What Is Illinois Lemon Law?

What Is Illinois Lemon Law
Is My Vehicle a Lemon? – In order to be covered by the Illinois Lemon Law, a vehicle must:

have a nonconformity that both substantially impairs the use, market value or safety of the vehicle and is not repairable by the dealer or manufacturer in at least four attempts for the same repair, or be out of service for a total of 30 or more business days.

The Lemon Law DOES Cover: New Cars (purchased or leased) Light Trucks and vans under 8,000 pounds Recreational vehicles (excluding trailers) Vehicles in their first 12 months or 12,000 miles, whichever occurs first Vehicles purchased in Illinois The Lemon Law DOES NOT Cover: Used Cars Altered or modified vehicles Motorcycles and boats

Does Illinois have a Lemon Law on used cars?

Is There a Lemon Law for Used Cars in Illinois? Yes, consumers in Illinois may use the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act to provide them with relief for the purchase of any used car, truck, SUV, or other consumer product. This federal Lemon Law makes no distinction between new and used vehicles.

Can I return a used car in Illinois?

Can you return a car in Illinois? I bought my girlfriend a used Toyota Camry yesterday. She broke up with me today. In addition to being completely bummed about the situation, I want to get rid of this car as soon as possible. Would I be able to return the Toyota in Illinois a couple of days after buying it? offers what’s known as a “Three-Day Right to Cancel,” but it only applies to situations like door-to-door sales, gym memberships, and campground memberships.

When it comes to the vehicle you purchased, it’ll depend on what was in the fine print and whether or not you were offered a money-back guarantee, While the dealer may have made some promises verbally upon your purchase, nothing will hold up unless it was in writing. You may have purchased the car “as is,” which means you took over full ownership as soon as you drove off the lot.

However, if your purchase came with a money-back guarantee, you might be in the clear to return the, If the car was purchased new, you might have been able to return it under Illinois’s, which allows you to get a refund under the following circumstances:

The vehicle has a nonconformity that compromises its functionalityThe dealer is unable to restore the vehicle’s overall safety and/or market value in at least four attempts

It’s worth exploring your options and contacting the dealer either way before closing the door on the car’s return. In the worst-case scenario, you can keep it for yourself—and score a sweet deal on a policy for it with ‘s help. While Jerry can’t do much for you on the relationship front, you can get support breaking up with your old, expensive policy within minutes.

Just download the app, enter your information, and select a new policy from a top-rated insurer. The average Jerry user saves over $800 per year on car insurance! WHY YOU CAN TRUST JERRY Jerry partners with more than 50 insurance companies, but our content is independently researched, written, and fact-checked by our team of editors and agents.

We aren’t paid for reviews or other content. : Can you return a car in Illinois?

How many days after you buy a car can you return it in Illinois?

Three-Day Right to Cancel – Illinois law provides citizens with the right to cancel certain consumer transactions within three business days. However, many people mistakenly believe that you have a three-day right to cancel all transactions. In fact, this right applies only to certain types of purchases, as described below.

Door-to-Door Sales A provision of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act allows citizens a three-day right to cancel door-to-door sales when the total transaction is for $25 or more and the seller solicits you in your home to purchase, lease or rent merchandise. When you are solicited in your home, the seller must do the following: inform you orally and in writing of your right to cancel; provide the written notice of cancellation in the contract or on the receipt of purchase; and provide you with two copies of the notice (one to keep for your records and one to send to the seller in the event of cancellation).

Canceling a door-to-door sale

You must send the seller written notice within three full business days after the purchase date. Depending on the seller’s regular hours of operation, “business days” may include weekends. For proof of the mailing date and the seller’s receipt of cancellation, send the cancellation notice by certified mail and request a return receipt. The seller must refund any deposit you made on the purchase within ten days of receiving your cancellation notice. You are not liable for any finance or other charges and the transaction is void. You must make the merchandise available for pick-up by the seller or return the merchandise by mail to the seller at the seller’s expense. If the property isn’t picked up within 20 days after you made it available, you are entitled to keep the property without any obligation to pay for it.

Campground Memberships If after a sales presentation you decide to purchase a campground membership, the Illinois Campground Membership Act gives you three business days after executing the contract to cancel it. Under Illinois law, the “three business days” refers to any calendar day except Sunday or a federal holiday.

The cancellation notice must be written and delivered in person to the campground operator’s office or sent by certified mail.
You must return the contract and any membership materials you received with the notice of cancellation.
The campground operator must refund any deposit made on the contract within ten days of receiving notice of the cancellation.

