Lemon laws have been enacted by every state although they are different from one to the other. The objective is to protect consumers from products that have serious problems. The law gives the manufacturer a specific number of attempts to try and fix the problem, usually the item is still under warranty. If the item cannot be made as good as new after the repair attempts it considered to be a lemon. Although the statute is federal, each state has its own lemon laws and as such it is the consumer that must initiate action to remedy the situation.
Although lemon laws apply to a wide range of consumer products it is most often applied when a car is purchased or leased and subsequent to the purchase it develops a defect. If this should occur in the first year of ownership and the defect is such that it has a detrimental impact of the safety, use or resale value of the car it will probably be covered by the lemon laws of the state in which it was purchased.
It is important that the consumer be familiar with the lemon laws that apply in the state in which he or she resides as it is the consumer’s responsibility to protect his investment. In the case of a new car a common rule throughout the country is that if the car is not available for use by the owner for a period of 30 to 40 days and that the car has been in the shop for repair of the same defect more than four times and all this happens within the first 12 months after the date of purchase, it is covered under the lemon laws.
In the event you threaten legal action to recover the cost of the car or a replacement the manufacturer will often try to get you to engage in mediation rather than pursue the issue in court. There is no set requirement that states you must participate, only if the mediation process complies with the FTC rules. Some state lemon laws insist that you engage in mediation before you sue for compensation. Regardless of the situation you are not obliged to accept a settlement that is not in accordance with your wishes.
Because of the complexity of the lemon laws you would be wise to hire an attorney in your state who knows precisely what the laws are.
The lemon laws are complex and they differ between jurisdictions. For an in depth discussion of the lemon laws in your state you are invited to visit Your Lemon Law Rights.
