"Starting today, Californians experiencing buyer's remorse over a used car will get three days to change their minds.

Senate Bill 766 - named Combating Auto Retail Scams, or CARS - was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom last year and goes into effect Thursday, Oct. 1. Proposed by Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, it shares a name and intent with a federal rule that was adopted under President Joe Biden but later vacated by a federal judge and withdrawn by the Federal Trade Commission.

It gives consumers who buy or lease a used car for $50,000 or less the right to return it to the dealership within three days of purchase for a full refund, as long as they didn't damage it or drive it more than 400 miles....

California becomes the first state to offer such a "cooling-off" period for used cars....

California car buyers will save $234 million annually with this new law, according to economists cited in a news release from Allen's office.

'When the federal government fails to protect consumers, California is ready to step up,' Allen said in the release. '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. These practices will finally come to an end in California.' "

Read more: San Francisco Chronicle / Yahoo News: "California's new used-car law has taken effect. Here's how it helps buyers"
 

"California car shoppers will gain new protections Thursday under a law by state Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, requiring dealers to provide the full price of a vehicle up front and giving used-car buyers three days to return a vehicle.

Senate Bill 766, known as the California CARS Act, also requires dealers to disclose that add-ons are optional and prohibits them from offering add-ons that provide no value to the customer, according to Allen's office.

The three-day return period gives used-car buyers time to have a vehicle inspected or check for unrepaired safety recalls. Dealers may charge a restocking fee, and a vehicle cannot be driven more than 400 miles before it is returned....

Allen's office cited the experience of David Lappen, who said a dealership added $5,000 in options to the advertised price of a used electric vehicle. The options included catalytic converter etching and free oil changes, which Lappen said did not apply to the vehicle.

The office also cited Anthony Vento, who said he bought a used vehicle with an unrepaired safety recall defect after the dealership told him in writing that it had checked the car's recall status.

'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. That can be a lifesaver,' Vento said."

Read more: MyNewsL.A.: "Car Buyer Protections Take Effect Thursday"
 

"If you are thinking about buying a used car in California, it would be better to wait until Oct. 1, when a host of new first-in-the-nation consumer protections kick in.

The California Combating Auto Retail Scams Act will give people who buy a car for less than $50,000 a three-day grace period to turn it in for a full refund. In most cases, reimbursement must be paid within 48 hours.

Will Bradley from Lincoln in Placer County said he bought a used Subaru for about $10,000 in 2024, only to find its undercarriage completely rusted out. The dealership ghosted him, then cursed at him and said he was stuck because he bought it 'as-is,' he recounted.

'Had I had this grace period, I would have had the opportunity to take this car back that was undrivably unsafe and rotting,' Bradley pointed out.

Bradley eventually got his money back after a long, drawn-out lawsuit. Now, dealers will have to take the used car back and can only charge a restocking fee of $200 to $600. Buyers can drive it up to 400 miles during the grace period....

Rosemary Shahan, president of the group Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, said the number one thing to check for is an unrepaired safety recall defect.

'Because unfortunately, a lot of dealers are selling cars that have defects like bad brakes, catching on fire, loss of steering, stalling in traffic,' Shahan outlined."

Read more: Public News Service: "New law for California car buyers starts Oct. 1"
 

"CALIFORNIA, USA — Car buying in California could become a little less of a headache starting in October under a new law that aims to end deceptive add-ons and ban no-return policies for certain cars.

On Oct. 1, the Combating Auto Retail Scams (CARS) Act takes effect. According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, this will place robust consumer protections on auto dealers in the state.

These changes aim to make the entire car-buying process easier, starting with the initial communication, where the total price must be shown in any ad or written communication for a specific vehicle or financing terms.

Dealers will also be limited in the types of add-ons they can offer. For example, they will no longer be allowed to offer 'worthless add-ons,' such as oil change plans for electric vehicles, according to the DMV.

The California New Car Dealers Association opposed the legislation when it was introduced, though it said it has been working to make sure all its members are prepared for the soon-to-be-implemented changes.

In the used car space, California is adding a three-day cool-off period that the bill's author, State senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica), calls first-in-the-nation. It lets people who buy a used car from a dealership - at a price of $50,000 or less - return their vehicle for a full refund within the first three days of ownership, minus a restocking fee a dealership can charge, generally $200-600 depending on the price of the car.

Advocates say this allows buyers to bring the car to an auto mechanic to have it professionally inspected.

'Consumers in California, for the first time, will have this new right that empowers them to return the [used] car for any reason. You don't even have to give an explanation, and the dealer is required by the CARS Act to give you a refund,' said Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, which advocated for the bill. 'I think that's a game changer...It really helps level the playing field.'

Full report: ABC News 10: "Car buying is set to become slightly less of a headache in California on Oct. 1, under new law"
 

"A California law taking effect on Oct. 1 is set to ease the car-buying experience by giving buyers new safeguards against hidden costs, misleading terms and high-pressure sales tactics.

Under Senate Bill 766, officially known as the California Combating Auto Retail Scams (CARS) Act, dealerships are required to advertise a vehicle's total price and must identify which add-on features or services are optional. Dealers are also mandated to clearly represent their terms for purchasing, financing or leasing a vehicle.

The law, authored by Senator Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, also puts a halt to charging for add-ons that Allen described as unhelpful for consumers, such as free oil changes for an electric vehicle....

Consumer protection advocates applauded the legislation.