Physical Fitness Center Contracts The Illinois Physical Fitness Services Act requires that fitness center contracts contain a three-day cancellation right so that new members can think about and cancel the membership if they wish. A contract for physical fitness services must be canceled in three business days.

Please note that these days include any day on which the facility is open for business.
Therefore, this may include Sundays and holidays.
In addition, you have seven days to cancel a contract entered into with a facility that has yet to open.
If the center has not yet opened, contracts must give consumers the right to cancel if the facility is not available for use within twelve months of the date the contract is signed or within three months of the opening date specified in the contract, whichever is earlier.

Additional Cancellation Laws Illinois Hearing Aid Consumer Protection Act: When you purchase a hearing aid by mail, you have 45 days to cancel the transaction. Illinois Buyers Clubs Administrative Code: Under the Buyers Club Contract, you may exercise your written three-day right to cancel. Back to Consumer Publications

Does Illinois have a buyers remorse law?

– You can cancel some, but not very many, contracts within 3 days. Generally speaking, though, you can’t cancel just any contract within 3 days. This column has dealt with this issue before. But, the myth that you can cancel any contract within 3 days is so persistent it’s worth discussing again.

There are 2 situations when you can cancel a contract.
The first is after a door-to-door sale.
The other is when your house is for a loan.
If it’s not one of those 2 kinds of deals, you don’t have an automatic right to cancel.
Otherwise, without or something extreme, you’re stuck.
When it exists, the 3-day right to cancel permits people with “buyer’s remorse” to get out of deals they regret.

The 3-day “cooling off period” protects people in particularly vulnerable situations. Door-to-door sales are especially high pressure situations. People often say yes just to make the salesman leave. If you are 65 or over, and the contract is for home repair or remodeling, you have 15 full business days to cancel.

The 3-day right to cancel applies to the classic door-to-door sale and to any contract signed in your home.
It also applies to certain situations where a contract is not signed at the seller’s usual place of business.
The Federal Trade Commission rule about “off-premises” sales says it applies to sales at “facilities rented on a temporary or short-term basis, such as hotel or motel rooms, convention centers, fairgrounds, and restaurants, or sales at the buyer’s workplace or in dormitory rooms.” It does not apply to automobile auctions or “tent sales.” This is as long as the dealer has a fixed place of business somewhere.

It also does not apply to arts and crafts fairs. Those both have special from the rule. There is a second kind of deal you can cancel in 3 days. That is a sale or loan where your house is collateral for the loan. It’s important to understand that this particular right to cancel does not apply to loans used to buy your house.

These are also called “purchase money loans.” It does, however, apply to home loans and loan refinancing. It also applies when you finance something besides your house using your house as collateral. An example of that last type of deal is a home repair loan. When a 3 day cooling-off period applies, you get 3 business days to cancel.

And when you sign a contract that can be canceled, you must get 2 sets of forms you can use to cancel. Sometimes you may not get the forms, or your right to cancel is otherwise interfered with. An example of an interference is being misled about your rights or given the runaround.

If either of these is the case, you have a “continuing right to cancel,” beyond 3 days. Editor’s note: This article was updated in October 2019 to include the new 15-day rule for people 65 and up, effective 8/9/19. Only logged-in users can post comments. Please if you want to leave a comment. We do our best to reply to each comment.

We can’t give legal advice in the comments, so if you have a question or need legal help, please go to, : Can’t I cancel a contract within 3 days?

How long do you have to give car back to dealer?

If you buy a new or used car from a dealer and have problems with it, you have some statutory rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, The Act states the car must be “of a satisfactory quality”, “fit for purpose” and “as described”. (For a used car, “satisfactory quality” takes into account the car’s age and mileage.) You have a right to reject something faulty and you’re entitled to a full refund within 30 days of purchase in most cases.

After 30 days, you lose the short-term right to reject the goods. You’ll also have fewer rights, such as only being able to ask for a repair or replacement, or a partial refund. In fact, you’re legally allowed to return it up to six years after you bought it (in Scotland, it’s five years after you first realised there was a problem).

But it gets more difficult to prove a fault and not normal wear and tear is the cause of any problem. Just because you didn’t buy your car new, doesn’t mean you don’t have rights if something goes wrong. You might still have a legal right to compensation.

when and where you bought it what the exact problem is whether you knew there was a problem when you bought it. This might be a repair, an amount of money to cover the cost of a repair, or a full or partial refund of the money you spent.

