When a Lemon Law Can’t Help You

While lemon laws exist to help protect you as the consumer, they’re not a complete cure when it comes to car problems. Knowing what’s covered and what isn’t under Lemon Law will help you when in deciding whether or not you should seek legal counsel. These are some categories that aren’t covered by Lemon Law.

Ineligible Car Defects

Lemon law regulations don’t cover all vehicle defects – only defects that affect the vehicle’s market value or safety, or that substantially impair use.

Laws also assume a manufacturer has a reasonable amount of time – usually 30 days – to repair the vehicle before you can invoke your state’s lemon law. Even if the manufacturer can’t repair the vehicle, the company has the option of providing you with a new car or refunding the purchase price. If the manufacturer selects the latter, you’re going without wheels.

Buyer’s Remorse

Simply hating your new car purchase or wishing you hadn’t spent so much money isn’t a valid reason to invoke a state lemon law. What you’re experiencing is buyer’s remorse. While most states have laws providing consumers with a 72-hour window to return product purchases, automobiles are usually exempt from those rules. Accepting your vehicle as a return is at the discretion of the dealership and most don’t want to retake the inventory. Your best hope is to keep the car in good condition and trade in the vehicle at a later date. Don’t crash your vehicle as a means to get rid of it. You may sustain serious injuries and destroy your vehicle, leaving you with an auto loan to repay and no car.

Mileage Limits

Once your vehicle passes a certain mileage limit, lemon laws in your state no longer apply. For example, in Pennsylvania, any mechanical problem occurring with a vehicle after you drive it 12,000 miles falls under normal wear and tear. Vehicle repairs under state lemon laws can occur after the 12,000-mile benchmark as long as the problem occurred before the benchmark expired.

Used Cars

If you bought a used car, some state’s lemon laws can help you with inherited defects, but other states don’t have used car lemon laws. When that’s the case, you can file a claim under an existing warranty if your vehicle has any coverage remaining. Otherwise, you should assume you’re accepting the vehicle in an “as is” condition. Have a prospective car purchase thoroughly examined by a trusted mechanic before you spend any money.

Is Your Car a Lemon? Speak to a Lemon Law Lawyer Today

Suffering injuries in a car accident caused by manufacturer negligence may entitle you to seek damages from the automaker. Compensation can help you replace lost income or pay rising medical costs relating to your injuries and continuing medical care.

If you think you have a lemon car, lemon truck, lemon RV, or lemon motorcycle, you deserve to be compensated. Lemberg Law can help you get justice – at no cost to you! Complete our form for a no-obligation case evaluation, or call toll free 877-795-3666.