Changing your mind after signing: what the law allows

There is no general 10-day period to cancel a vehicle purchase. Only one exception of that kind exists, and it is narrow: certain high-cost credit contracts — where the rate exceeds the Bank of Canada's Bank Rate by 22 percentage points — open a 10-day cancellation window. Outside that case, once the sales contract is signed, it binds you. So the right question is not “how many days do I have?” but “how did I pay?” — because that is what determines your options, according to the Office de la protection du consommateur (OPC).

If the purchase is financed through the dealer — an instalment sale — the OPC is clear: “once the contract is signed, you have 2 days to cancel it,” and that window starts the moment the dealer and you each hold a copy of the contract.

Two scenarios. The vehicle has not been delivered to you yet: you send the dealer a written notice within the 2 days. The vehicle was delivered to you when you received your copy: you must return it within 2 days, in the same condition as when you received it — the right is lost if you cannot return it in that condition through your own fault. Two days, original condition, something in writing: all three conditions must be met exactly.

If you paid cash, or with a personal loan from your financial institution, the 2-day window of the instalment sale does not apply. The OPC puts it plainly: once the purchase contract is signed, “it is often too late to change your mind without consequences.” Refusing to take delivery does not undo the contract: the dealer can demand that it be carried out, claim the penalty set out in the contract, or claim actual damages.

The nuance that remains: nothing prevents a mutual agreement. A dealer may agree to cancel or exchange — that is then a business policy, not a legal obligation. The distinction is worth understanding before you rely on it.

This cap is not a general rule that would apply to every cancellation: it targets the penalty clause written into the contract. When such a clause exists and you refuse to take delivery, the fees it provides for cannot exceed the greater of $400 or 2% of the vehicle's price. On a $25,000 vehicle, 2% comes to $500: that amount is the maximum.

Without a valid clause, the dealer is not automatically entitled to the capped penalty: it can instead demand performance of the contract or claim its actual damages. The details can be checked on the official page of the OPC.

A deposit paid before signing has no magic status: what happens to it depends on what was agreed — and on what is in writing. Before handing over anything, ask in writing under what conditions it is refundable, and have it recorded. A deposit “to hold the vehicle while you think it over” and a deposit that goes with a signed offer to purchase are two different situations.

The simplest rule is still the safest: only pay a deposit once your decision is made. Fees and extras are negotiated at the same time — before signing, not after.

Everything above leads to the same conclusion: the law protects the buyer far better before signing than after. Test drive, pre-purchase inspection, reading the contract line by line, financing terms understood — that is where the decision is made. Take the time you need: a good salesperson will not hold it against you.