Lemon Law For Used Cars
Buying used cars is difficult in itself as it is, moreover maintenance issues as well as repair issues can make it a lot more difficult to own a used car. We often think that there is nothing to save yourself from this headache if the manufacturer’s warranty has run its term and dealership warranty well that is just basically nothing. In this scenario, one thing that either most of us don’t know about or seem to care about; It can be used to get your money back that was used to buy the faulty car.
This article is written keeping in mind the general need to educate the people and the common folk of the country about the Lemon Laws that apply to used, so no matter you are looking for used cars for sale in California or for pre-owned cars in Calabasas, you know what you are entitled to and negotiate as well as conduct the paperwork accordingly.
If you are an owner of a pre-owned car and often remained stressed as well angry because of the continuous as well similar repairs that the car you recently bought from that pre-owned car dealership goes for, then you just might be able to get help from a section of Motor Law known as the Lemon Law. It was introduced to give the consumers a reliable solution given that the manufacturer has been given an ample amount of opportunities to fix faults in the car. These laws were introduced to give consumers a guarantee against cars which might be potentially dangerous for them as well as those around them. Although it should be noted that lemon laws do not apply to fundamental design complaints and non-dangerous complaints like squeaking, rattles, fading paints and vibrations. It only deal with serious problems in your vehicle.
This article will take you through the process of identifying, filing and then claiming your case for claiming penalty under Lemon Law.
How To differentiate between a Lemon Car and a Non-Lemon Car
This section will let you know whether your car might just be covered under Lemon Law and the ways to determine whether your car really falls is eligible for reimbursement under this.
What the above statement means is that even if you have a car that undergoes serious repairs from time to time but each of a different kind then it is possible that your car might not be eligible under Lemon Law and simply might be termed as unreliable. If you see this from a legal point of view, then the key thing about Lemon Car is that it is viewed as a defective car and is treated under the legal grounds and special state lemon laws considering the same. Below given are some ways in which you can determine whether your car might come under a condition that is applicable under Lemon Law.
Your Pre-Owned Car dealership is doing the same repairs over and over
First and foremost thing that makes a car eligible under Lemon Law is that it must have an ongoing problem or the same problem should have occurred in the same car repeatedly. Considering that you have given ample chances to the manufacturer through the concerned department of your dealership you can think of this law because under Lemon Law it is required that the manufacturer should have tried fixing the problem thrice or four times at least before announcing a failure to achieve a lasting solution. If your car happens to be in such a case where there have been many successful repairs but all unrelated, then all you can do is request the manufacturer to extend your car warranty.
The vehicle should be more or less new
It can only apply to a car that is one or two years old or has covered just 14,000 or 28,000 miles which all depends on and changes from state to state. It should be well noted that identification of the problem, as well as all the concerned repairs, should be attempted in this period only. If there is a case where the problem has been identified in the first year but hasn’t been worked on then the car won’t be eligible under the Lemon Law.
You should be the owner
Lemon Law can’t be applied to leased cars, for you to get the full benefits it shouldn’t even be under current finance or loan programme, it should fully be owned by you even if it has come under the current agreement less than a year back.
You should have all the documents
You should have all the documents concerning your car as well as all the repairs that have occurred on the car during the warranty period. Consumer Law requires you to provide physical proof that is original. Make sure that your Pre-owned Car dealership rightly mentions the problem, the repairs done and the time the vehicle spent under repair on the proper repair slip that they give you.
Document the issue yourself as much as possible
Document the issue with your car through photo and video pieces of evidence, this might come in handy when you are out in consumer courts to claim reimbursement.
How to start the process of getting the reimbursement
The way of filing a complaint under Lemon Law varies from state to state, while some states only require you to fill out a complaint form, others have a lot more complex process for the same thing. It is advisable that you meet your trusted attorney who is familiar with the this Law in your state to get a better view of the things.
If the Car has a problem but not enough for Lemon Law
If your car has some other serious problems which are not considered under Law, don’t lose heart and start by contacting the manufacturer of the car through the regional service representative. It is more than likely that you’ll get some kind of a relief because the manufacturers also have an obligation in the eyes of the public and they need to maintain their high reputations.
If even then you aren’t satisfied by what has happened, you can directly lodge a complaint with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, it is the responsibility of NHTSA to look for problems in such situations and sniff out any foul play.
In the end, we would like to say that if you are looking for cars for sale near you even from a trusted pre-owned cars dealership, it is highly recommended that you get the car checked completely that such problem where you need to resort to Lemon Law occur within the least possible chances.