The Lowdown on Lemon Laws
Exactly what are lemon laws and how do they affect you as a consumer? The lemon laws were created in 1978 as a way to help consumers who have a complaint about their vehicle’s repairs not being done correctly or having to repeatedly take the vehicle back to the dealer for repairs.
Having no other recourse naturally put a huge strain on the consumer when trying to get the needed repairs on their vehicle. The consumer may have missed work, or been left with no vehicle while theirs was back in the repair shop yet again. The lemon laws actually help the manufacturers as well because at times a dealer may have told you that they had contacted the manufacturer and they refused any further assistance. Which may or may not be the truth and the manufacturer may not have even been aware of a problem until they are the subjects of a lawsuit.
With the lemon laws in place a consumer can contact the manufacturer with their complaint and give them a chance to correct the problems before going ahead with a lawsuit, often avoiding the need to file a claim. If a satisfactory resolution cannot be reached the consumer is able to show that they have done everything they can, giving both the dealer and the manufacturer a chance to repair or replace the vehicle.
However, the lemon laws contain certain requirements that determine if a vehicle is eligible for a claim. One such requirement is that the dealer and manufacturer have been given a reasonable amount of attempts to fix the problem (a consumer should retain copies of repairs and work orders for all work done on their vehicle) and that the consumer has sent all necessary notices to the dealer and manufacturer.
While every state has lemon laws the requirements are not the same in each one. The major differences between the states concerns how to determine a reasonable number of attempts. To find out if your vehicle is eligible for a claim under the lemon laws you need to do some research in your state to see what it’s requirements may be.
It helps to have a good place to find the information that you are seeking on lemon laws. If you are looking for a good review of the state lemon laws go to www.lemon-law-state.com. This is a great place to keep up on the latest news on lemon laws as well.