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Used car FACTS and FICTIONS in Washington. Laws may vary from state to state.
There is no lemon-law covering cars over 30 months old. For cars under 30 months old, it only covers reoccurring problems that keep your car in the shop more than in your driveway. For example: It would not cover a 94 Buick that's engine went bad 3 weeks after you bought it, or a used 2000 Explorer who 4 wheel drive was bad when you bought it, but didn't notice it was bad until it snowed.
There is no 3 day cool down period. The second after you sign the papers it's yours until it's paid for, the car can not be returned. Unless something in writing at the dealer or in the papers you received said there you were able to return the vehicle with in a certain number of days or miles and receive a refund.
If the car you are buying is marked AS-IS, you are buying that car with any problems it currently has and any it will ever have in the future. If you are making payments, you still owe your payments even if the car isn't running. If your car has a problem right away, at least call and ask the dealer if they will help. Many times a good dealer will help fix something that wasn't noticed before.
If the car has a warranty, read it. Many warranty's are not very good, like they cover 20% of the parts and labor for 30 days. That means if the transmission starts to slip after 2 weeks and it costs 1700$ to get it fixed you could still owe about $1400 out of you own pocket. Just like you try to get a better price from the dealer, try to get a better warranty. As a note, don't expect a warranty on a car under $4000-$5000, other than something like a 3 day, 300 mile exchange.
There is not a law saying a used car must run for a certain number of days with out breaking down. Legally, if you bought an AS-IS car, signed the papers and went back out to drive it off the lot and it wouldn't start, the dealer would not have to fix it or give back your money. They could even sent you to collection or take you to court if you were making payments and said you were not going to pay for this car. Even though a dealer like this would not stay in business very long. But remember after you sign you have to pay whether the car is running or not.
Every used car must have an AS-IS NO WARRANTY / WARRANTY sticker clearly marked and posted where you can see both sides.
Washington state law on used cars from dealers states:
(when buying a car from a private seller this does not apply, you take a chance and get what you get)
The car must be safe to drive.
Steering must not have an excessive amount of slop or free-play.
Headlights, tail lights, turn signals and brake lights must work.
The brakes must work well. The pads can not to worn down to metal and the brake pedal must be firm and not go to the floor. The brakes could be worn down to 10% and a shop may recommend you replace them but it is still be legal to sell. If the brakes squeak, rattle, or make other noise that has nothing to do with being legal, as long as they work well.
The windshield must not be cracked in the drivers vision area.
The tires can not be bald. To be legally sold, they must have 3/32 of an inch of tread, even though this is almost bald.
It is also not legal to drive a car with any of the above conditions. If you bought a car with bad brakes and drove it for a month then got in a wreck, it would be as much the drivers fault as the dealers. The driver should not have continued driving a car that was unsafe.
This page and linked pages are for general information only. All information given is believed accurate but Campbell's Auto Sales makes no guarantees. All information outside Campbell's Auto Sales web site is maintained by other agencies and we are not responsible for content.