What can you do if the car you just bought is a real "lemon"? What if the car you purchased is in the repair shop almost as much as in your garage? To protect consumers from such situations, most states have passed some form of "lemon laws." Other consumer protection laws may also help.
They usually apply to new cars purchased for personal, family, or household use. These laws entitle you to a replacement car or a refund if your new car is so defective that it is beyond satisfactory repair by the dealer. You must, however, give the dealer a reasonable opportunity to repair the car.
First, you must notify the manufacturer, and, in some states the dealer, about the defect. Second, you should keep a copy of every repair or service receipt you are given. This serves as your record that the required number of repair attempts has been made, and is especially important if your car's defect had to be repaired at another garage or in another city because it was physically impossible to drive the car back to the seller's repair location.
If you successfully pursue a lemon law claim, you may get a refund of what you paid for the car, as well as reimbursement for things like taxes, registration fees, and finance charges. If you choose, you may get a replacement car. Be sure that it is of comparable value to the lemon it is replacing, and that it satisfies you completely.
Yes, you may drive the car (if it is drivable), but be aware that, if the car does indeed turn out to be a lemon, the law usually allows the seller to deduct a certain amount from your refund based on the miles you have driven. This applies to both new and used car sales.
States vary in their specifics. Do an Internet search for "lemon law" along with the name of your state to see if your state has a law—if it does, chances are that a government agency or a private law firm or consumer protection organization has posted a website on the topic.
As a general rule, a lemon normally is a car that continues to have a defect that substantially restricts its use, safety, or value, even after reasonable efforts to repair it. This often means four repair attempts on the same problem or a directly related problem within six months or one year (the time period varies by state). Or, it might mean the car is out of commission for more than thirty nonconsecutive days during either: (1) the year after the dealer sold it; or (2) the duration of any express warranty, whichever is shorter.
Yes. Most states require that you go through an arbitration procedure before you can get a replacement or refund. Some states sponsor arbitration programs, which may be more objective than those run by manufacturers. Arbitration is usually free, and results often are binding only on the manufacturer; if you don't like the result, you can still take the manufacturer to court.
Some states require arbitration only if the manufacturer refuses to give you a satisfactory replacement or a refund. You also may have the option of bypassing arbitration and going directly to court.
Yes, they cover used cars in a growing number of states. In some places, the law applies both to dealer and private seller purchases.
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