Lemon Law Basics: Lemon Law Attorneys

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

Lemon Law Basics: Learn how to protect yourself

Lemon Law Attorneys

Many lemon law attorneys will take a relatively modest up-front retainer to handle a lemon law claim, and thereafter, the attorney's fees are charged to the manufacturer. Thus, lemon law claims are generally very affordable to consumers, who do not have to pay attorneys anything beyond the up-front retainer and possibly some case costs. The lemon law provides that a prevailing consumer in a lemon law claim can collect his or her attorney's fees from the manufacturer.

To make your case strong the attorneys insist on certain guidelines. Consumers should always put their complaints in writing and keep a copy of same. In any written correspondence, always explain how burdensome it is to return the car to the dealer for repairs and that the reliability that the consumer thought he was getting has been shattered. Any written correspondence with a dealer or manufacturer should be certified mail return receipt requested. Many times the manufacturers claim that they have not had the requisite number of tries to repair. They rely on the fact that the consumer does not have repair orders for all the times that the consumer has brought the car into the shop. Consumers should respond by requiring that dealers always give them a warranty repair order. Consumers should also argue that these unwritten visits are attempts.

Another ploy of manufacturers is to insist defect never existed or it is not the same defect. Often, the repair history doesn't identify the problem i.e. every repair order tries something different to fix the problem. The consumer should respond by saying that he always complained about the same problem. The consumer should insist that his words be written down. The service manager writing something different down, or attempting to fix something different each time strengthens the consumer's case because it shows the defect could not be or was not repaired. The consumer should be careful to accurately state what the problem is and make sure the service manager write it down. Replacing different parts doesn't mean different things were fixed. The inference should be that fixing different things without fixing the problem proves none of those was the problem.

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