Valentina Saldaña is your comunity reporter covering the north coast of San Luis Obispo County, including Los Osos, Morro Bay, Cayucos, Cambria, and San Simeon.
Having the option to return a used car in California isn’t new, but buyers will soon have an extra day to make that decision.
Used car buyers in California currently have the option to purchase a policy allowing them to return the car within two days.
“You can pay a certain percentage of that vehicle’s cost and buy yourself a return policy, basically,” said Justin Jurgens, owner of British Sports Cars in San Luis Obispo. “There’s a cap on that at $40,000.”
But a new law going into effect this year on Oct. 1 will give people who purchase a used car a 3-day return period if the vehicle purchase price is equal to or less than $50,000. A restocking fee may still apply.
“Members, this bill codifies key protections in the Federal Trade Commission’s CARS Rule and establishes a three-day cooling-off period for used cars,” said District 24 Senator Ben Allen on the Senate floor.
Jurgens says the law won’t change much about how he does business.
“You know, kind of a rule of thumb for us here at British Sports Cars is if you don’t like the car for the first couple of days… I’m happy to take it back,” Jurgens said.
Under the new law, the right to cancel will not apply to any vehicles driven more than 400 miles during the first three days. Additionally, it’ll require car dealers to disclose the full price, be transparent about add-on services and features that are optional, and prohibit them from including add-ons that will not benefit the buyer.
Jurgens said that as a dealership in California, they have a system that is connected to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), which tells them what they need to disclose before a purchase.
“It processes it all. We have a checklist of things that we have to tell you about the vehicle, services we have to offer,” Jurgens said. “So when we sell a vehicle, we go down that list.”
Aslynn Hagen said that she usually buys used cars off of auctions and Carvana and is happy to hear about the change.
“Oh, I think that’s a great idea because it gives you an extra day in case something does happen,” Hagen said. “So yeah, I think that’s great.”
Hagen said she is planning to purchase a used car later this year.
“I’m excited for that law, and I’ll probably be looking for a car around that time,” she said. “Yeah, it works out perfectly.”
But not everyone on the Senate floor was in agreement.
Senator Brian Jones, District 40, opposed the bill on the Senate floor.
“Folks, there’s got to be a time when we say enough is enough on these regulations,” Jones said. “It’s already difficult enough to do business in California. Why do we come back every single year and continuously try to make it more difficult?”

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