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The law is the California CARS Act, not the federal CARES Act. Senate Bill 766 was chaptered in 2025 and becomes operative October 1, 2026. Under Civil Code section 1784.43, a licensed dealer cannot sell or lease a used vehicle at retail for $50,000 or less without giving the buyer or lessee a mandatory three-day right to cancel for any reason. The customer does not buy the right. The store cannot waive it. New cars still have no cooling-off period. The California DMV summarizes the same rule for dealers and buyers.
The old Car Buyer’s Bill of Rights only required stores to offer a paid two-day option on used cars under $40,000. Most buyers declined. That optional product is replaced. The new right is automatic.
What the customer can do?
Section 1784.43 covers used retail sales and leases at $50,000 or less. It does not cover new vehicles, units over $50,000, qualifying auctions, wholesale or fleet deals, or a lease-end buyout already in the customer’s hands.
To cancel, the customer must return the vehicle during business hours within three calendar days after the contract is signed, with no more than 400 miles driven since execution, free of new liens, and in substantially the same condition. Keys and items issued with the deal come back too.
Over 400 miles, the right ends. Between 251 and 400 miles, the dealer may add $1 per mile over 250, capped at $150. The restocking fee is 1.5% of the price, minimum $200, maximum $600. Refunds are due within 48 hours, except for bank delays outside the store’s control. If the trade-in has already been sold, the dealer owes the greater of contract ACV, the amount received, or fair market value. Do not wholesale a qualifying trade on day one.
What the law already requires?
Give the stand-alone disclosure titled “3-Day Right to Cancel Used Car Purchase or Lease.” Put the statutory first-page warning on the contract. Post the notice required by Vehicle Code section 11709.2 in every office and cubicle; the October 1 text is in SB 766. Disclose add-ons as optional, in writing, before signature. Show total price in ads and in the first written communication about that vehicle. Keep ads, first contacts, pricing, add-on consents, and cancellation records for two years, as the DMV CARS Act page states.
That is the legal floor. It will not save a deal if the customer comes back on day three and the story changes.
Recommended methods
Photograph VIN, odometer, and condition — then have both sides sign. Before the customer leaves, shoot the VIN plate, dash VIN, full odometer, all four sides, and every chip, dent, stain, or missing part. Attach the photos to a Delivery Condition Acknowledgment that states the date, time, and mileage. The customer signs. A store representative signs. One signature is a claim. Two signatures are a record. The 400-mile clock in section 1784.43 starts at contract execution. Without a signed odometer photo, day-three mileage becomes an argument.
Have the customer select the language in writing. Do not guess. English, Spanish, or other, initialed before forms print. If Civil Code section 1632 applies, print the CARS disclosure in the language they chose. A signed language selection stops the later claim that they never understood the three-day rule.
Disclose Carfax the way Carfax reports it. If the report says, “accident reported,” the acknowledgment must say accident reported. Do not rewrite it as “damage report” or “prior damage.” “Damage report” sounds like the dealer certified the damage. “Accident reported” is the third-party language. Print the report used that day, have the customer acknowledge it, and keep that report in the jacket — not a later refresh.
Run a safe check: online price must match selling price. Before the RISC prints, pull the live listing and the first email or text on that VIN and compare both to the pencil. If they do not match, stop and document the reason. Screenshot the listing with a timestamp and file it. The DMV requires total price in the first written communication and bars misrepresenting availability at the advertised price. A website price that is not the contract price is how a three-day return becomes a pricing complaint.
Why the extra steps matter
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The Act gives the customer a no-cost, three-day exit on used vehicles at $50,000 or less. Photos, dual signatures, language selection, Carfax wording, and the price safe check are how the store stays inside that law and still has a jacket that can be defended.
A photo nobody signed is a picture. A photo both parties signed is evidence. “Damage report” is a phrase a customer can fight. “Accident reported,” clipped to the Carfax used that day, is the report’s own words. An online price that does not match the RISC invites the customer to unwind more than buyer’s remorse.
Build the file at delivery. After day three, you are not collecting evidence. You are explaining why it is missing.
This article is for dealer operations and training. It is not legal advice. Confirm current forms with counsel and your vendor before October 1, 2026.
Sources (.gov) SB 766 (CARS Act) chaptered text · Civil Code § 1784.43 · Vehicle Code § 11709.2 · Civil Code § 1632 · DMV: CARS Act · DMV: Car Buyer’s Bill of Rights
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