Tennessee Lemon Laws

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Lemon Law Basics: Tennessee Lemon Laws

Summary of Tennessee Lemon Law

What vehicles are covered under Tennessee lemon law?
Tennessee lemon law covers vehicles that require registration and that are sold in Tennessee. Motor homes, off-road vehicles, garden tractors, and trucks whose gross vehicle weight is 10,000 pounds or more are excluded. Businesses or government entities that have more than three vehicles registered are also not covered by the lemon law.

What protections do I have under Tennessee lemon law?
Tennessee lemon law says that if a consumer notifies a manufacturer of a serious defect which prevents the vehicle from conforming to its warranty, the manufacturer must repair the nonconformity at no cost. A serious defect negatively affects the use, safety, or value of the vehicle. The nonconformity must be reported within the "term of protection," which is defined as the warranty period or the first year of ownership, whichever comes first. The manufacturer is not liable for nonconformities which result from abuse, neglect, or modification by the consumer.

If the manufacturer has had a reasonable number of attempts to repair the nonconformity and the problem still exists, the vehicle must be repurchased or replaced.

What must occur before seeking settlement under the Tennessee lemon law?
Tennessee lemon law presumes that the manufacturer has had a reasonable chance to repair the vehicle after three unsuccessful attempts to repair the same nonconformity or 30 calendar days when the vehicle was out of commission for repairs. These conditions must occur within the term of protection.

The consumer must notify the manufacturer in writing of the nonconformity. If the above presumption has been fulfilled at the time of notification, the manufacturer must be given a final chance to repair the vehicle.

Filing a claim under Tennessee lemon law
If the manufacturer has an informal settlement board for dealing with lemon law claims and makes the consumer aware of this board, Tennessee lemon law states that the consumer must attempt to resolve the problem with this board before bringing the case before a civil court.

All Tennessee lemon law claims must be filed within six months of the expiration of the warranty or one year after the consumer took possession of the vehicle, whichever comes later. Any time spent resolving the problem through the manufacturer's informal settlement board is not counted toward this deadline.

What are the settlement details under Tennessee lemon law?
If an owned vehicle is repurchased under Tennessee lemon law, the manufacturer must pay a sum which includes the full purchase price of the vehicle and all additional charges related to it, such as installed options, government fees like title, tax, and registration, and expenses related to buying the vehicle. A reasonable offset for the use of the vehicle may be subtracted from this sum. The offset cannot be more than half of the per-mile rate allowed by the IRS for business use of a vehicle, plus any damage to the vehicle that was not caused by normal wear and tear or the nonconformity.

If a leased vehicle is repurchased under Tennessee lemon law, the manufacturer must pay the lessee a sum which includes all deposits and payments made to the lessee, minus any benefits the lessee received from the lease, such as interest credits or insurance paid by the lessor. The manufacturer must pay an amount to the lessor which includes the 105% full purchase price of the vehicle, any freight charges, installed options, and fees, minus the payments and deposits already received from the lessee.

If a vehicle is replaced under Tennessee lemon law, the new vehicle must be similar to the original in value, make, model, and accessories. If the manufacturer financed the original vehicle, the new vehicle must be financed under similar terms.