lemon law?

[Phaedrus]

What is the name of your state?CA
What is a Lemon Law?

 

[itsallgood]

I do believe you refer to a car as a 'lemon' if you buy it; and it has continuous problems that were not disclosed in the terms of sale.

Actually for that matter; I believe a car is a 'lemon' if it just never works right; regardless if you just bought it or not.

Often; brand new cars; just don't work right. And they can't fix it; those are lemons too; and it is difficult to get out of a sale of a 'lemon' once it has transpired.

But there are SOME laws to protect folks from being taken advantage of in the purchase of a car that is just plain broke.

 

[hexeliebe]

Type in "california lemon law" into google or yahoo. Then you'll see why I don't spend four hours detailing all the specifics.

By the way, a Lemon Law ONLY applies to New Cars with specific Manufacturer's or Seller's warranty. NOT to used cars sold "As Is".

 

[wnagel]

Dispute Resolution

If you believe your new vehicle is a lemon, look into dispute resolution. I am a judge on the Ford dispute resolution board in the midwest. Our board settles disputes between Ford motor company and consumers (vehicle still under the factory warranty). We have pretty much the ability to refund the price of the car, give out extended warranties, and many other compensations. Not all manufacturers have dispute resolution. Check the back of your warranty book (owner manual) for specific detail. Ford does subscribe to dispute resolution. The board members are not employees of Ford. No lawyers. Basically, just fill out the paperwork, mail it in and your case will be heard. Ford is bound by our decision, but the consumer is not. For example: If we decide that Ford must refund you money, Ford must do this. On the other hand if we rule that your claim has no merit, you are not bound by our decision. Overall, this process has no cost to the consumer and can many times solve what could be a very lengthy and costly process.

 

[Crazyhorse]

why would a mfg do this? what kind of company handles this? no lawyers... do you have any ADR background? TIA!

 

[wnagel]

The manufacturer would do this because it is more cost affective to settle disputes in this manner than with the numerous lemon law lawsuits and other lawsuits. If you want more information, just open any Ford owners manual and it will explain why and how of dispute resolution. I have served on the board for a bit over 2 years. It is a voluntary position with no pay. There is an independant company which selects canidates to be judges and then sends them to classes to learn how to be objective and what rules and limitations that can be imposed.

Last month, out of about 20 cases, we bought back about 9 new vehicles. The biggest factors we consider in defects when buying back a vehicle is 'Value', 'Usage' and 'Safety'. If the vehicle has had repeated repairs, or been out of service for a lengthy time, or the issue at hand could be interpreted as a safety issue, then we decide whether or not to buy the vehicle back.

 

[Doug_Behr]

california lemon law site

I found a really good site that explains the california lemon law at http://www.california-lemonlaw.com/laws.

It has info on what to do and when to do it, as well as the text of the lemon law.

 

[jayjay0126]

for other states, it's 3 problems (even as dismal as car making noise) and you can bring the car back and they'll refund the full purchase price. if you complain and the SAME problem happens 3 times then they have to fix it or refund the money.

 

[wnagel]

jayjay - Not correct. We are issued a book listing the lemon law for each state. Besides that, we get updates every 6 months giving us the new revised law for each state (as the law does change minimally). There are some common denominators in Lemon law, but for the most part check your state law as it can vary from state to state. Even though my Ford Dispute Resolution Board is in Kansas, we handle complaints from Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Illinois, and a few others. It's necessary that we consider the lemon law for each of these states. Consequently, we must know the specific law for each state.