What Auto Lemon Law Means
March 24th, 2009Auto lemon laws have played a major part in helping consumers claim their rights in regard to defective vehicles. All states in the United States have passed the lemon laws and they have been operational for over 25 years. When the laws did not exist, lemon owners had a rough time convincing the car dealers that they needed refunds and replacements and unorthodox was of fighting for rights were used. Lemon laws are usually very clear and comprehensive and they vary from state to state. This means that some laws are more efficient than others but, all perform the same function. The laws continue to be enhanced or amended to make sure they match the needs of consumers.
Some auto lemon laws cover new and used vehicles as well as other kinds of motor vehicles. However, some of the similarities between these auto laws clearly come out and they include the following. Most of them cover new and leased vehicles and if you do a search to compare them, you will find that the two categories of vehicles feature in almost all the laws. The other thing is that they all seem to define a lemon in a similar way. A lemon is a defective vehicle that has served for a very short time. Many laws state that a lemon is declared to be so when it finds itself at the repair shop more that 3 times. Also it is a lemon if it has not served the owner for 30 consecutive days. A lemon should be taken to the repair shop immediately and you should keep all the documents safely because this is the proof that there was a repair attempt.
Auto lemon law requires that the lemon car owner notifies the car manufacturer in writing, stating the problems they have had with the car. Mostly, the car manufacturers will want to confirm this by asking for a chance to repair the car. Therefore a lemon car owner is advised to allow a fair chance for the vehicle to be repaired. If the car is totally a lemon, then, there will be no changes with the manufacturer. Therefore, the lemon owner will then in writing ask for a refund or a replacement. Some manufacturers are very helpful and they might end the case at this. You will be asked to choose between a refund or a replacement and you can settle the case legally and informally.
If the car dealers fail to do this, there are arbitration programs provided for you by the auto lemon law. The one sponsored by manufacturers is worth trying out. A neutral mediator will seek to strike a deal between the two parties. This arbitration programs work and many cases do not proceed from here because the case is settled informally under the law. However, the cases that are not settled will proceed and the highest level is the court of appeal. When the lemon car owner hires the right lawyer and has a strong case, there is no doubt that the auto lemon law will work in their favor.




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