Can you return a car? Speaking from my experience as a former Mercedes Benz car salesman, yes you can. A car I once sold was returned for a full refund. But there are several ways a return can go wrong and you’ll be stuck with the vehicle. In this video I’ll cover what doesn’t work and how you can actually return a car. I’ll also explain what your options are if the car dealership refuses to accept your return.
What keeps you from returning a car?
- A car dealer can prevent you from returning the car without explanation.
- When financing is involved, returning a car becomes very complicated. Most car dealers do not want to entertain the process of attempting to re-open loans with lenders who have been paid as part of the trade-in. Paying off new loans is possible, but there will likely be non-refundable costs associated with “returning” car loans.
- Once a new car has been titled for the first time they lose a substantial amount of value. In order to return a new car to it’s “new” status the title would have to be legally altered which is not a process most dealers are willing to entertain. The justification would have to be a significant and unique situation.
- How long do you have to return a car? If your temporary tags have expired and you have hard plates on the vehicle you definitely waited too long. Some dealers may offer return periods of 7 to 30 days, however those terms are most likely advertised before purchase.
- Even if you do everything right, a car dealer doesn’t have to accept your return. If they don’t like you, and they don’t believe you’ll purchase from them again in the future, they have little to no incentive to accept the return. (Unless there was some significant misrepresentation as part of the transaction).
How to Return a Car
A car dealer may accept the return of your new or used car if they sympathize with your unique situation. Car returns may be accepted on a case by case basis. Usually returns need to be processed within 30 days and the car should have been driven for less than 500 miles.
What Should You Do If You Can’t Return a Car?
If you can’t return your car but want to get rid of it you have a few options:
- Trade the car in for something of equal or lesser value
- If a high interest rate is the reason for a return try to re-finance the rate with a local bank or credit union
- Negotiate with the lender to reduce a portion of the balance
- You can always sell the car for a loss
- Worst case scenario you can also just give the car back to the lender (repossession) but this will have long term credit implications
