Buying a car can quickly go from a major purchase to a costly surprise when the sticker price changes at the dealership or extra features suddenly appear on the contract.<\/p>\n
California is taking steps to address that problem with a new law that gives shoppers more upfront transparency \u2014 and more protection after a used car sale, Pasadena Now<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n Here’s what to know<\/p>\n California’s CARS Act, Senate Bill 766, gives used car buyers a three-day period to return a vehicle and requires dealers to provide the full price of a car at the start of the process.<\/p>\n It also says dealers must disclose that add-ons are optional and that they cannot sell add-ons that offer no value to the customer.<\/p>\n Buyers can use that three-day window to arrange an inspection of a used vehicle or check for any unrepaired safety recalls.<\/p>\n Under the new law, dealers can charge a restocking fee, and a vehicle can’t be driven more than 400 miles if the buyer plans to return it.<\/p>\n State Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, indicated that the law targets long-standing dealership practices that left buyers paying more than expected or driving away in vehicles with unresolved safety issues.<\/p>\n “For years, car shoppers have been mistreated and duped into purchasing unsafe vehicles or vehicles with add-ons and features they didn’t know about, saddling them with unnecessary debt and risking their lives on the road,” Allen explained.<\/p>\n “These practices will finally come to an end in California.”<\/p>\n More background<\/p>\n According to Allen’s office, consumer David Lappen reported that a dealership raised the advertised price of a used electric vehicle<\/a> by $5,000 by adding options.<\/p>\n Those charges were for items such as converter etching and complimentary oil changes, which he viewed as irrelevant to the EV he was buying.<\/p>\n Allen’s office also mentioned Anthony Vento, who drove away in a used car with an unrepaired safety recall defect \u2014 even after a dealership told him in writing that it had checked the vehicle’s recall status.<\/p>\n “The California CARS Act will give California’s used car buyers a new 3-day window of opportunity to check for unrepaired safety recalls and take unsafe cars back to the dealership for a refund,” said Vento.<\/p>\n “That can be a lifesaver.”<\/p>\n Where can I learn more?<\/p>\n California’s latest consumer-protection law is part of a broader effort to reshape how people buy and own cars. These articles cover EV rebates and policy ideas other states are considering.<\/p>\n \u2022 California is preparing instant EV rebates for first-time buyers<\/a> amid higher overall car costs.<\/p>\n \u2022 State leaders are offering $3,500 to first-time buyers<\/a> to keep EV demand steady.<\/p>\n \u2022 In Maine, regulators signaled interest in joining California and adopting incentives<\/a> for EV purchases.<\/p>\n Get TCD’s free newsletters<\/a> for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Buying a car can quickly go from a major purchase to a costly surprise when the sticker price…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":484829,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8],"class_list":["post-484828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=484828"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484828\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/484829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=484828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=484828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=484828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}