Fortunately, for the owners of about 150,000 new cars every year, there is a lemon law to protect them. This is the approximate number of new cars that are sold every year that end up having repeated problems, problems that cannot be fixed. Every state has their own version of the vehicle lemon law that is designed to provide consumers with recourse in the event they buy one of these 150,000 lemons.
What actually is a lemon?
Although the numbers vary slightly from one state to another, for a vehicle to qualify as a lemon it must:
* Have a defect that is covered under warranty that has occurred within a certain time frame or a certain number of miles on the odometer
* The defect cannot be repaired after a specified, reasonable, number of attempts
* The defect must have a detrimental impact on the vehicles safety, value and use
Defect: The defect must be substantial and be covered under the terms of the new car warranty. Substantial means something like problems with the brakes or steering; it does not mean a loose knob on the in-car entertainment system.
If there is any controversy it is in defining exactly what the word “substantial” means. This is often the reasons why the owner of the lemon hires an attorney to get recourse under the law.
Reasonable attempts to repair the defect: Once again, reasonable is different between jurisdictions but generally speaking it means that a serious defect that affects the safety of the occupants and others must be repaired on the first attempt. If the defect is not one that impairs safety, it must remain unrepaired after three or four attempts.
Getting a refund or a replacement vehicle:
If your vehicle meets the vehicle lemon law requirements of the state in which you reside you have every right to demand a replacement or a refund from the manufacturer. If you cannot get satisfaction most states have an arbitration process or the owner can hire a lawyer to pursue the case.
Every state has their version of the vehicle lemon law. If you are looking for detailed information you are invited to visit us
