Although the lemon laws vary from one state to the next, every state does have a vehicle lemon law that provides protection for a consumer who unwittingly purchases a vehicle that simply fails to perform as it should; with certain provisos. As every state has slightly different lemon laws it is in the consumers best interest that these laws are at least understood on the surface.
A typical state vehicle lemon law stipulates that the purchaser of a new car is entitled to a remedy if certain circumstances occur. In most cases the law states that the car must be out of service for a certain number of days in the first year of ownership, it must have been returned to the dealer for service at least a given number of times for the same problem and the defect must meet a specific criteria.
Assume a consumer purchases a brand new car and well within the warranty period the engine fails. If the car is sitting in the service bay for more than the specified number of days that it can be out of service, the car is a lemon. Let’s go one step further; the engine fails and is repaired but it fails again and again. Once it reaches the number of failures which are allowed by state law, the car is a lemon.
The problem with lemon laws is the definition of what is a “substantial†defect. There are obvious substantial defects such as repetitive engine failure, brake failure and the likes. Other repeat problems, perhaps water leaks or excessive wear on the tires are not so easy to quantify and the owner of the car is best served by speaking with an attorney.
The consumer has certain obligations under the vehicle lemon law as well as the manufacturer. The consumer is obliged to send a letter to the manufacturer notifying them that there is a potential of your car being declared a lemon. Most consumers write this letter as a “last chance†demand for action on the part of the manufacturer. You let the manufacturer make the last attempt at repair; if this fails it qualifies as a lemon.
If your car qualifies you; as the consumer, are entitled to either a replacement car or your money back.
If you are buying a new car there is no way to know in advance whether it will turn out to be a lemon or not. Save all your documents; if it acts up take it back to the dealer and ensure that the fault is properly recorded and for subsequent repairs for the same problem make sure the same fault is recorded.
For additional info check out yourlemonlawrights.com.
