Each state has its own lemon law to protect consumers from excessive warranty repairs on a new or used motor vehicle that is covered by a manufacturer’s warranty. Lemon law information for all 50 states is covered on the linking web sites provided within this web site.

State lemon laws were enacted to require an automobile manufacturer to repurchase or replace a motor vehicle under warranty if it has met that state’s statutory requirements. Many other lemon law cases that do not meet statutory requirements can also be viable lemon law cases as they still have legal merit. A lemon law attorney is best equipped to give you legal advice on applicability of the lemon law to your vehicle situation. CLICK HERE for a lemon law attorney in your state. CLICK HERE if you would like lemon law information for the lemon law in your state.

There are some basics for preparing to have a lemon law claim. These include having copies of your warranty repair work receipts, a copy of your purchase or lease contract, a copy of your vehicle registration, and payment coupon (if financed or leased). This information will prepare you to have an evaluation done for your potential lemon law case.

What kinds of information does the consumer want in regards to his/her lemon law claim? The most wanted information is restitution – meaning – what your refund entitlement is. The lemon law in most states provides the consumer with a refund of the down-payment, monthly payments, and a payoff of any existing loan/lease. Each state has a provision in its lemon law to deduct a usage fee for a portion of the miles that have been put on the vehicle.

The single most important information fact in lemon law is that the manufacturer, not the dealer, is the party responsible to provide the restitution (buyback) of the vehicle for the consumer.

Another valuable information tip is that if the consumer chooses to attempt to “negotiate” a settlement on their lemon vehicle directly with the manufacturer, the manufacturer has no requirement to follow the lemon law of that state. Manufacturer’s “Customer Assistance Centers” readily give out “case numbers” to consumers, suggesting that the consumer has a lemon law case. This is the farthest from actual reality. The “case number” is simply a reference number for the next occasion the customer calls in to complain about their vehicles problem(s). Should a consumer try to negotiate something themselves, they can simply negotiate a “settlement” that does not reflect any of that state’s lemon law’s legal requirements. The vehicle owner can potentially be duped out of hundred’s, or even thousands of dollars of restitution by trying to “deal direct” with the manufacturer. Any “offer” from a manufacturer should be reviewed by a licensed lemon law attorney in the state which the consumer resides.  Remember, a “red flag” should be raised if the manufacturer-to-consumer “offer” includes the words “settlement”, “release”, or “release of claims” in the paperwork. If the lemon law case/claim is facilitated by a lemon law attorney, the language of any lemon law settlement will be drafted to protect the legal rights of the consumer.

What information can a consumer get from their dealer about their vehicle? The most obvious information is the “repair order” and “repair order invoice” This is the pair of documents generated each time a vehicle is brought in for warranty repairs. There is also the “warranty repair history” printout. This is generated from the Warranty Department office of the automobile dealership. This is a printout of all the warranty claims submitted by the dealership(s) against that car, and are referenced by the cars “VIN” number (Vehicle Identification Number), which is located on the vehicle’s state registration card.

For lemon law information links, CLICK HERE.

What other types of information is available to consumers? Information defects investigations issues can be found for each car model at the National Highway Traffic Administrations website, http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/recalls/recallsearch.cfm. Information on vehicle safety and crash test information can be found at: http://www.safercar.gov. Information on manufacturer’s Technical Service Bulletins (T.S.B’s) can be found at http://www.alldatadiy.com/recalls/index.html.

What information is available regarding used car lemon law? Used vehicles can have different types of warranties. The most common is the “CPO” (Certified Pre-Owned) warranty that is applied to a used vehicle that meets requirements set forth by the vehicle’s manufacturer. As these are warranties administered by the manufacturer, they are applicable for a lemon law claim. “Dealer warranties” are not manufacturer warranties. They are just what they imply – a warranty between the consumer and the dealership, having no applicability to state lemon laws.

What information is available for automobile arbitration? Arbitration is an informal dispute resolution medium. Some states laws require arbitration as a mandatory requirement before pursuing legal action against a automobile manufacturer. Other states, such as California, have no requirement for arbitration. In California the consumer can get free legal representation by contacting a lemon law attorney for cases that meet California’s lemon law “presumption”. CLICK HERE for information on California’s lemon law and attorneys.

Other information regarding lemon law and vehicle information can be found on the “various links” page. CLICK HERE to access the page that contains these links.

Vehicle RECALL information can be found by clicking on this website:
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/recalls/recallmonthlyreports.cfm

We hope that this website provided you with the lemon law information you were looking for.

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