you either to someone in the NC DMV, or to the proper agency.

What I can tell you Sandra, is that many states do not provide for a legal return period: I believe California is one of these. You drive it off the lot and it’s yours, unless you believe you were sold the car under some sort of subterfuge, or deceptive practice. Other states do provide for a three-day right of rescission; during this period you may (depending on state statutes) return the vehicle to the dealership. Personally, I have not heard of any state law that provides for more than the three day return period, so if you’re over this it’s unlikely you will have any recourse unless, as I stated above, you suspect some type of wrongful or deceitful sales practices by the dealer.

I can also tell you that if you ask a dealer if you can return a vehicle after the purchase, they will tell you no, no matter what the state laws are. The last thing in the world they want is to take something back they already sold, regardless of the reason. On this allexperts.com column I have heard of dealers stating outright lies to keep this from happening.

Sorry I can’t give you more specifics on your state laws with respect to your question, but this I’m guessing that this will go a long way towards answering your question.

Please let me know if there’s anything else I can help you with on this, or any other question, Sandra.

Regards,


Ron
Author: $ave Thousand$ Buying Your Next Car: Confessions of a Former Car Salesman
Creator of the Make Me Smarter™ series.
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