What Are Lemon Laws?
Lemon Laws are state and/or federal laws that provide a remedy to buyers who have purchased a defective car that fails to meet standards of quality and performance. “Lemon” is a term to describe defective vehicles and each state has a variance of the law. For this reason, it’s important to check the laws in the state that you purchased the vehicle in question.
The History of Lemon Laws
Before lemon laws were put into place, consumers weren’t protected if a new or used car dealer sold them a car that didn’t operate as it should. These individuals were left struggling to pay for the repairs or trade the vehicle in at a loss. Today, the lemon laws are designed to protect consumers. If a vehicle qualifies as a “Lemon” based on state and/or federal laws, you are eligible for compensation in the form of a refund, replacement or cash from the manufacturer.
Legally Lemon
In legal terms, what constitutes a “Lemon” varies from state to state, but many of the characteristics of what qualifies as a “Lemon” are the same. A vehicle that’s often considered a “Lemon” is a new vehicle that should be virtually defect free but ends up having repeated and unfixable issues. The lemon laws are meant to either provide a refund or a replacement vehicle to the consumer affected by the transaction.
The Lemon Law Process
Make sure you learn about lemon laws and how they work before you begin filing a case. Each state has its own lemon law in place for the consumer’s protection. All “lemon laws” state that a consumer has a right to compensation from a vehicle manufacturer if the manufacturer fails to repair the vehicle within a reasonable number of attempts and/or reasonable amount of time. If you’re not sure if your vehicle qualifies as a “Lemon,” contact us today and we can help you with a free consultation!
Qualifications for Lemon Law Claims
If you want to take advantage of the lemon laws, you need to first know what qualifies as a “Lemon.” While we cannot guarantee that your vehicle would be considered a “Lemon” in each state, under most laws, a vehicle is considered a lemon if:
- It has a defect that is covered by the warranty that occurred within a certain time frame or number of miles after the date of purchase. In most states, the defect must impair the car’s use, value, or safety but that is not always the case.
- The vehicle cannot be fixed after a reasonable number of repair attempts. The lemon laws dictate the number of attempts that must be completed to repair the vehicle as well as the time in which those repairs take place.
Contact Us Today
The lemon law lawyers at Krohn & Moss, Ltd. Consumer Law Center® have the experience to fight on your behalf should you ever find yourself in possession of a “Lemon” vehicle. Contact our attorneys to find out if your car qualifies.