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If Life Gives You a Lemon ...
While we are on the subject of cars, what about this “Lemon Law”? This is a consumer protection law that does not apply to corporations, businesses or fleet purchases. It covers purchase or lease of late model cars with a GVW of 10,000 pounds or less. It does not cover conversion vans, motor homes, tractors, motorcycles, mopeds, snowmobiles, or off road vehicles such as four wheelers, or ATV’s.
There are some very specific steps you MUST follow before you can even file an action in court. Dates are critical. You must begin Step 1 of the process within 18 months of purchase or before you have put 18,000 miles on the car, whichever comes first. Before you can file a lawsuit, here are the steps you must take:
#1. Take the car to an authorized dealer, report the problem, and have him repair it. It is important to note this date, because at the end of the process this is the date used to determine the two year statute of limitations for filing an action in court.
#2. You must allow the dealer a reasonable number of attempts to repair the problem. ‘Reasonable’ is defined as four attempts at repair or a total of 30 business days out of service. If the dealer keeps the car from Thursday morning to Monday evening that is only 3 out of service days. Make sure you are reporting the same problem when you take the car back. Watch the work orders closely for changes to the problem reported or cause. The manufacturer can wriggle out if they can claim the four repairs were for different problems.
#3. If the attempts at repair are unsuccessful, you must follow the manufacturer’s claim procedures, if they have any. Information on the procedures will be in the written warranty or the owner’s manual. Keep your eye on the calendar, because your two year time limit is running.
#4. If there are no claim procedures, you must follow any notice requirements in the warranty or owner’s manual.
Even if there are no notice requirements in the warranty or owners manual it is ALWAYS a good idea to notify the manufacturer of the problem in writing, detailing attempts to repair and providing copies of work orders. Keep copies for your files. The manufacturer has 30 days to respond to the written notice. You may choose to have any monies paid to date refunded and the purchase contract cancelled, or you may choose to accept a replacement car.
If the manufacturer denies the claim, you may file suit, assuming it is not more than two years after the first repair in Step 1 above. If there is no notice requirement, then you may file suit at that time, if it is not too late. In the suit you can ask for and may recover damages and costs including attorney fees.
There are some very specific steps you MUST follow before you can even file an action in court. Dates are critical. You must begin Step 1 of the process within 18 months of purchase or before you have put 18,000 miles on the car, whichever comes first. Before you can file a lawsuit, here are the steps you must take:
#1. Take the car to an authorized dealer, report the problem, and have him repair it. It is important to note this date, because at the end of the process this is the date used to determine the two year statute of limitations for filing an action in court.
#2. You must allow the dealer a reasonable number of attempts to repair the problem. ‘Reasonable’ is defined as four attempts at repair or a total of 30 business days out of service. If the dealer keeps the car from Thursday morning to Monday evening that is only 3 out of service days. Make sure you are reporting the same problem when you take the car back. Watch the work orders closely for changes to the problem reported or cause. The manufacturer can wriggle out if they can claim the four repairs were for different problems.
#3. If the attempts at repair are unsuccessful, you must follow the manufacturer’s claim procedures, if they have any. Information on the procedures will be in the written warranty or the owner’s manual. Keep your eye on the calendar, because your two year time limit is running.
#4. If there are no claim procedures, you must follow any notice requirements in the warranty or owner’s manual.
Even if there are no notice requirements in the warranty or owners manual it is ALWAYS a good idea to notify the manufacturer of the problem in writing, detailing attempts to repair and providing copies of work orders. Keep copies for your files. The manufacturer has 30 days to respond to the written notice. You may choose to have any monies paid to date refunded and the purchase contract cancelled, or you may choose to accept a replacement car.
If the manufacturer denies the claim, you may file suit, assuming it is not more than two years after the first repair in Step 1 above. If there is no notice requirement, then you may file suit at that time, if it is not too late. In the suit you can ask for and may recover damages and costs including attorney fees.