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What do you do if you buy a new car or a used car and it is a lemon. A lemon is a nice way of saying the car is a piece of junk. The car is continually breaking down and is not
what the dealership promised it to be. State lemon laws force manufacturers to live up to their promises. Many times you can get a new car or your money back. Here is how.
Lemon Laws were made to protect new private passenger vehicles. In order for you to use your state’s Lemon Laws the above has to apply and you must still live in the state
that you purchased the car. Every state has a lemon law but they do vary from state to state on wording and remedies. Check with your state to find out your rights concerning a defective vehicle.
Lemon laws enable a consumer to return a defective car. Certain criteria must be met for the buyer to return it. Sometimes these are rather stringent requirements because car manufacturers don’t like to take back a car. Most of the time you will have to fight the car manufacturer in court. Basically you need to check into the lemon law in these three instances: the car keeps breaking down within the warranty period, the car is a safety hazard, the dealer is unable to fix the car when it is warranted.
When your new vehicle is not conforming to it’s warranties you need to contact the manufacturer of the car to get a remedy. New cars are warranted in four ways; the
bumper to bumper warranty, power train warranty, corrosion warranty, and the emissions warranty. The bumper to bumper warranty usually covers everything in the car except
the tires. The power train warranty covers the engine, transmission, the differential and other portions of the car but is different with manufacturers. Corrosion warranty covers the body and the frame against rust. Corrosion only applies to holes in the body or frame and not a ruined paint job. The emissions warranty covers the air quality control system of the vehicle, the exhaust and the fuel system.
When a car excessively breaks down and you have to keep bringing it back to the dealer for repair under the warranty, the lemon law might be your next recourse. The defect should be substantial where it interferes with your driving the vehicle or your safety. A vehicle stalling for no reason would be a substantial defect. This could impair your driving and your safety. Under the lemon law you are not required to show why the car is stalling, you just have to prove that it is stalling. Strangely, people have won lemon law cases merely because the leather upholstery was extremely pungent. But if you think
about it, if the smell makes you very sick it could impair your driving.
Some lemon laws require a written notice to be sent to the manufacturer notifying them of the defect and requesting them to fix it. Even if your state doesn’t require the
notification it is still wise to notify them and give the manufacturer the opportunity to repair the vehicle. You must give them a reasonable amount attempts to fix it. Some
repairs may take several attempts to remedy. If the defect is a serious one that can impair the safety of the passengers, you are not required to endure numerous trips to get it fixed.
A problem with the brakes or the steering would fall in this category becaure your life is on the line should they fail.
Manufacturers will try to get out of the lemon law so they will not have to remedy the problem. Some of the defenses they will try to get you on are:
The owner abused the vehicle.
The owner altered the vehicle and thus voided the warranty.
The vehicle is not really substantially defected.
The owner continued to drive the vehicle even with the defect.
The car is out of warranty and the lemon law period has expired.
The owner failed to notify the manufacturer of the defect or failed to give them the
opportunity to fix it.
If you happen to win a lemon law case who decides whether you get a replacement car or a refund? Most states allow the consumer to decide which they would like. Some states
allow the manufacturer to offer a remedy and the consumer has the right to accept or reject it.
If it is decided that you will get a replacement vehicle it must be a “comparable vehicle” to the one you had. But the good news is, comparable means the car must be comparable
to the original purchased vehicle. In other words only a brand new vehicle is considered comparable. The consumer should never be required to pay any fees for the replacement
vehicle, even though many manufacturers will try to pass some on. Before getting a new vehicle the consumer must return the lemon vehicle. Most consumers will have no
problem with this, but make sure the vehicle is in the condition that was attested to in the lemon law trial.
If the owner is getting a monetary refund there are a few procedures that are followed.
Most laws state that the consumer needs to be returned back to the financial position they were in before they purchased the vehicle, less the amount that the consumer benefited from by using the vehicle. To get the refund amount many factors are considered such as, was it a sale or a lease, the purchase price, taxes and license, and mileage etc.
Lemon Laws are designed to protect the consumer and in most states they are very effective. Manufacturers no longer have the advantage over the consumer.
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