Lemon Law for Cars: Relief for Frustrated Lemon Car Owners
Is your new car giving you a bad time since the very start? Do you regret having invested your hard-earned money in a car that you believe has turned out to be a lemon? Then probably you must have some knowledge about the lemon law. This law is written to guard consumers from any problems that they may face associated with continually defective vans, cars, and trucks.
Before these laws were passed in the 1980s, owners of such cars usually had a difficult time with picketing, suing, and harassing the dealers for the recurring troubles with lemon cars. At that time, it was often difficult as a practical matter to obtain legal recourse in cases where you got stuck with a broken car and the seller would not cooperate. Thus the modern lemon law was created to offer some protection against scamming for the owners of such vehicles.
It has been over 10 years since the lemon law for cars has been recorded on the books of every state. They guarantee replacement vehicles for every used or new vehicle purchased that is calling for continuous repairs or “nonconformities”.
However, it isn’t very easy to obtain relief in all cases. Some cases are complicated, so it is advisable to seek the help of an attorney who is qualified enough to represent you in the courts and knows well the particular applications of the lemon law of your state. It would also be a great advantage for you if the attorney has some experience in handling such cases of defective vehicles.
The initiative to pass lemon law for cars was first taken in 1982 in California. This law was a great sigh of relief for consumers of both new and used vehicles and marked a new dawn in the modern era of consumer rights. Soon afterward, the state of Connecticut followed California and passed a similar law. As a result, the chain continued and all 50 U.S. states now offer some version of this consumer protection law, which applies to vehicles that turn out to be lemons even when they are new.
The regulations of this law vary from one state to another, but all states consider a new vehicle to be a lemon if:
- The car called for dealer maintenance for a minimum of four times when the repair is for the same problem.
- The car was unable to operate for at least 30 days during the initial 12 months or the first 12,000 miles.
The defects causing problems must be serious enough to call into question the value, reliability, and safety of the vehicle. For instance, an engine that has a block will probably qualify but a defective stereo might not be sufficient grounds to label the car as a lemon.
In almost all states, the relief is granted in the form of complete refund of the purchase price. Another option available in some states is the ability to order a replacement vehicle without additional cost to the buyer. In some cases, limited protection is provided for used car buyers.
Fortunately, with the lemon law for cars, buyers are now afforded significant protection and need not fear being scammed out of huge bucks for a lemon vehicle.