1. What are lemon laws?
Lemon laws are laws which protect consumers should they purchase or lease defective consumer
goods. Such consumer goods can range, for example, from hearing aids to motor homes. In some
states, and subject to certain requirements, these laws also protect consumer goods purchased or
leased for small businesses.

2. Do all states have consumer lemon laws?
Yes. Every state has some form of consumer lemon law. There are significant differences, however,
as to what is required to prove that a defective product is a lemon, or to establish the presumption
that a defective product is a lemon.

3. Generally, what rights do I have under consumer lemon laws?
Consumers are provided certain written warranties by manufacturers, which can be found in the
owner's manuals. State consumer laws typically provide certain rights which are broader than those
provided by the manufacturer in addition to a breach of the manufacture's warranty, or the rights
provided under the state lemon laws, the consumer is also protected against unfair trade practices
and consumer fraud such as, for example odometer tampering.

4. How do the state lemon laws apply to motor vehicles?
Every state has lemon law protection for consumers who buy or lease defective motor vehicles,
including cars, trucks, SUVs, motor homes, motorcycles, and boats. There are significant differences
from state to state, however, as to how these laws are applied.

5. What are some of these differences that apply to state lemon laws for motor vehicles?
Typically, there is something called a "lemon law presumption" which requires that after a certain
number of unsuccessful repair attempts by an authorized dealer the vehicle is presumed to be a
lemon. This presumption is not a guarantee of repurchase but merely makes it easier for the
consumer to establish that he has purchased or leased a defective vehicle. Typically most states
require either three or four unsuccessful repair attempts before such a presumption will apply.

6. Are there any limitations on a consumer requesting repurchase of his defective motor vehicle?
Yes, and these too very from state to state. In some cases the repair attempts must have been
made within the first certain number of miles or number of months after purchase or lease. Some
states apply a standard of a vehicle being considered a lemon after it has been out of service in the
hands of an authorized repair facility for a certain number of days. That number of days can typically
vary from 15 to 30.

7. Is there a federal lemon law?
Yes. The federal lemon law is of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. It is a law that governs
consumer product warranties made by manufacturers. The Act protects the rights of consumers and
specifies the obligations of manufacturers issuing written warranties.

8. How does the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act benefit consumers?
The Act specifies that if a manufacturer provides a written warranty, and if the promises made in
the warranty are not fulfilled, then it makes it easier for consumers who purchase or lease such
defective products to bring a claim against the manufacturer for breach of warranty.

9. What about attorneys fees?
Generic Lemon Law Q&A's Page 1 Law Offices of Delsack & Assoc., P.C.©
Under both the federal Magnuson Moss Warranty Act, and most state lemon laws, there is a provision
that reasonable attorney's fees must be paid by the manufacturer thereby allowing consumers to
recover their court costs as well as attorneys fees if they prevail. Therefore, if you win your case not
only does the manufacturer have to buy back your defective product and reimburse you for the
monies that you paid, but it must also pay for your attorney's fees and costs.

10. Do state and federal laws offer protection for used vehicles?
Typically vehicles which were purchased or leased while there was some part of the manufacturer's
original new car warranty remaining, are protected under these laws. Additionally, the
manufacturer's representative, that is the dealer, must have been given an opportunity to repair the
defect while the vehicle was still covered by the manufacturer's original new-car warranty.

11. What about repairs that have been made after the new car warranty has expired?
In most states it is irrelevant whether additional repairs are made after expiration of the new car
warranty, so long as the original repair attempt was made while the new-car warranty was still in
effect.

12. What kinds of defects are covered under federal and state lemon laws?
Typically state statutes require that the defect must be substantial and related to safety, value, or
use. For example, such things as engine stalling, serious brake problems, non-start conditions,
transmission failures etc., meet the requirement of "substantiality." On the other hand, minor defects
such as paint problems, scratches, squeaks and rattles, etc., are usually not considered sufficiently
substantial to require the manufacturer to repurchase the vehicle.

13. What is the single most important thing that I need to do to protect myself and to preserve my
rights under the lemon laws?
Records. Records. Records. The most important thing is to obtain and retain all records relating
to the purchase of, and repair attempts made on, your vehicle. It is extremely important that you
state exactly why you are bringing the vehicle in for repairs. It is also important that when bringing
the vehicle back for subsequent repairs that you generally state the same reason so that later the
manufacturer cannot claim that you have brought it in for several different reasons and therefore do
not qualify under your state's lemon laws. Be aware that the dealer maintains several different
copies of each repair order. One that is given to you, the consumer, another for warranty payment
from the manufacturer, one for accounting, and finally a copy showing all of the mechanics notes.
The consumer only gets to see the customer copy which does not contain that information. It is not
uncommon to see "could not duplicate," or "meets manufacturer specifications," or similar wording,
on the customer copy. But that copy may be significantly different from the information provided
on mechanics notes.

14. Why won't the dealer provide me with all the information regarding the repair attempts?
There are different reasons. Sometimes even though the mechanic may have found, and thereby
confirm, the consumers complaints, if there is no known corrective procedure it is easier to say that
the problem could not be found. Sometimes, the dealer must do extensive diagnostic work to
confirm the problem. Typically the dealer is not reimbursed by the manufacturer for time spent in
diagnosing a problem. In some cases a certain make or model may have a design problem common
to all of the same vehicles for which the manufacturer has not yet found a correction. Thus, because
there is no authorized repair the dealer may be instructed to deny that the defect exists rather than
admit the truth. Either way, keeping good records will make it easier for your attorney to obtain the
complete information from the manufacturer and/or the dealer once a lawsuit is commenced.

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