Lemon Law

Hello. In August of 1999, I purchased a 1999 Taurus SHO. It had 4800 miles on it. I paid cash for it. The car started having problems 3 months after I bought it. I did not take it in to the dealer about the problems until November of 1999. The same problems have plagued the car ever since. It has been in the shop 5 times. They (dealership) cannot seem to fix the problems(s). The car surges while in any gear. Last Monday I washed my car and went to drive it into my carport. As I put it in drive it leapt forward about two feet. I almost drove into my house. I went in the house and called the dealership. I was connected to the service manager. She and I have spoke before about my car's problems. I told her that I was really tired of putting up with these problems and that I want my car fixed! I asked to meet with the Factory service representitive. The service mamager told me he would be in town on Tuesday the 30th of January. I set an appointment with him. 3 days later, the service manager calls me and said that the Factory Rep was not going to be here after all. She said that they cannot seem to fix the problems and that with some help from Ford, we should get me into a new car. I told her I would call her back after I talked to someone about this. This was on January 25th. I need to get back to her about setting up a meeting. But it seems I should be talking to someone other than the service manager. Here is my dilemma: This car is a Taurus SHO. It originally sold for $29,500.00. It is a luxury car. I paid $21,888.00 for it plus $1499.00 for an extended warranty. Cash. Ford does not make a Taurus SHO any longer. And the new Taurus doesn't even hold a candle to the SHO. Much less cost the same as mine did orginally...And I don't want any Ford product they have to offer...I want my money back, but the manager said that was not possible. I live in Oregon. I have read the Lemon law...But I don't know if I am eligible for a full refund. This has gone on longer than the 12 months that the law talks about. But I first took the car in to be fixed 3 months after I purchased it. I cannot afford attorney fees and I do not want to trade my car for something that would give me car payments. What should be my next move? Thanks for any help.

I was in almost the same situation about 2 years ago in CA. Your best bet is to contact a Lemon Law lawyer. I found one on an ad at a bus stop after I had been having problems with my 1999 Eclipse. I was having the same kind of problems with the dealer as you are having. My attorney told me the manufacturer of the car would cover all costs including his fees. I never paid a dime out of my pocket. All he had to do was write a letter explaining the situation and they responded almost immediately. They do have 30 days but I think most car makers want to avoid negative publicity. They gave me the option of a replacement vehicle or a refund of all money I had paid to them minus costs for wear from the first time I took it to the dealer for repairs. After I hired the attorney everything went very smooth. In all I only paid about $800 and got back everything else I had paid into the vehicle. Not a bad deal for driving their Lemon for a year. Good Luck!!!

Did you read any articles concerning the Taurus SHO prior to purchasing it? If you would have you would have found that those cars have been lemons since they were introduced. They have engines built by Yamaha and very few dealers invested in the equipment to troubleshoot Yamaha engines. Call the area service rep yourself, don't go through the service manager, you will get a more immediate response.