I bought an 2001 chevy impala Monday, and this happened

I bought a 2001 chevy impala monday and this happened to me. This was my dream car, ever since HS I wanted it...and now this dealer pulled a fast one on me. I've only had this car for 2 days. I have no warranty. I took the car to Advance Auto Parts today and the lady said "Honey you have no coolant in the car." So she got coolant and helped me put it in. She said i was bone dry, absolutely no sign of coolant in my thing whatsoever. She warned me to watch for several things, like my temp gauge, white exaust, and leaking from the engine. So I've been watching those things carefully now. The temp gauge flexuates. It stays in between the first hash and the middle hash while I am driving, when i stop it creeps up about every 15 seconds or so. Only when I stop or the car is in park. What is this? I checked my dipstick for oil with anifreeze and found nothing, my exaust isn't white. I'm scared. I'm in college and can't afford a major problem. What could it be? THanks!!

how many miles on this car? even though you don't have a warranty you might be protected by "the lemon law" also there's usually at least a 30 day warranty when buying a car from a dealer? as far as the cars problem,it may just be a leak from a radiator hose,radiator,heater core? keep watching for leaks? if you start seeing antifreeze in the oil or lots of white smoke then you have some major problems!! can you see the fans turning on? is the car over heating?

It has 87,019 miles when I bought it and right now it has 87,065. I don't understand it. There is no sign of leaks. The fans haven't turned on at all whatsoever as far as I can remember. Could this just be because the car hasn't had coolant all this time, and now is getting adjusted? I haven't seen any anifreeze in the oil or white smoke yet......There isn't any warranty as far as I can tell. When I called the dealership today, the Dealer said well we can trade it back in for another car. And I was so upset. I'm definately not doing anything with this dealership again. What is the lemon law exactly and where can I find details about this?

THANKKK YOU!

There is no Lemon Law for 8 year old used cars with 80000 miles on them.

Something caused the coolant to blow out. Chances are that the thermostat was bad, which prevented the fans from turning on, which caused the coolant to blow out the overflow.

Or the intake gasket is leaking and the fluctuation in temperature is because there is still air in the system because it hasn't been "purged". The radiator probably needs to be topped of again. A quick visual or pressure check can confirm if the intake gasket is leaking. These are a well known problem for these vehicles.

Don't panic yet! It may not be as bad as it seems.
Your temp gauge is fluctuating because there is air in the system. Post which engine you have (3.4 or 3.8) and I'll tell you how to bleed the air out, it's very easy on either one.
Both the 3.4 and the 3.8 are known for having cooling system issues. Usually the problem is the upper or lower intake manifold gaskets. They leak, either letting coolant out the side of the engine, or into the combustion chambers. If it leaks out the side, you will smell it. If it leaks into the chambers, you may get white smoke, or you may be able to smell it in the exhaust.
If I were you, I'd bleed the air from the system, then closely watch the coolant level in the reservoir for a while. If you need to put in more than about a quart per 3,000 miles or so to keep it full, I'd get it fixed.
I wouldn't worry about the fans just yet. You don't seem to be having overheating problems, so let's get the air bled and coolant filled properly first.