State and Federal lemon laws were enacted to protect purchasers of new vehicles from being forced to own and operate a defective vehicle.
If you purchased a lemon, you will want to know whether you need to act immediately. You will want to know what the car’s actual warranty provides you and whether you should notify both the dealer and the manufacturer of the defect. Both state and federal law cover these and many other important issues.
In 2008, more then three-fourths of the states have enacted some form of lemon law consumer protections. These laws are intended to protect consumers from sellers of defective cars and trucks.
Lemon laws were enacted because car buyers had been unable to get their car dealers to fix their cars. Since then, its been both public policy and law, that consumers should not be responsible for paying more then three or four times for the same car repair. This is why only a reasonable number of repair attempts are required before a new vehicle can be rendered a defective one under the law.
Under lemon law, a car manufacturer must provide the car owner a refund or offer a free replacement vehicle when a substantial defect cannot be repaired in four attempts, a safety defect within two attempts or if the vehicle is out of
service for an extended period of time.
Lemon laws are intended to protect consumers and while lemon laws vary from state to state, they share some basic similarities. Most states define a "lemon" as a car or truck that has serious safety defects, such as problems with brakes, steering, or another defect so serious that the car or truck has been in the repair shop for a period of thirty days or more in a one-year period.
One way of determining whether a car is “defective” within the meaning of most lemon law statutes, the defect must be one that actually impairs the use, value, or safety of the vehicle.
Furthermore, if your car has more then a single defect, you will not be able to add them up or otherwise stack them into multiple claims. Lemon law remedies are available only if the number of repair attempts or the time the car is out of service is attributable to a single defect.
Today’s consumers are more sophisticated and better informed. Consumers also need to learn how to present the claim. When claiming a defect the consumer must be very specific about the nature and scope of the defect. Public policy requires that the consumer provide the manufacturer and dealer with notice of the claim and to provide them with an opportunity to resolve the claim. Consumers who have purchased defective vehicles should consider contacting an experienced lemon law attorney as soon as possible.
Finally, owners that have purchased lemons need to know they are not allowed to unilaterally stop making their car payments. Lemon laws do not permit you to discontinue making your car payments until the claim is fully resolved.
For more information on defective cars, lemon law, warranties and consumer rights visit
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