Aug 05 2010
What If Your Car Is a Lemon? (1)
Each year nearly 150,000 cars turn to be lemons, i.e. cars that have repeated, unfixable problems. Every state has some type of “lemon law” that regulates the cases when one acquires a lemon car. To take advantage of these laws, you should know what qualifies as a lemon and how to get a refund or replacement car.
In order to qualify as a lemon, the car must
(1) have a substantial defect that occurred within a certain period of time or number of miles after the car was bought.
(2) not be fixed after a reasonable number of repair attempts.
A “substantial defect” is a problem covered by the warranty that significantly impairs the car’s use, value or safety, such as faulty brakes or steering. Minor defects such as loose radio knobs and door handles do not meet the legal definition of “substantial defect.”
As with most legal definitions, the line between a “minor” and a “substantial” defect is not clear enough. Some not so evident conditions, such as defective paint jobs or horrible smells, have been found to be substantial defects.
In all US states, the substantial defect must occur within a certain period of time (usually one or two years) or within a certain number of miles (usually 12,000 or 24,000). The defect must not be caused by abuse.
The dealer or manufacturer is allowed to make a “reasonable” number of attempts to fix the problem before your car is considered to be a lemon. To be protected under your state’s lemon law you must meet one of the following standards
• If the defect is a serious safety defect, involving brakes or steering, it must remain unfixed after one repair attempt.
• If the defect is not a serious safety defect, it must remain unfixed after three or four repair attempts (the number varies by state).
• If the vehicle is in the shop a certain number of days (usually 30 days in a one-year period) to fix one or more substantial warranty defects, it may fit the definition of a lemon.
Although most state lemon laws apply to new car sales only, a few states have lemon laws that also cover used cars.