Of all the millions of cars that are manufactured annually by a host of different companies in the US only about one percent of them turn out to be lemons. This is quite low when you consider the speed at which cars are assembled but this statistic does not mean a thing if you happen to have purchased one of the 150,000 lemons. Cars that are considered to be lemons are those that once sold to a consumer have repeated serious problems; problems that can’t be fixed satisfactorily and pose a danger to the driver and passengers. Although they vary somewhat, every state has lemon laws for cars which the consumer can turn to get recourse.
What is a lemon?
Under the majority of state laws for a car to be classified as a lemon it must meet two specific criteria:
* It must have substantial defect, a defect that is covered by the vehicles warranty and it must have begun happening within a certain time frame or a certain number of miles driven after the purchase of the car.
* It must still be unrepaired after the car has been in the dealers repair shop a certain number of times.
In the vast majority of states the lemon law for cars is only applicable to new vehicles however, there are a few states that also have lemon laws that protect the buyer of a seriously defective used vehicle.
What classifies as a “substantial defect?”
Once again, bear in mind that the lemon law for cars does vary somewhat state by state but generally speaking a substantial defect is one which is covered under the terms of the vehicles warranty and the defect impairs the use of the vehicle and/or the vehicles safety. Examples of substantial defects would be faulty brakes or defective steering while problems that would not be covered would be such things as a poor paint job or loose door handles.
The problems with lemon laws lie with the understanding of the legal definition of a “minor” defect vs. a “substantial” defect. It can be very hard at times to draw the line between the two as there are instances where a terrible smell in the vehicle is classified as substantial, even though it does not diminish the safety or use of the car but it is such that every attempt to eradicate it is unsuccessful.
To benefit from your states lemon law for cars you must allow the dealer or manufacturer to make a reasonable number of attempts to repair the problem, these repair attempts usually have to be made within the first year that you own the car.
Browse the site YourLemonLawRights.com for more information.
