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MORE ARTICLES ABOUT
LEMON LAW
Arbitration and the Lemon Law
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CA LemonLaws | LemonLaws in California |
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Lemon
Laws and Car Dealers Who Won't Pay Up
Buying a car or truck is an expensive
proposition. With new cars often costing more than $20,000 and car
loans averaging nearly six years in duration, it only stands to reason
that consumers expect those vehicles to work reliably when they buy
them. Sometimes they do not, and for those cases, each of the fifty
states has passed an auto lemon law. Those laws were passed to
simplify the process by which a consumer with a habitually defective
vehicle could seek relief in the form of either a replacement vehicle
or a refund of the purchase price. Understandably, dealers and
manufacturers are often reluctant to hand over the money or a new car,
and frequently offer a variety of excuses for failing to do so. |
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A
lemon car is a defective car that,
when purchased new or used, is found by the purchaser to have numerous
or severe defects not readily apparent before the purchase. Any
vehicle with these issues can be termed a 'lemon car' and by
extension, any product which has major flaws that render it unfit for
its purpose can be described as a 'lemon product'.
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Tip!
Under the California Lemon Law you should notify the dealer/
manufacturer of the problem you are having with your vehicle. The
dealer must make four attempts to repair the lemon car during the
first 18 months or 18,000 miles, whichever comes first.
Here are some of the more common
excuses offered by dealers when presented with a defective automobile:
Do you need a lemon law lawyer?
The vehicle is neglected or abused -
All fifty states offer exemptions for vehicles from their lemon law
statutes if the vehicle has been abused, neglected or modified by the
owner in a manner that is not approved by the manufacturer. There are
certainly cases where neglect or abuse may apply, but dealers often
suggest these problems right away in order to chase the owner away. If
you know that you have not abused, neglected, or modified your car,
then you know that you still have a valid claim. Don't let the dealer
chase you away by simply declaring the vehicle to be misused.
Tip!
The laws define what a lemon car is and require that the
manufacturer, not the dealer, takes care of the defects. If a number
of attempts have been made to repair a defect that significantly
impairs the use, value or safety of a car and the car continues to
have this defect, the car is than considered to be a 'lemon'.
The vehicle's defect is not a
significant one - The laws declare pretty clearly what is and is not a
qualifying defect. Such defects need not, by definition, be
significant; they need only adversely affect the safety, use, or value
of the vehicle. These things are best determined by courts of law or
arbitration panels; don't let the dealer scare you away by telling you
the problem isn't important.
Suggesting that the defect is not
actually a defect. In this case, the dealer suggests that the problem
is common to all similar vehicles. It's not a defect, so much as a
manufacturing problem. It's not your car, the dealer will say, they
are all like that. If they are all like that, then the problem can't
be a defect, can it? Yes, it can. Don't fall for this one.
Suggesting that you haven't
qualified due to an insufficient number of repair attempts. Each state
has its own rules for the number of repair attempts that qualify a
vehicle as a lemon. You should check with your state's Attorney
General's office to find out how many repair attempts qualify a
vehicle as defective in your state. Don't take the dealer's word for
it; he isn't looking out for you.
It can be difficult, time consuming,
and frustrating to file a lemon law claim. Under the laws of your
state, you are entitled to a replacement or refund if your vehicle
qualifies under the law. Don't expect your dealer to go out of his or
her way to offer your refund; you will have to insist upon it
yourself. But if you do have a case, make sure that you stand your
ground.
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©Copyright 2006 by Retro Marketing. Charles
Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational
Websites, including
LemonLawHelp.net, a site devoted to information regarding lemon laws for
automobiles and Car-Insurance-Help.net, a site about car insurance.
Lemonlaws | Lemon Laws | Lemon
Law Attorneys
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