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Sniffing out a lemon law
Dear Money Matters,
Do you know anything about the lemon law? My
sister bought a 2002 car off the lot with no miles. She has had
it in the shop five times for either the engine light or the airbag
light.
Deborah
Dear Deborah,
How frustrating for her. We've all had to deal
with cars that were bona fide clunkers, but it's particularly maddening
when your snafumobile is fresh off the lot, all shiny and ready
to drive you berserk.
There are effectively three different sets of laws
that address lemons. First, on a national level, The Magnuson-Moss
Warranty Act is a federal law that protects the buyer of any product
that costs more than $25 and comes with an express written warranty.
Here
is a summary of the act, and here
is a more detailed explanation of the act from the FTC. Additionally,
The Uniform
Commercial Code or UCC has been adopted in all 50 states and
covers contracts dealing with the sale of products.
Finally, there are applicable state laws. I don't know where your
sister lives, but all 50 states have lemon laws that protect consumers
in these instances. Needless to say, they differ considerably from
one state to the next, but the laws generally define a lemon as a
new vehicle that's experiencing problems that cannot be addressed.
As a rule, the owner has to make a reasonable number of attempts to
get the car fixed or, alternatively, document that the car has been
out of service for a specified period.
Lemon laws outline procedures to settle these sorts
of new car problems. Again, laws differ from one state to another,
but lemon laws in general are designed to provide the owner with
a refund or replacement. For instance, some states mandate a refund
or a new car if a significant problem cannot be repaired in four
tries or if the car has been out of service for roughly a month
within the first year or 12,000 miles driven. However, there are
exceptions-for instance, some states only provide for one attempt
for significant safety related issues such as the brakes or steering.
Some states don't stop with just providing
lemon owners with either a refund or a new car. Some, in fact, also
let you recover any sort of attorney's fees that you rack up during
your pursuit of lemon law satisfaction.
My suggestion would be for your sister to contact
her state's Attorney General Office or the state office of consumer
protection for information on how she can take action regarding
her lemon. They can also fill her in on the particulars as to how
that particular state defines a lemon and how, if her car fits,
she can proceed.
Several Web sites provide links to the lemon laws
of all 50 states, including Autopedia.com,
the Center
for Auto Safety , the Car
Talk section of Cars.com and the National
Lemon Law Center.
I did some snooping for general advice so that consumers
can get as much protection from lemon laws as possible:
- First, don't have any repairs done by Joe's Garage
and Croissant Drive Through. Make sure the work is done by an
authorized dealer.
- Be as thorough in your documentation as possible.
Be certain that you obtain and keep detailed repair orders which
include your description of the problem, mileage at the time of
the problem and attempted repair procedures. If you don't happen
to have a particular repair order or other pertinent piece of
documentation, make sure you get a copy from the garage which
did the work. I've also heard that you may get lucky and latch
onto notes a mechanic made while working on your car-potentially
powerful ammunition.
- Additionally, be sure to document all communication
you may have with your car's manufacturer or the service provider.
That can prove particularly effective if you go to court or arbitration
and, for instance, have written evidence showing that the dealer
could not find a problem or was unable to repair it. As an added
level of protection, send all written communication by way of
certified mail or Federal Express to document that such communication
occurred.
Good luck.
-- Posted: July 23, 2002
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