Tips on Buying Cars: Being pushed by a dealership, state attorney general, retail purchases

Question
Hi,
My cousin was pushed by a high pressure sales person to spend money on a car and now would like to return it. She purchased on Sat. afternoon...and called them on Sunday and they told her there was no return policy. She is in over her head...can she do anything? South Dakota is where she lives.

Answer
Please keep in mind that the laws that regulate sales vary from state to state, and I can't possibly know all 50 of them.  I can tell you that here in New York there's a 3-day return policy only if she purchased the car at an "off-site" event.  For instance, the dealer was holding one of those "mega-3-day" sales event at the local mall, and she purchased the car there, and not at the dealer's actual showroom.  She should immediately contact the department in SD that oversees retail purchases (here in NY, it's the state attorney general) to see if there's anything she can do to get out of the sale.  One suggestion: go back to the showroom and see if there refund policy is posted anywhere.  If they don't allow returns or refunds, then there should be a sign stating that.  If there's nothing posted, you might be able to use that as leverage to get her money back ("hey, if you don't post your return policy, then you can't tell my cousin that she can't have her money back...").