ALT-1 An Overview of Lemon Laws in the us
In the United States, a person who purchases a new vehicle can reasonably expect that a vehicle which has been treated according to the manufacturer's recommendations will live up to its manufacturer's warranty. Sometimes, however, a vehicle will fail to live up to expectations. It is to resolve the resulting disputes between purchaser and manufacturer that lemon laws were created.
Although all American lemon laws derive from the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (1975) which governs breach of warranty, specific lemon laws themselves fall under state jurisdiction. Different states have vastly differing interpretations of what vehicle issues should be covered under lemon laws and how disputes should be resolved. The applicable state law is usually but not always dictated by the state in which the vehicle is registered.
Resolving lemon law issues begins with information. In every new car purchase, it is the dealer's responsibility to inform the purchaser, at the time of purchase, of their rights under the lemon laws of the local state. The dealer is also required to inform the purchaser if the vehicle had previously been returned under the provisions of a local lemon law. Lemon laws do not normally apply to used car purchases, unless the car is still under the original manufacturer's warranty. However, even if you purchase a used vehicle 'as is', you do not void any applicable lemon law rights.
Using a vehicle for commercial purposes may void a purchaser's rights under local lemon laws. Using a repair shop other than the dealership for attempted repair of the problem may void the warranty. Even standard manufacturer-recommended maintenance by anyone other than the dealership may void the warranty. Regardless, going outside the dealership will make the documentation trail required for lemon law compensation much more problematic. At the very best, independent vehicle inspection may be required.
Not all states' lemon laws cover all types of vehicle defect. In most cases, only those defects which directly impact driving or which are otherwise monitored through state inspection will be covered, and then only if the existence of the defect could reasonably be considered under the manufacter's control. For example, undercarriage failure within standard road use will be seen differently from undercarriage failure in a vehicle which has been used off-road. Such limitations include but are not limited to vehicle abuse, post-purchase customization, or failure to meet manufacturer's maintenance specifications.
The defect must have been reported to the dealership within the time and mileage frame specified by local state law. This will usually fall under one year and 20,000 miles of use, and will usually be quite a bit less than that. If either time or mileage is exceeded prior to initial dealership attempts to fix the problem, lemon laws no longer apply. For this reason, and also because a significant problem left untended is likely to worsen, you should report defects as soon as they become apparent.
Ideally, you should be able to resolve defect issues entirely through the dealership through which you purchased the vehicle. If, however, you have reason to believe that the dealership is not dealing fairly with you, contact the manufacturer directly and ensure that your claim has been been filed with the manufacturer's dispute resolution department. As part of your documentation trail, keep track of all such correspondence. Remember to ask for the name of the person with whom you are dealing, as well as any transaction numbers that may apply.
After the manufacturer (usually working through the dealership) has been allowed a reasonable amount of time to attempt to fix the problem and has been unsuccessful in doing so, the manufacturer may offer the purchaser a settlement, most commonly to replace the vehicle or re-purchase it at its full value. Alternately, where the issue and resolution is less clear-cut, the dispute may be sent to independent arbitration, such as that offered by the Better Business Bureau Auto Line (http://us.bbb.org). Three such attempts on the same problem is a common guideline, although again specifics vary by state. The lemon laws of some states focus instead on how long the vehicle has been out of service.
After all the state-specific criteria have been met, if the purchaser is still unhappy with the results of arbitration, the final step would be to file a lawsuit against the manufacturer. Since this can quickly become prohibitively expensive, be sure you have a solid case before proceeding. It is well worth the cost and effort to consult first with a lawyer who specialises in warranty law.
