If you bought a new vehicle and it is back at the dealership time after time for the same problem, you may have bought a lemon.
The law in every state defines a lemon as a vehicle that is defective and is unreliable for the purpose. Any vehicle that has a serious defect that jeopardizes the safety of the occupants, the use of the vehicle for daily transportation, or the resale value may be a lemon. The basis for state lemon laws is the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. The 1975 act gives buyers of lemon vehicles the right to ask for a full refund of the purchase price or a replacement vehicle.
Understand How The Act Protects You:
For the law to apply, the vehicle must have serious problems while it is still covered by the manufacturer’s warranty. In most states, only new vehicles can be defined as a lemon; however, there are exceptions.
The law requires that the owner give the manufacturer or the authorized dealer a “reasonable” chance to fix the defect. One of three things apply:
* That a “reasonable” number of attempts have been made to rectify the same problem with no success, or the vehicle has several problems that make it unusable.
* That the attempts to repair the defect occurred within the first one or two years from the date of delivery, or
* The vehicle has been in the shop for repair an aggregate total of 30 days or more.
As no vehicle manufacturer would vouch for repairs made by anyone other than the authorized dealer, the vehicle must be returned to the dealership.
The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act does not define what a “reasonable number of repair attempts” means. The definition has fallen to courts, which have stated that three or four attempts are sufficient to identify and rectify the problem.
If you think your new car is a lemon, the law is on your side. To know more about the lemon law in your state, visit Krohn & Moss, Ltd. Consumer Law Center® online.
