Lemon laws as they apply to a new car
You have just finished a tiresome process of selecting a new car, and after some documentation, the salesman gives you the key to the car and you drive off the lot. Sounds like a very exhilarating experience getting acquainted to what will soon become part of our family. And so, it can be disappointing when our little piece of the American dream comes screeching to a halt, or just won’t start, or the engine conks out in a middle of nowhere, all without a warning.
The sweet dream that we underwent much trouble finding suddenly becomes bitter. At that point we hope that taking car back to the dealership will have the problem fixed once and for all. But what if you took the car to the dealership, severally, and the problem refuses to go away? Its then you realize that you have a new car lemon. The experience can be unsettling, as it’s likely that most of our funds/savings are tied up in an auto that we cannot use. If you ever found yourself stuck in such situation, it’s time to turn to auto lemon laws for help.
Though each state has got its own auto lemon laws, they are largely similar when it comes to new cars. There are several elements that can be found in auto lemon laws across the country, and these are discussed below.
Nearly all auto lemon laws cover new cars across all states and they define what will be regarded as a new car in that particular state. New cars may include those called “demo” (for demonstrator) cars, cars with low mileage but sold with a new car’s warranty, and even leased vehicles. Most definitions in auto lemon laws tend to emphasize on consumer vehicles, which means they often rule out autos that are purchased primarily for doing business. For instance, a refrigeration truck, normally purchased for business may not be covered in the definition but the car used by staff would be covered. Typically, auto lemon laws cover all cars that are less than two years old or have covered less than 18,000 miles, whichever comes first.
Auto lemon laws mostly define what a lemon is, and while the definition may differ slightly in each state, they basically provide that a consumer has to have taken the vehicle for repair at least twice for serious defects, and at least four times for other kinds of defects. If the consumer hasn’t been able to use the vehicle for at least 30 days (depending on the state, 30 days in question can be consecutive or not) he would also be covered by auto lemon laws. Typically an auto lemon law would require the consumer to alert the manufacturer or the dealership in order to preserve the lemon law rights.
If the car meets the threshold of a lemon, as defined by the relevant auto lemon law, then there is a high possibility of the car being replaced with a similar model comparable with the one bought by the consumer before. Some auto lemon law would allow the customer to choose between having the vehicle replaced and having the purchase price reimbursed. But there are instances where an auto lemon law would allow the manufacturer to make that choice.
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