Tips on Buying Cars: Dealer fooled us into signing a contract, registered mail, contract question

Question
QUESTION: Hi,

My girlfriend is in the market for a new car. She lives in
NH. She went to the Toyota dealer and took a test drive.
The sales agent convinced her that since she took up so
much of his time, she should put down a refundable deposit.

I took a look at the document she signed. A few things
about this one page (two sided) document:

1. The document is for the purchase of a new Toyota in the
price of $20,200
2. One row is for a NON-REFUNDABLE DEPOSIT (red, bold
letters). It is filled in with $100. There is a location
next to it for 'Initials' that my girlfriend did not
initial.
3. The reverse side of the document has a lot of details
about the contract. Effectively, it seems to say that the
purchase is final. And that if the car is not available at
the dealer, the dealer can cancel the contract. There is
little/no option therein on how the purchaser could cancel.

They also swiped her credit card and had her sign a credit
card document. She does not have a copy of that
document/receipt and is not sure about its contents.
Presumably, it is for the $100 deposit. Her credit card has
not been charged yet (it has been a week since this
happened).

We feel cheated and fooled. And we want to get out of this
sticky situation. What is our best recourse?

Thanks,
Musafir

ANSWER: The good news is that she used a credit-card for the deposit.  Contact the credit-card bank immediately and tell them you want to cancel the transaction, and that you will not pay ANYTHING that comes up in regards to this dealer.  Then send a letter to the dealer via certified or registered mail with return receipt informing them that you're canceling the deal.  Yes, she signed a legal document, but the reality is that it isn't worth the dealer's time to pursue this in court, which is the only way they can enforce the contract.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you, Jeff!

I will have her do that first thing tomorrow morning.

Do you think it makes sense to try and talk to the sales agent first? Or should we just go ahead with the credit card company?

Thanks,
Muafir

Answer
Talk to the salesperson ONLY if she wants to purchase the car, as there's no reason for him to help you in getting out of the contract (I'm 99% sure he's a full-commission salesperson, which means he gets paid only if she buys something; cancelling the contract means he gets nothing).  If you still want to cancel the contract, then go ahead with my initial advice.