Can I return my car?

Question

I bought a 2003.5 mazdaspeed protege on april 16, 2007.

Since i purchased the car the check engine light has come on 3 times (the first when i bought the car, another time two days after they fixed it, and another today), my clutch is not going into gear everytime (the shifter does not push fully forward....this happenes about once a day an any gear) I have a leak in the trunk, i have been getting power shortages, and i have a strut popping.

I have heard that you can return the car within 3 days for any reason. I also heard that if you are having mechanical problems you can return the car within thirty days from the date of sale.

I have had the car for 18 days now

can i still return it?

Answer 1

There is no 3-day right of return in ANY state. It's a common misconception but there is no truth to it.

If you have a warranty, make a claim under the warranty. If the car was sold "As-Is" then you have very thin legal grounds to stand on. A few states do not allow a dealer to sell a car without at least a minimal warranty, especially a relatively late model one. CT is one such state and the state mandates a minimum 30 day warranty. Check your State Attorney General's website and look for a Consumer Protection Division. Some states have farily strong consumer protection laws and others have very weak ones.

If your state recognizes the "Implied Warranty of Fitness for a Particular Purpose" concept, then you may have some ground but don't expect the dealer to jump at your request for a refund. You'll probably need to engage the services of a lawyer to negotiate for you.

Even if your state provides some protections, there is NO substititue for a comprehensive independent inspection of any car you are thinking of buying, along with a vehicle history report from CarFax or Equifax. You can also get a service history check from a dealer. That will reveal any warranty claims and lemon law buybacks as well as any service or repair work done by any dealer for that brand.

No state has a lemon law that covers used cars. Don't waste your time pursuing that with the dealer. The dealer knows the laws and will just laugh you out the door on that one. Lemon Laws apply to new vehicles still under the factory warranty, and usually then only during the first 12 to maybe 24 months of service. Yours is way past that point even if some of the original factory warranty is still in force.

One thought though, on the Check Engine light. The emissions control system MAY still be under warranty even though the rest of the car is not. Check with any Mazda dealer on that. If it is still in force, at least you can get that sorted out for free.

Answer 2

No the 3 day law is for like door to door sales persons. You signed a contract the car is yours. If they are a good dealership they may let you trade cars within 30 days, or if you have a written warranty with the car. Best thing to do is talk to them about it. You don't have many options.

Next time take the car to a trusted auto mechanic and have him check it out first before signing on the dotted line.

Good luck

Answer 3

Every state has different laws regarding returning a defective car. Contact the dealer immediately, and follow up with a call to the state regulating agency that deals with car dealers. Most states have some sort of lemon law, and if you financed the car include them in your list of calls to be made. The more noise you make, the sooner a resolution will be found by the dealer.

Answer 4

you bought a used car, the factory warranty is probably up, hopefully you bought an extended warranty. The dealer is responsible for some repairs for a short period of time. They will not take the car back, they may trade you out of it though, but that's unlikely as you'll lose too much. Unfortunately this is the problem with cars, they are machines, anything can happen.

Answer 5

No you can't, unless you can make some kind of deal with the dealership to trade out of that car into another one they have. As for the 3 day return thing you are talking about that does not apply to cars. That applies only to someone who comes into your home and sells you something, and you will find that return policy on the back of the receipt that you get. When you seek someone out at their place of business and sign documents to purchase something there is no return policy unless it is expressly written in the contract.

Answer 6

It matters if your state as a lemon law, within 30 days if anything does wrong with the car they have to fix it no charge or take it back. Check with car laws in your state first, if that doesn't help you try doing back to the dealers or person and ask whats going on with the car you bought, if they don't help you try threatening them that you'll expose they faulty car fraud to the news.

Answer 7

Lemon Laws only apply to new cars. Unfortunately, the only way you can get out of it now is by trading it back in or selling it.

Answer 8

No! Unless you received a warranty or specifically wrote on the purchase agreement a return policy you are stuck.

Caveat emptor.