Lemon laws are usually thought of when the asset that has been purchased and proves to be defective is a new car or light truck. What happens when you buy something or than a car or truck and it fails and simply cannot be repaired?
There are actually two sources of protection for consumers; one is the Magnuson-Moss Act and the other is the Consumer Protection Act. These acts apply to any product that one purchases and it turns out that the product fails to perform as expected. Basically these acts protect buyers who purchase literary any product that has a value of more than $25 and is covered by a warranty. In the event the product fails and the manufacturer or another entity that is charged with fulfilling the terms of the warranty fails to remedy the fault after a specific number of attempts at repairing it, the acts specify the remedy which is either product replacement or a full refund of the purchase price.
What are lemon laws as they pertain to the purchase of a new vehicle? Firstly, the laws differ from state to state but there are some common denominators. The defect must be such that it negatively impacts the use of the car, the value of the car or the safety of the occupants. There are states that only allow the manufacturer one chance at repairing the defect if it is a safety issue but if the defect impacts the use or value of the car most lemon laws allow the manufacturer four attempts at affecting a permanent repair. The lemon law can also be invoked by the consumer if the vehicle is not available for use for a specified period of time. The time that the car is not available is cumulative and depending on the state ranges from as few as 15 to as many as 40 days.
When the vehicle meets the criteria of “what are lemon laws in his or her state,” the consumer can invoke the law. Once this transcribes the parties will be invited to arbitrate the issue in hopes of resolving it. In some cases the state takes responsibility for the arbitration process while in other jurisdictions arbitration is carried out by a private group, often the local Better Business Bureau. Although it is not mandatory that the consumer be represented by an attorney, legal representation can often increase the likelihood of success, especially if the case goes to court.
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