Lemon Law Basics: Know Your Rights

Lemon Law Basics - Lemon Laws by State - Lemon Law Lawyers - Lemon Law Information

Lemon Law Basics: Learn how to protect yourself

What is a Lemon Law, and How Can it Protect You?

Owning a new vehicle is a wonderful feeling. Everything is fresh and clean, the car drives like a dream, and best of all, if something goes wrong it's covered under the manufacturer's warranty! But what happens if you bring your new or gently-used car home and find out that it has a problem that can't be fixed? That's where a lemon law comes in. This is a law that allows you to get a fair settlement from a manufacturer if your newly purchased car has serious defects that cannot be repaired after a certain number of tries. Approximately 1% of all new or almost new cars sold fall under the lemon law.

The exact criteria for what falls under a lemon law vary from state to state. In general, the car must be relatively new and still under the manufacturer's warranty. Some states, for example, require that the car must be less than one year old or have been driven for less than 12,000 miles to fall under the lemon law. Secondly, the problem must be serious and must affect the ability to drive the car safely. For example, brake problems would be considered serious, but cosmetic problems like peeling paint are not. Finally, you have to give the manufacturer a reasonable chance to repair the problem. What a "reasonable chance" is depends on your state, but is normally something like three attempts to fix the same problem or the car remaining in the shop for thirty days or more.

If your car falls under the lemon law, what should you do about it? Your first step will be to notify the manufacturer who will have the option of offering a reasonable settlement. If your vehicle is a lemon, you can expect to have the manufacturer buy back the car at the purchase price (adjusted for mileage) or to receive a replacement vehicle. If the settlement is not acceptable, you can go before an arbitration court, which is run either by the manufacturer itself or by the Better Business Bureau or other consumer protection groups. The more documentation you can bring to prove your vehicle should fall under the lemon law, the better your chances of a good settlement will be. If you are not satisfied with the result, you can take the case to court.

Each state also has different lemon laws so be sure to check out the lemon laws for your particular state.