It has been estimated that about one percent of all new cars sold in the US every year are lemons, this equates to a staggering 150,000 cars. Every state has a lemon law for cars to help those unfortunate consumers that bought one of the 150,000 defective cars.
If you believe you bought a lemon you may be able to get a refund of the purchase price or a replacement vehicle, to do so you need to know what a lemon car is.
What qualifies as a lemon car?
Although the laws that are in effect differ somewhat from one state to the next, under most state lemon laws the car must have a “substantial” defect which is covered under the new car warranty and the defect must become apparent within a certain time period or within a certain number of miles after the car was purchased. The defect must also be one that cannot be fixed after you have given the manufacturer a reasonable number of opportunities to fix the problem. The lemon law for cars applies to new cars in every state; there are some states that have a modified version of the law for those that buy a defective used car.
What is a “substantial” defect?
If the defect impairs the use of the car, the safety of the car or the cars resale value then it has a substantial defect. This includes such things as brakes, the steering mechanism, engine, transmission, etc but it would not cover such defects as a loose radio knob or a loose rear view mirror.
Reasonable repair attempts:
Once again, state laws differ but generally speaking the defect must meet one of the following to meet a states lemon law for cars.
* A serious defect that risks life and limb must be fixed in one attempt
* A defect that is not serious must be repaired within three or four attempts
* If the car is in the shop for a total of 30 days in a year, in most states it meets the definition of a lemon
If your car meets the criteria in your state you have the option of getting a refund or a replacement vehicle. If you do not get satisfaction you do have legal recourse available or visit Lemon Law America to discuss with our experienced lemon law attorneys.
