Lemon Aid: What You Need to Know About Vehicle Lemon Laws

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Barely two months after buying their new Ford Edge, Rebecca and Josh McDonald made the first trip back to the dealer with electrical problems. And thus began a two-year odyssey.

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“It was horrible,” said Rebecca. “There were different problems every time: the air conditioning, the radio, the backup camera. We had to go back several times, and when I say several, it must’ve been 10.”

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The McDonalds tried having the Edge serviced at different dealerships, and made numerous calls to Ford for help. But the carmaker refused to take the car back, even though they couldn’t fix it. In the end, the McDonalds hired an attorney and pursued a case under California lemon law. It took a while, but they eventually received a settlement and a replacement vehicle.

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“Luckily for us, the system worked,” said Rebecca. “But it was a long and tedious process.”

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Lemon laws go back to 1975, when Congress passed legislation aimed at making product warranties more consumer-friendly and enforceable, in response to numerous complaints from the public about loopholes and disclaimers buried deep in their contracts that only were explained when they went to make a claim.

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The resulting Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act was the first lemon law, and remains the federal law. States then followed suit with lemon laws of their own, which added provisions requiring a manufacturer to provide a refund or replacement if a vehicle with a substantial defect cannot be repaired after a certain number of tries. Specifics vary by state, but that usually means two times for a safety defect, or four tries for a non-safety-related issue. There are also time and mileage limitations, generally 18 to 24 months or 18,000 to 24,000 miles. A summary of state laws can be found at The Center for Auto Safety’s website, http://www.autosafety.org/lemon-laws-state.

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It was horrible. There were different problems every time: the air conditioning, the radio, the backup camera. We had to go back several times.

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Lemon laws only apply to vehicles still covered by the manufacturer’s original warranty, although you may be able to make a claim later as long as you have documentation the problem began before the warranty expired. So hang on to those receipts from every visit to your dealer or mechanic. And get a record of every visit, whether the wrenches come out or not.

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“Ask them to write it up even if they can’t duplicate the problem,” advises Steven Simons, a California consumer attorney specializing in lemon law. “Do it as soon as you pull into that service lane.”

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It may seem trivial, but by doing this, you’re building your case for later. A veteran of the business, Simons has seen manufacturers deny that service visits occurred, or claim that a problem was the fault of abuse, neglect, or whatever else they could come up with to avoid paying up. The more documentation you have, the better your chances are for satisfaction.

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If the first visit doesn’t fix the problem, then it’s time to pull out your owner’s manual and get the carmaker’s toll-free customer service number.

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“After you’ve dropped the car off for the second visit, call the manufacturer,” said Simons. “Then you’ve given them notice. If it comes back a third time, then you hire an attorney. You’ve given them time to fix it, now it’s time to go to litigation.”

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The reason for hiring an attorney is simple. Carmakers have a whole lot more legal firepower than you do, and their lawyers have been to this rodeo before.

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“People should seek legal advice,” says Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety. Shahan knows a thing or two about lemon law. She and her non-profit advocacy group initiated California’s lemon law, which became a model for other states nationwide.

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It’s also critical to pick the right attorney. A quick Google search will bring up pages of lemon law attorneys, some of whom have the look of virtual ambulance chasers.

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“Go to the website for the National Association for Consumer Advocates,” said Shahan. “Those are the guys. The manufacturers know who the good ones are. A lot of the time, that’s all it takes.”

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The end result can be anything from a small cash award to a full refund.

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NACA lists attorneys by state and area of expertise, which makes it easy to come up with a list of candidates. Then get on the phone and find one that seems like somebody you can work with. And find one who works on a contingency basis, rather than by the hour. The bill can get really high really fast.

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What happens next will depend on a combination of factors including you, your attorney, the strength of your case, and the court.

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“Probably 90 percent or more of the cases settle,” said Simons, adding that the end result can be anything from a small cash award to a full refund.

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“A full refund includes payments, interest, and a return of the vehicle with the manufacturer paying off any lien,” he said. “I have had manufacturers agree to a buy back within three weeks and it takes another month to finish everything up. If you go to trial in California you are looking at one to three years.”

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Most lemon-law programs do allow you to keep driving your car while the legal process grinds on, but that’s a bad idea if yours defect is safety-related. Or, if like Rebecca McDonald, you just don’t feel safe in it.

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“After the last trip,” she says, “we didn’t take it anywhere.”

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from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com/lemon-aid-what-you-need-to-know-about-vehicle-lemon-laws/