So cars should have 30 day rescission periods, too? Your logic won't sway any lawmakers anywhere. The bottom line is that 7-10 days is plenty of time for any diligent buyer to go to a PC and type "timeshare resale" into google or to call their attorney.
Almost everyone who buys a new car does months of research before signing on the dotted line. They often times purchase reports from consumer-oriented companies that show the dealer's real cost, and offer info about negotiating the best reasonable price. There are also many magazines and web sites that provide reviews, including government ratings, of all of the models available, and the average selling price of each model. Ads are placed in newspapers and, by government regulation, must contain factual information, although it may be necessary to use a magnifying glass to read it all. But it is there.
Not so with timeshare presentations. I attend them regularly just to keep up- to-date on the latest lies and spiels being used by salespeople to dupe their victims. It's outrageous how much blatant dishonesty is still going on. At one particular resort, I spend an inordinate amount of my vacation time each year "saving" people in time to rescind their purchase. Many made the purchase based upon one particular LIE that has been used by the sales staff for 3 years. I have been able to show the purchasers where in writing, in very fine print on about page 30 of a 50 page "contract" it says the exact opposite of what they had been told verbally.
It's amazing that this outrageous activity is still going on after all these years. I can't think of any other major industry that can operate like this without running afoul of government regulations, rules, or laws.
I've been told that we have ARDA to "thank" for lobbying against attempts to have Federal regulations passed that would prevent this type of activity during timeshare presentations nation-wide. That's why many of us decline to pay the optional $3.00 ARDA "contribution" that is added to most annual maintenance fee bills.
Boca, another flaw in your car purchase analogy is that the buyer drives off in his newly purchased vehicle, and it loses value the minute he does. But a timeshare purchase from a developer will not be used by the buyer until some date in the future. Many times he is buying points or floating time, not a particular unit. and seldom a "brand new" unit that has not already been occupied by someone else. There is no depreciation issue involved. So if he rescinds within 30 days, there is no loss of value except to the sales snake who didn't deserve to reap the large commission in the first place.
One of our most loved purchase was at the Royal Resorts in Cancun. While vacationing there on an exchange, we were invited to attend a no-pressure lunch with a saleslady who discussed the advantages of owning at the Royals. She gave us a fact- filled booklet written in easy to understand language, and told us to take it home and discuss it with trusted advisers. If we were interested, we could call her anytime and have a contract mailed to us. She called us only once, about 2 weeks later, to ask if we had any questions. We gave it a lot of thought and did research before deciding to purchase. We had the choice of a "new" week or resale and chose the latter. (There actually were some legitimate advantages to buying a "new" week!). We made the "We are ready to buy" call 7 weeks later. No pressure, no regrets.
The Royal Resorts consistently receive top ratings from TUGgers and on tripadvisor.com. They have very loyal happy owners, many of whom "re-upped" when the 30 year right to use expired in 2007. I mention this only to illustrate that an honest, no pressure sales model can work.
