Under the terms of the Lemon Law, the owner of a vehicle can return it to the manufacturer for a full or nearly full refund of the purchase price, plus incidental expenses and attorney's fees, if the vehicle is under the original manufacturer’s warranty and the dealership has either made four attempts to repair the same problem (two if the problem is considered to be life threatening or has the potential to cause serious bodily injury), or has kept the vehicle in for repair for any problem for more than thirty days. The vehicle must have major problems that impact its use, value, or safety.
Vehicle manufacturers generally do not want to "buy back" an automobile, because doing that is very expensive for them. On occasion, manufacturers attempt to argue that the vehicle was misused or altered by the vehicle owner in such a way as to void the warranty. The Lemon Law could be defeated if it can be proven that the warranty was violated.
After buying a vehicle, owners should follow the suggestions below.
1. Maintenance schedules prescribed by the manufacturer should be strictly adhered to.
(Warranty work should be performed at a dealership; otherwise maintenance doesn't need to be done at a dealership.)
2. Even if there were no repairs to the vehicle, hang on to all invoices for repair. Even if you do the work on your car, you should save the receipts for all the materials, like oil for oil changes. Other things that go along with a broken vehicle, such as towing, should be kept in mind.
3. If your vehicle is acting up, immediately take it to the dealership. When a problem is not promptly noted, it could be made worse and void the vehicle's warranty.
4. Don't replace stock parts on the vehicle with alternative parts such as racing parts. Converting a van can often cause problems, as the vehicle is no longer considered as stock after conversion.
5. Never use a vehicle for purposes that it was not built to handle; i.e., never tow a 19-foot motorboat with a Toyota Tercel.
6. A report of the ongoing problem, preferably a written one, should be given to the dealership's service manager as well as a representative of the manufacturer.
Having an accident also may void parts of the warranty. As an example, suspension problems caused by an accident that damages the vehicle’s suspension may not be covered by the Lemon Law.
While they prefer not to buy back vehicles, most manufacturers will cooperate with a consumer if the vehicle meets the definition of a Lemon set out in the Lemon Law. The above tips will strengthen and sweeten your Lemon case.
