Car purchase cooling-off period: the Belgian rule

No: an SUV bought and signed at a dealership cannot be cancelled within 14 days. In Belgium, the withdrawal period only applies to a purchase concluded at a distance or off the seller's premises. It does not apply at the Brussels Motor Show either. The car loan, however, can always be cancelled within 14 days.

Can you cancel a car purchase signed at a dealership?

Not under the law.

The purchase order signed in the showroom is a firm sales contract, and Wikifin (in French), the financial education website of the FSMA, the Belgian financial regulator, says it plainly on a page updated on 11 May 2026: if you bought the car at a dealership, the law provides no withdrawal period. The famous 14-day cooling-off period, which many buyers believe is universal because they have used it on a parcel ordered online, was designed for purchases made without seeing the product or under pressure from a door-to-door seller, not for a customer who test-drove the car, negotiated the trade-in and signed at the salesperson's desk.

The purchase order can offer more than the law, for example cancellation if financing is refused. The signed paper decides.

When does the 14-day period apply?

When the purchase is concluded at a distance or off the premises, with a professional. The FPS Economy (in French), Belgium's federal economy ministry, lists both situations in its press release of 30 June 2023: orders placed online, by phone or by mail, and contracts signed outside the company's premises, such as door-to-door selling.

Sources: FPS Economy (30 June 2023 and 12 January 2023), Wikifin (11 May 2026), EU Court of Justice (21 December 2023, BMW Bank and others).

These rules are federal. They are the same in Wallonia, Brussels and Flanders, unlike the registration tax (TMC, taxe de mise en circulation) you will pay on the same SUV.

Can a car bought at the Brussels Motor Show be cancelled?

No, and it is the most expensive misunderstanding of January. The 103rd Brussels Motor Show will be held at Heysel from 8 to 17 January 2027, according to Moniteur Automobile (in French), and thousands of purchase orders will be signed there under the spotlights, with discounts valid "until the end of the Show".

The FPS Economy put it in black and white ahead of the 2023 edition: you have no right of withdrawal if you sign a purchase commitment at the Show. The EU Court of Justice (summary in French) set the test in the Unimatic ruling of 7 August 2018: a fair stand counts as business premises as soon as an average consumer can reasonably expect the trader to sell there. A carmaker's stand at Heysel ticks every box.

Test-Achats (in French), Belgium's consumer association, added on 16 January 2024 that a configured new car is often treated as a made-to-measure item, which would take it out of the withdrawal right in any case.

The car loan can always be cancelled within 14 days

It is the only automatic safety net. A consumer credit agreement can be withdrawn from within 14 calendar days of its conclusion, free of charge and without giving a reason, under article VII.83 of the Belgian Code of Economic Law. Argenta's withdrawal form (in French), for example, asks for a registered letter and repayment of the capital and accrued interest no later than 30 days after sending it.

The catch is in the next sentence of the FPS Economy: this withdrawal only covers the credit agreement, not the purchase of the vehicle. You cancel the loan, not the car. You will have to pay for the SUV another way.

In practice, here is what it means for a 35,000 € loan at a 6 % rate taken as an assumption, with the funds left at your disposal for 12 days before repayment: about 69 € of interest, nothing more.

How much does cancelling a purchase order cost?

The amount set in the contract, often a heavy one. The website Droits Quotidiens (in French) noted on 31 January 2023 that in an amicable cancellation the buyer often has to pay 15 % of the car's price. Two public complaints filed with Test-Achats cite the same rate: a Kia Stonic ordered from a dealership in Hainaut in January 2022, and a vehicle ordered on 9 May 2025 from a car centre in La Louvière, whose buyer considered the penalty abusive.

Calculation on round prices, to show the order of magnitude.

The law does not require any deposit, Wikifin points out, but the contract can state that you lose it if you walk away. Only one case gives it back to you by right: if the seller misses the delivery date, you can grant a new one and, if that is missed too, cancel the sale and recover the deposit. Write the delivery date on the order, and state whether it is essential to you.

