Your vehicle’s warranty plays a large part in whether or not you can file a lawsuit under your state’s lemon law. While the lemon law is in effect to protect consumers, there are some things you will need to prove in order to win your case. When you purchase a used vehicle, it’s expected that the vehicle will operate normally and get you where you need to go. However, many used car dealerships will sell vehicles, knowing that there are issues, and then hope that the buyer doesn’t have problems or doesn’t know enough to get their money back under their state’s lemon law. The important thing to remember is that if you have a warranty, then you should be protected under the lemon law.
Warranty Requirements for Dealerships
When you purchase a used vehicle, the dealership is required to provide you with warranty information. This warranty should cover the engine, transmission, drive axle, brakes, steering, and other parts like the ignition and starter. Read your warranty carefully and make sure you understand all of the terms. The warranty should state how long it’s good for, whether one year, three years, or longer. The warranty will also list exclusions under which the dealership is not required to repair at no cost. Your warranty should also list how many times the dealer will attempt to fix a repeat problem.
If you purchase a vehicle as-is, this means the dealer is not required to provide a warranty. You are agreeing to purchase the car in its current condition and are not holding the dealer or manufacturer responsible for any repair or malfunctions that occur after purchase. You may not be able to use the lemon law when you purchase a vehicle as-is.
Repairs and the Lemon Law
When you take a warrantied vehicle in for repair, the dealership should attempt to fix the problem at no cost to you. If you have to take the vehicle in for repairs more than three times, or the dealership has your vehicle for longer than two weeks, you should consider speaking to an attorney about filing a lemon law claim. Each state law is different, but the average times for repair are about the same. As long as the repairs are not fault of yours and fall under your warranty contract, you could have been sold a lemon. Browse the site yourlemonlawrights.com for more information.
