New Jersey Lemon Laws

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Lemon Law Basics: New Jersey Lemon Laws

Summary of New Jersey Lemon Law

What vehicles are covered under New Jersey lemon law?
New Jersey lemon law covers new and used vehicles that are designed to transport passengers and which were sold or registered in New Jersey. Leased vehicles, motorcycles, and the vehicular portions of motor homes are covered, but buses are not.

What problems are covered by New Jersey lemon law?
New Jersey lemon law states that the manufacturer has a responsibility to repair all serious defects that prevent a vehicle from conforming to its warranty, so long as the nonconformity is reported within the first 18,000 miles or two years of possession of the vehicle. A serious nonconformity is one that affects the vehicle's use, value, or safety. The nonconformity cannot be caused by abuse or modification by the owner.

If the nonconformity persists after a reasonable number of attempts to repair it, the vehicle must be repurchased or replaced. Under New Jersey lemon law, the vehicle is presumed to have had a reasonable number of repair attempts after three unsuccessful tries to repair the same problem, or after it has spent more than 20 calendar days out of commission for repairs. For this presumption to take effect, the manufacturer must be notified in writing of the nonconformity and have at least one final attempt to repair it. The notice must be given by certified mail, return receipt requested, after the second repair attempt or 20th day of being out of commission.

Filing a claim under New Jersey lemon law
If the manufacturer has an informal settlement process in place to deal with lemon law cases, the consumer must attempt to use it before filing a claim with the judicial system.

What settlements are possible under New Jersey lemon law?
If an owned vehicle is repurchased under New Jersey lemon law, the manufacturer must pay a sum that includes the original purchase price including credits and trade-ins, the cost of installed options, and other charges including tax, tags, and registration. A reasonable offset for use of the vehicle may be subtracted from this sum. The offset is calculated by dividing the number of miles on the vehicle at the time of the first attempt to repair the nonconformity by 100,000 and multiplying the result by the full purchase price.

If a leased vehicle is repurchased under New Jersey lemon law, the manufacturer must pay a sum to the lessor that includes a refund of the full purchase price minus payments received from the lessee. The manufacturer must pay a sum to the lessee that includes all payments made to the lessor, plus all other costs incurred as a result of the nonconformity, including tax, tags, registration, towing costs, etc. This sum is reduced by a reasonable offset for vehicle usage, as described above.

If a vehicle is replaced under New Jersey lemon law, the new vehicle must be substantially comparable to the original. No usage offset applies to a replaced vehicle, and the manufacturer must transfer any lien to the new vehicle.