Citizens Advice have a tool that tells you what your consumer rights are. All you need is the date you bought your car and whether it was a private sale or bought through a trade seller. The vehicle should be of satisfactory quality, fit for its purpose and as described.

With hire purchase, it’s the finance provider, rather than the dealer, who’s legally responsible if there are problems with the car. If you paid all or part of the cost of your car by credit card, the card company and the trader might be jointly responsible for compensating you under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

Your purchase won’t be covered by Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. But you might be able to claim a refund from your debit card provider through a voluntary scheme known as ‘chargeback’. Visa, MasterCard, Maestro and American Express are among the companies signed up to chargeback.

Depending on the card you used, you’ll probably need to make your claim within 120 days of noticing the problem.
Chargeback claims can take some time to process because the card company has to get the money refunded before they can pass it on to you.
Buying privately is one of the riskiest ways of buying a car.

If something goes wrong with it you don’t have as much legal protection as you would if you’d bought the car from a dealer. The car must match the seller’s description, be roadworthy and the seller must have the legal right to sell it to you. In other words, the car must work, meet the legal requirements for being driven on public roads, and be owned by the seller.

But you’re responsible for ensuring the car is “of satisfactory quality” and “fit for purpose” before you buy it. Watch out for any unscrupulous sellers pretending to be private owners so they can offload faulty or stolen cars. With online auctions, your legal rights depend on whether the seller is a private individual or a car dealer.

If the seller is a private individual, the car only needs to be as described – so it’s a case of ‘buyer beware’. Your legal rights are the same as if you were buying from them in person (see ‘Problems with used cars bought privately’ above). If the seller is a dealer, you’ll be protected by the Sale of Goods Act if you find the car isn’t of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose or as described.

Can you return a financed vehicle?

Ask for a Voluntary Repossession – If you simply can’t afford your car payments any longer, you could ask the dealer to agree to voluntary repossession. In this scenario, you tell the lender you can no longer make payments ask them to take the car back.

How many days do you have to change your mind after buying a car?

Federal Cooling-Off Rule – The Federal Trade Commission’s “cooling-off” rule — established in the 1970s — allows consumers three days to cancel a transaction. This rule often gets tossed around if a consumer wants to return a car they just bought. It applies to purchases of more than $25 and specific sales tactics like the ones made in your home by pushy door-to-door salesmen.

It also applies to sales conducted at a place other than the retailers’ usual place of business or permanent retail location. During the COVID-19 pandemic, with more consumers buying cars online with contactless delivery taken at home, you would think these transactions would fall under the FTC’s rule.

But that rule does not apply. There’s no legal protection for consumers with buyer’s remorse at the federal or state level when buying a new car. The same applies to used cars. However, in some states, dealers must give consumers the right to cancel, according to the FTC.

Can I turn around and sell a car I just bought?

Can You Trade A Car You Just Bought? – What Is Illinois Lemon Law Yes you can trade in a vehicle that you just bought, however you may lose some money in the process. Depending on your urgency of getting a different vehicle than the one you purchased, this may be worth it to you. Things to keep in mind when trading in a car you just bought include:

Are there fees involved with breaking the terms of your loan and prepaying your loan amount
Are you upside down on the vehicle
Do you have the liquidity to pay to get yourself out from under your car
Can you afford the new car you will be trading in for

Can you sell a car in Illinois with a bill of sale?

In Illinois, the only legally required documents to sell a car are your title and registration.

What is the rule of thumb for buying a used car?

Key Takeaways –

The 20/4/10 rule of thumb for car buying helps you shop for a vehicle that will fit your budget.The rule is to make a 20% down payment on a four-year car loan and spend no more than 10% of your monthly income on transportation expenses.Because your credit score affects the size of your monthly payment, you may need to buy less car if you have a lower credit score.Some car buyers may need to adjust the numbers slightly to better fit their budgets.

Can I reject my used car?

Short-term right to reject – Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, you have a short term right to reject your car if it is of unsatisfactory quality, unfit for purpose or not as described. You can get a full refund. However, you should remember that this right is short-term and is only limited to 30 days from the date you brought your car.

Does the Lemon Law apply to private sales in Illinois?

A private seller is not liable under the Lemon Law so skip that. However, some warranties are fully transferrable to subsequent owners so you may receive the same warranty rights as the original owner. And, you can likewise demand the same relief from the manufacturer as its original owner.