Car yo-yo / spot-delivery defender

01Problem

Spot delivery (also called conditional delivery or “yo-yo”) is taking the car home before a lender has bought the retail installment contract on the signed terms. Days later the dealer calls: come back, re-sign at a higher APR, a longer term, more down payment, or more add-ons — or return the car. There is no federal deadline and no federal cooling-off right at a dealership (16 CFR 429). The CFPB’s page (last reviewed Mar. 8, 2024) says you are not required to accept different financing, you can walk away, and the dealer should refund the down payment. State clocks and trade-in rules differ sharply: New Mexico 20 calendar days / 48-hour return; Washington four calendar days exclusive of Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday; Oregon 10 calendar days (contracts on or after Jan. 1, 2026); Maryland written notice within 4 days of delivery and vehicle return within 2 days of that notice; California refunds pending payments if the contract is not executed and, on seller breach, the greater of trade-in FMV or contract value within five business days.

02Intake

Every page signed at delivery: RISC, purchase order, “seller’s right to cancel,” bailment/spot-delivery rider, arbitration clause, odometer statement.
Whether the RISC states, clearly, that the sale is conditional on a lender buying the contract on those exact terms, and any deadline printed in it.
Date and time of delivery; current date; miles driven since delivery; condition of the car.
Down payment method and amount; any later payments.
Trade-in: VIN, keys, title, payoff, agreed allowance; whether the dealer still has it; any payoff the dealer already made.
The callback: date, who called, new APR / term / down / add-ons demanded, and whether they threatened a stolen-vehicle report.
Outside credit-union or bank approval in hand or obtainable this week.
State of the sale (not the buyer’s home state if different).
Copies of ads, texts, and the original TILA box.

03Playbook

01
Do not take the car until financing is funded if the buyer can wait. CFPB: the best protection is a final loan before the keys. A bailment or “we’ll get you approved” smile is not funding. Community tactic from @loanexit (TikTok, 30d): do not sign a bailment agreement before credit is approved — keep that.
02
Read the papers for a clear financing contingency. CFPB en-831: if the contract does not clearly state that the deal was not final, or does not say the sale was conditional on the dealer finding a buyer for the loan within a short time, the buyer may have a right to keep the car and pay as originally agreed. If the contingency is clear, the original RISC is not a final assignment — but the dealer still cannot force a worse second contract.
03
On the callback, get the new numbers in writing before returning. A second RISC is a new consummation. Re-read TILA (APR, finance charge, amount financed). Do not sign under a stolen-vehicle threat; that threat is a complaint to the state dealer board and, if false, to police and the AG.
04
You are not required to accept the new deal. CFPB: walk away; the dealer should refund the down payment. A salesperson’s line that “you cannot refuse to sign and keep the car” is true in one direction only: if the original contract was truly conditional and the dealer timely voids it under state law, you return the car and they return your money and trade-in. You do not have to re-sign.
05
Run the state clock the day of the call.

New Mexico — state-specific, NMAC 12.2.13.8 (spot delivery generally). It is an unfair trade practice for a dealer who delivers a new, demonstration, or used motor vehicle in a sale conditioned on financing to: (A) represent that the sale is final if the financing contingency is unmet; (B) refuse to void the contract if financing is not finalized within 20 calendar days from delivery; (C) fail to return, within a reasonable time, all money and collateral including the trade-in; (D) accept a trade-in and then sell or remove it from the lot before financing is finalized. The purchase order must contain, in bold 12-point type, signed only by a buyer subject to the contingency: the buyer may void if financing is not approved within 20 calendar days; the buyer gets the trade-in and all money back; to exercise the right the buyer must return the vehicle in the same condition (normal wear excepted) within 48 hours of notice that financing was not approved; the dealer shall not charge fees if so returned. Charging a usage fee is separately barred. This is New Mexico administrative law, not a federal rule.

Washington — RCW 46.70.180(4) (“bushing”). Within four calendar days, exclusive of Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, and before any further negotiations, the dealer must either unconditionally accept or reject/void and tender refund of the down payment and return of the trade-in, keys, or title. Per se Consumer Protection Act violation (Washington AG “Bushing Scams” page). Tender may be conditioned on return of the vehicle. A call after that window to change the deal is bushing.

Oregon — ORS 646A.090 as amended by HB 3178 (2025 Laws ch. 81), effective Jan. 1, 2026. Seller must try in good faith to sell the RISC on the exact terms negotiated. If, within 10 calendar days after possession, no lender takes those exact terms, the seller shall either (A) unconditionally accept and finance on the exact terms, or (B) reject and void, and send notice within two days after the 10-day period. Seller may not sell, lease, or pay off the trade-in before final funding; if it sells the trade-in anyway, it owes the greater of payoff, allowance, or resale. Older compilations still print 14 days — do not use 14 days for post-Jan. 1, 2026 contracts.

Maryland — Md. Code, Transportation § 15-311.3. Separate signed notice that dealer-arranged financing is not final. If terms are not approved, written notice within 4 days of delivery; buyer returns the vehicle, same condition except normal wear, within 2 days of that notice. Down payment, titling fee, excise tax, dealer processing, other fees, and the trade-in must be returned immediately; no use fee; rights cannot be waived.

California. No general dealer cooling-off on new cars. Civ. Code § 2982.7(a): payments pending execution of a conditional sale contract are refunded if the contract is not executed. § 2982.7(b): seller breach and unreturned trade-in → greater of FMV or contract value within five business days. § 2982.9: if the seller knows the buyer will obtain financing from a third party without the seller’s assistance and the buyer cannot obtain it, the contract is deemed rescinded. § 2982.5: seller-assisted loan not approved on the stated terms → rescinded, consideration returned without demand (Front Line Motor Cars v. Webb, 2019). SB 766’s three-day used-car cancel (≤ $50,000, operative Oct. 1, 2026) is a separate used-vehicle right, not a yo-yo statute.
06
Recover the trade-in as a first-class demand. Dealers who already sold it have converted the collateral. Use the state rule: NM — cannot sell or remove it before funding, must return it; WA — tender return before further negotiations; OR (2026) — cannot sell/lease/pay off before funding, and if sold, pay the greater of payoff / allowance / resale; MD — return in the same condition immediately; CA — greater of FMV or contract value in five business days on seller breach. Do not accept “we already sold it, so you have to re-sign.”
07
Bring a credit-union approval to the callback. Options: (a) keep the original terms if the contingency was missing or the state clock expired; (b) complete the purchase with outside financing (California § 2982.9 if the dealer knew it was buyer-arranged); (c) unwind — return the car, take the money and trade-in. Read the contract for mileage or wear charges; several states limit those to written, reasonable amounts (Oregon: damage/excess wear, and a per-mile charge only if notice went out within the statutory window, capped at the federal standard mileage rate).
08
Do not keep driving a car the dealer has voided if the contingency was valid and timely. Returning it preserves the refund claim and avoids a conversion or insurance fight. Photograph the odometer, all sides, and the interior at return; get a dated receipt.
09
If the original RISC was assigned to a lender, the Holder Rule (16 CFR 433.2) lets the buyer assert dealer-origin claims against the holder, recovery limited to amounts paid under the contract. A backdated second RISC that charges interest for weeks when no loan was funded is a TILA problem (15 U.S.C. § 1638 / Reg Z).
10
Preserve the file and complain in parallel: state AG, motor-vehicle dealer board, FTC ReportFraud, CFPB complaint (especially Buy-Here-Pay-Here). Military buyers: installation JAG. Calendar TILA’s one-year statute from each consummation.

04Checklists