Nonprofit organization Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety said on its website upon the law's signing that the CARS Act would reduce 'bait-and-switch' pricing tactics and empower buyers through the return policy, which organization head Rosemary Shahan called 'a game-changer.' "


Read more: The Press-Democrat: New California Law Brings Price Transparency and a three-day return policy to car buyers
 

"The online retailer eBay is joining a pack of its competitors in banning sales of airbags and many kinds of airbag parts in the U.S.

Although eBay hasn't said what motivated this action, the company's move comes after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released investigation results in April which found that certain substandard airbag inflators imported from China were responsible for a dozen deaths or serious injuries since 2023. In July, The Wall Street Journal traced the origins of several such faulty — and potentially counterfeit — airbag components, and found that one had been purchased as an aftermarket part on eBay....

Consumer safety advocates welcomed eBay's move. 'It's a good thing that eBay is no longer going to be offering airbags or airbag components on their platform. And it's about time,' said Rosemary Shahan,  president of the nonprofit Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety. 'There are a lot of dangerous airbags out there.' "

Read More: NPR: "eBay bans airbag sales as concerns about faulty or counterfeit parts rise"

Auto safety ALERT: No database is a substitute for getting a reputable auto technician/ body shop to inspect a car -- ideally before you buy.
 

When Ashley Martin from New Lowell, a community near Barrie, Ont., bought his dream truck a 2026 Ram Tungsten, he had no idea the litany of problems the pick-up would have. Even though he paid $112,000 for the luxury truck, he says issues with the new vehicle happened the same day he drove it home when a service light came on the dash.  
"The first problem was on the way home on the day of purchase," said Martin.

The truck eventually broke down at a stop sign and had to be towed back to the dealership.

Martin said problems with the RAM were like "peeling back an onion," with one problem being repaired, only to have another one crop up.

"They replaced catalytic convertors, they've replaced O2 sensors, they pulled the fuel tank, they put in a new fuel pump, they flushed the system. It was one thing after another," said Martin.

While all the repairs are being done under warranty, Martin hasn't had the truck in two months while it's been in the repair shop, and is concerned it's a defective "lemon vehicle."

He doesn't want it back. Rosemary Shahan is the founder of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety (CARS), and she is also known as the mother of U.S. lemon laws, as she helped create one of the first lemon laws in California, leading to similar legislation in all 50 U.S. states.

While there are differences between states, the general principle is that manufacturers must buy back or replace a vehicle if they can't repair a problem after three of four attempts, and the car is out of service for 30 days.

"The lemon laws in the U.S. do help a lot of consumers. There are massive quality problems and complaints are shooting up," said Shahan.

Shahan added: "people work hard to buy these vehicles, and they should be able to trust the auto manufacture to stand behind the product." Shahan said Canadians should try to move forward with lemon laws in all provinces to benefit consumers.

"I'm hoping if Canada embarks on a lemon law, you can do even better then we did," said Shahan. "I would encourage lemon owners to fight back and get organized."

Watch full report: CTV News: "'I just want what I paid for': Ontario [Canada] man says $112,000 truck has been in shop for months"
 

"Thieves are smashing car windows, stealing air bags and selling them on the black market. One car owner said the total cost of repairs was $3,300 after his air bag was stolen in March....
   
Sair Arapovic, who owns Royce Auto in Bensenville, said he has seen more than 60 cases of stolen air bags in the past three months alone, with the recent surge causing a repair backlog.

'The dealerships can only do so much work,' Arapovic said. 'So, you know, some of these cars sit for two, three weeks, maybe even a month, month and a half until the parts arrive.' What's fueling the air bag black market

Demand for stolen air bags increased nationwide following the recall of approximately 67 million air bags that began a decade ago, according to NHTSA.

Takata, a major Japanese auto supplier, manufactured defective air bags that exploded, killing 28 people in the U.S. and injuring at least 400 others, according to a report on NHTSA's website.

The recall began in 2016 and continued in phases through December 2019. Years later, the auto industry still hasn't produced enough air bags to bounce back.

Some of the cars hardest hit by the Takata air bag recall and a more recent recall in 2024 are Honda and Acura models, which are often singled out by thieves.

When Chicago resident Kiki Dusina recently found her Honda CR-V's air bag stolen, she went to a Honda dealership for repair. There, they told her about the shortage. Dusina now expects her car to sit at the dealership for a month or two while waiting for an air bag replacement.

'It's on back order," Dusina said. "Which, of course, is why there's a black market to begin with.'

Dusina said the entire experience has felt 'like a gut punch.'  
Dangers of using a stolen air bag

There are risks involved in using stolen or counterfeit air bags, even if it seems like they fit in the compartment.

'You want to have the air bags checked out to find out if they're actually the right air bag,' said Rosemary Shahan, president and founder of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety.

Shahan said a driver may not know if their air bags are stolen and defective until it's too late. For those who have gotten their air bags replaced, Shahan recommends having a professional ensure the air bags will work in an accident.

'The air bags are there to protect your head, your face, your spinal cord, your internal organs,' she said. 'Even if you're wearing a seatbelt, it's not enough to protect you in a moderate to severe crash. You have to have the air bag there.'

Frontal air bags have saved over 50,000 lives in a 30-year period, according to the NHTSA.

Protecting your car from air bag theft

There is no way to completely stop someone from stealing air bags.

Shahan recommends people park in areas overnight with street lights and cameras and take advantage of private garages if possible."

Read more: Chicago Sun-Times: "Air bag thefts in Chicago are on the rise, as are repair wait times. Here's what to know."