Lemon Laws (Car Buying Tips)

What If You Have a Lemon?

If you keep getting the same problem fixed over and over again and if your car is under warranty, then you might have a lemon. Even if your car does not fully meet the criteria for your local lemon laws, you still could be eligible for some type of consumer protection.

If you believe that your car is a lemon, then I recommend that you do the following:

• Act quickly. Every state has some type of time limit and/or mileage limit for you to seek lemon law protection;
• Collect all of your documents, repair receipts and any other evidence to support that your car qualifies as a “lemon.” Make sure that you can explain why your car qualifies for your state’s lemon law protection;
• Write to the manufacturer by way of a certified letter with a return receipt. This is necessary since the manufacturer is required to fix the vehicle within a certain number of days (which can vary according to your state's lemon laws);
• Your letter should include the following information:
  
• Your vehicle’s VIN number along with the make, model and year;
• An explanation of the problem;
• The name of the dealership that is handling the repairs and the dates the repairs were attempted;
• State that you are preparing to seek lemon law protection for this vehicle. This usually will mean that the manufacturer could be required to fully refund the price of the vehicle or provide a replacement vehicle.
• Follow any additional requirements according to the your state lemon laws. This may include requesting compensation, a refund or a replacement vehicle from the manufacturer.
  
• If you think the case will head to court or arbitration, seek the advice of a lawyer who has lemon law experience in your state. Also, consider seeking the testimony of a certified mechanic or any other authority who could support your case. In some states, the manufacturer must compensate your legal fees if you win the case.
  

Since the lemon laws vary so much from one state to the next, I put together links to lemon law resources for all the states and also Washington, D.C. These links are to the Attorney General’s lemon law resources for each state, whenever possible. Click on this link to see the lemon laws for your state.

Written by a former car salesman, college math instructor, health insurance analyst and the author of The Car Buying Bible. This 162-page car buying guide is full of great car buying tips and offers the best car loan calculator around.