California's CARS Act: your new car-buying rights

The CARS Act covers new and used cars you buy or lease from a licensed California dealer. It doesn't cover private sales. It also leaves out some deals, like wholesale and fleet sales, business buyers who buy five or more vehicles a year from the dealer, and heavy vehicles rated at 10,000 pounds or more.

A dealer must clearly show a car's total price in:

• Any ad for a specific car, including ads that show its payment or loan terms.
• Its first written reply to you, like an email or text, about a specific car or any price or loan term.

The total price must include any dealer markup and anything already installed on the car. A rebate can't be subtracted from it. It can leave out taxes, government fees, finance charges, the doc fee, and a few other charges the law lists.

The dealer must keep a copy of that first written reply for two years and give you a copy if you ask in writing. It also can't mislead you about whether a car is available at the total price it gave you.

The total price isn't the out-the-door price, because taxes and fees come on top. Ask for the out-the-door price in writing, and see how to avoid paying a market adjustment.

When a dealer writes to you about an add-on during the deal, it must say in writing, at least once, that the add-on isn't required and you can buy or lease the car without it. If you negotiate mainly in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, or Korean, that notice must also be in that language. A dealer also can't mislead you about an add-on's cost, limits, or benefits.

A dealer can't charge for an add-on you wouldn't benefit from. The law lists examples:

• Nitrogen tire products with less than 95% nitrogen purity.
• Products that don't cover the car, you, or the deal.
• GAP that doesn't meet California's contract rules.
• A service contract that's void because of earlier crash or flood damage or a mechanical problem the car already had.
• Oil changes for an electric car.
• Catalytic converter marking on a car that has no catalytic converter.
• Paint or surface protection that voids the carmaker's paint warranty.

Before you agree to one, see whether a nitrogen fee or a dealer extended warranty is worth it, and which dealer fees are legit. Already signed for GAP or a service contract you don't want? You can usually cancel it for a refund.

When a dealer quotes you a monthly payment in writing for a car you're negotiating on, it must also show the total you'll pay after all the payments. If that total assumes a down payment or trade-in, the dealer must show how much. If it compares payment options in writing and talks about lower payments, it must tell you that lower monthly payments often raise the total you pay.

Compare deals on that total, not the payment. See how some dealers use a four-square worksheet to keep your eyes on the payment.

A dealer can't sell or lease you a used car for $50,000 or less without a 3-day right to cancel. The short version:

• The 3 days start the day after you sign. They end when the dealership closes on the third day. If it's closed that day, you get until closing on the next day it's open.
• You lose the right if you drive the car more than 400 miles.
• The dealer can keep a restocking fee: 1.5% of the price ($200 minimum, $600 maximum), plus $1 a mile over 250 miles, up to $150.
• You bring the car back in person during business hours. In most cases, the dealer must cancel the contract and refund you within 48 hours, minus the fee.
• It doesn't cover new cars, motorcycles, auction sales, or buying out a lease on a car you already have.

The dealer must give you a separate form titled “3-Day Right to Cancel Used Car Purchase or Lease.” See how to cancel, with the fee math worked out.

Three days go fast. Start the day you get the car:

1. Run a title-history report by VIN with the VIN check above. Reports from the federal NMVTIS system show title brands like salvage and flood from any state, plus total-loss and salvage records.
2. Get an independent inspection from a mechanic you choose.
3. Compare the signed contract with your written offer, line by line.
4. Keep the miles under 250 to avoid the mileage fee, and never go over 400.

See more on what to check in your 3 days.

A dealer can't mislead you about:

• The cost or terms of buying, financing, or leasing the car.
• Whether you're preapproved or guaranteed for a loan or rate, or what's in your credit application.
• Whether it will keep your down payment or trade-in, or charge you, if the deal doesn't go through.
• When it will pay off the loan on your trade-in.
• Whether your contract is a lease or a purchase.
• Whether it's connected to the government or the military.
• When your car can be repossessed, or whether you can take it out of state.

Dealers must keep records of their ads, contracts, written messages, and cancellations for two years. And you can't sign these rights away. Any waiver is void.

Keep the ad, your emails and texts, the quote, the contract, and any 3-day cancel form. Ask the dealer in writing to fix the problem, and for a copy of its first written reply about the car.

Still stuck? California dealers are licensed by the DMV. Its CARS Act page sums up the law. File a complaint with the DMV's online complaint form, or call 1-800-777-0133 to get the form. You can also file a complaint with the California Attorney General. The CARS Act adds to your other rights under the law, so a local consumer attorney can tell you your options.