Can a car sale between private individuals be cancelled?

Not because you changed your mind: withdrawal only covers contracts concluded with a business. Between private individuals, the sale is undone by mutual agreement, or before a judge for a hidden defect. Our advice on buying used lists the documents to ask for.

Can an SUV ordered online really be returned?

Yes, from a professional seller established in the EU. The 14 days run from the day after you take possession of the vehicle. The seller may reply that the car was configured for you. In France, the Cour de cassation dismissed that argument on 17 September 2025, reports Que Choisir (in French): a car chosen from the manufacturer's range and options is not a clearly personalised item. We found no published Belgian ruling either way; the argument is worth making, without certainty. The same logic applies to an SUV imported from Germany and ordered at a distance.

How do you withdraw within the deadline?

1. Count 14 calendar days from the day after delivery for the purchase, or from the day after signing for the loan.
2. Send a clear statement, preferably by registered letter, or use the seller's form.
3. Keep proof of sending: a letter posted before the deadline is on time.
4. Return the vehicle within 14 days of your notice; the seller refunds you within the same period.
5. If refused, report it on ConsumerConnect and contact the Consumer Ombudsman Service.

Five lines to write on the purchase order before signing

• "Subject to financing approval" if you borrow: exactly the wording the Kia Stonic buyer was missing.
• A precise delivery date, marked as essential if it is for you.
• The deposit amount, and what happens to it if you cancel.
• The cancellation fee rate, to be struck out or negotiated if it reaches 15 %.
• The trade-in value of your old car, in figures and not "to be confirmed".

To avoid: signing without these five lines, at the Show or at a dealership. To compare two SUVs before committing, our comparison tool puts them side by side.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have 14 days to cancel the purchase of a new car in Belgium? No, if you signed at a dealership or on a motor show stand. The 14-day period only applies to a purchase concluded at a distance or off the seller's premises, such as an online order or an order signed at home during an unsolicited visit. The purchase order may still grant a contractual cancellation right: read it again.

Can I cancel a used car bought from a garage? Not under the law, if the sale was concluded on site. The garage has no obligation to take the car back. Two levers remain: an amicable agreement, often against a fee, or the two-year legal conformity guarantee reserved for sales between a business and a consumer, which can be reduced to one year for used goods, if a defect appears.

How much does it cost to cancel a car purchase order? The amount set in the contract. A fee of 15 % of the price comes up often, according to Droits Quotidiens, and two complaints published by Test-Achats in 2022 and 2025 cite the same rate. The deposit can also be lost if the contract says so. A clearly excessive clause can, in principle, be challenged before the Consumer Ombudsman Service or a judge.

Does the right of withdrawal apply at the Brussels Motor Show? In principle, no. The FPS Economy repeated it on 12 January 2023, ahead of that year's show: signing a purchase commitment at the Show gives no right of withdrawal. Only a loan taken out on site can be cancelled within 14 days, and that does not undo the purchase.

How do I cancel a car loan in Belgium? By sending the lender a clear notice within 14 calendar days of concluding the credit agreement, preferably by registered letter. Withdrawal is free. You must then repay the capital and the interest accrued since the funds were made available, no later than 30 days after sending your notice.

Can you withdraw from an online car purchase like a parcel? Yes, if the seller is a professional established in the European Union: 14 days from the day after you take possession. The seller may argue that a configured car is a made-to-measure item. In France, the Cour de cassation rejected that argument on 17 September 2025 for a car chosen from the manufacturer's option catalogue; we found no equivalent Belgian ruling.

Can a car sale between private individuals be cancelled? Not simply because you changed your mind. The right of withdrawal only covers contracts concluded with a business. Between private individuals, the sale is undone by mutual agreement, or before a judge in the case of a hidden defect or vitiated consent, such as a tampered odometer.