Empowering Consumers Against Fraud & Unfair Practices
Consumer Center for Resources is a nonprofit that publishes free, plain-language guides to consumer protection law, with a focus on dealer fraud, lemon vehicles, and unauthorized bank transfers.
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About Consumer Center for Resources
We are a nonprofit organization committed to consumer education and advocacy. Our mission is to help everyday consumers understand their legal rights when a car dealer misleads them, they're sold a defective vehicle, or their bank won't reimburse an unauthorized transfer, and to point them to help when they need it.
Know Your Rights
Federal and state laws provide strong consumer protections. Learn how they protect you.
Free Resources
Read our guides and use the lemon law checker to understand your options at no cost.
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Tell us what happened. If you may have a claim, we can connect you with an independent consumer protection law firm.
How We Help Consumers
Select a topic to read the guides and, if you think the law applies to you, request a free case review.
Auto Fraud
Dealerships that hide accident history, roll back odometers, change your financing after the sale, or pack in add-ons. Learn what California law says.
- Hidden accident or damage history
- Odometer rollback or tampering
- Undisclosed salvage titles
- Financing and payment packing fraud
Popular Guides
Start with the questions California car buyers ask most.
California's New 3-Day Right to Cancel a Used Car Purchase (CARS Act)
Yes, for many used cars. Starting October 1, 2026, the CARS Act requires California dealers to give buyers and lessees of used vehicles priced at $50,000 or less a three-day right to cancel. You can't have driven it more than 400 miles, and the dealer can charge a capped restocking fee. The dealer must refund you within 48 hours.
Read the guideLemon LawDoes California's Lemon Law Cover Used Cars?
Sometimes. Since the California Supreme Court's 2024 decision in Rodriguez v. FCA US, the lemon law's buyback-or-replace remedy no longer covers a used car just because part of the original manufacturer's warranty is left. A used car can still be protected if the dealer gave you its own written warranty, and other California laws may apply.
Read the guideCar Buyer Rights & Dealer FraudYo-Yo Financing in California: The Dealer Called You Back. Now What?
Yo-yo financing (also called spot delivery) is when a dealer lets you drive off before your financing is final, then calls you back days later saying the deal fell through and pressures you into a worse contract. You don't have to sign a new contract. If the dealer cancels the deal, you're generally entitled to get your down payment and trade-in back when you return the car.
Read the guideLemon LawHow Many Repair Attempts Before a Car Is a Lemon in California?
California law requires a "reasonable number" of repair attempts. The Tanner Act presumes that number has been reached if, within 18 months or 18,000 miles, a defect likely to cause death or serious injury was repaired 2 or more times, the same defect was repaired 4 or more times, or the car spent more than 30 days in the shop for repairs.
Read the guideBeen Wronged by a Dealership?
California law gives car buyers real protections. Read the guides, try the lemon law checker, or call for a free, no-obligation case review.
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