LEMON LAW FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is a lemon law?

A lemon law protects the purchaser of a new or almost-new car from the risk that the car is defective. Under a lemon law, you may return a new car that was leased or sold with a manufacturer's warranty that cannot be repaired in a reasonable number of attempts or at all. Most lemon laws also apply to used cars that are still under full warranty and that meet the mileage and time requirements.

How do I know if my car is a lemon under the law?

To be considered a lemon, two things must be true:
Your new car must have a substantial defect within a certain mileage period, usually 12,000 miles or one year, whichever comes first. (A few states extend this to two years.) A substantial defect is one that impairs the car's use, value or safety, such as brakes or non-working turn signals.
The defect must remain unfixed after three or four repair attempts (depending on the state) or after the car has been in the shop for a cumulative total of 30 days.

What Damages Can I get for a Lemon Law Case?

Ultimately, in a lemon law case, you want your money back or a new car. This is known as a “buy back” or a “repurchase.” When that occurs, the defective vehicle is returned to the manufacturer. This is usually done by returning it locally to one of their authorized dealers. However, the majority of cases are settled for a partial refund of the original purchase price, and the owner maintains possession of the car.

I’ve read about the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. What exactly is that?

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty act is a Federal Law that protects the buyer of any product that costs more than $25 and comes with an express written warranty. The Magnuson-Moss law gives consumers numerous rights in dealing with manufacturers of lemon cars. This law guarantees a car buyer that certain minimum requirements on the warranty will be met, and provides for disclosure of warranties before purchase. The law states that “for any product that has a written warranty - if any part of the product, or the product itself is considered defective - the warrantor must permit the buyer the choice of either a refund or replacement of the product”.

If Lemon Laws were written for automobiles, why are they not more specific, instead of referring to products?

It is annoying to purchase a $30.00 appliance that does not work in the manner it is intended to. The purchase of a vehicle is one of the most expensive and most necessary items in most people's budget. Loss of transportation may mean loss of income, as getting to work becomes impossible. If your car is a lemon, it can be a financial disaster.

My car dealer says that if I don't get the extended warranty, I am not protected by the lemon laws. Is this true?

Certainly not. The extended warranty offered by most dealerships will do just that - extend the warranty that you are purchasing with your vehicle. Be sure to read all extended warranty options before signing any contract for such.

What laws are used to protect my rights if my vehicle turns out to be a lemon?

There are actually two sets of legal protection for consumers in this type of product liability. Federal law is referred to as the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. State law generally follows the suggested Uniform Commercial Code or UCC.

Who is actually liable under the lemon laws?

It depends on the problem. If the product does not operate safely and in the manner it was designed to do, it would most likely be the manufacturer. It is possible, however, that certain claims were made by the seller that the product does not live up to. In this case, it would be the seller. Perhaps maintenance was not performed properly. Anyone in the product chin may be held responsible for the proven defect or malfunction. It is important to see an attorney that is experienced in the lemon laws.

AltaVista   Raging   Google   HotBot   Yahoo   Excite   InfoSeek   AOL
MSN   Northern Light   Oingo   SavvySearch   Lycos   WebCrawler   Business.com
Findlaw   Legal Resource Links  Web Links   Deja News   Snap   Ask Jeeves
7Search  iWon  Our SE list  BetterWhois  MapQuest  MapBlast  Weather  NYSE
Priceline  Kelley Blue Book  Dictionary  Calculator  Real Names  eBay  Atlanta Entrepreneur  Austin Entrepreneur  Baltimore Entrepreneur  Dallas Entrepeur  Denver Entrepreneur  Orlando Entrepreneur  Philadelphia Entrepreneur  San Francisco Entrepreneur  Seattle Entrepreneur  Triangle Entrepreneur iWon.com  Links

How can a web page help your firm? Please see our discussion on how a web page can save your firm money and give you more exposure.  For a primer on how to market your law firm Web site, please see our Law Web Marketing site.

If you have a Web page and would like to be added to this page, please let us know by phone or E-mail. If you wish to obtain the Starter or Complete Web site or if you wish a more comprehensive page, please call Dale Tincher at 919-272-8052 or E-mail dtincher@consultwebs.com. We will improve existing Web pages and/or search engine rankings for legal organizations. To check your site's rankings and popularity links, visit our search engine query.

If you would like to help sponsor this high-visibility page, please see our site listing page.  For further information, please contact: advertise@consultwebs.com.