ABA Family Legal Guide

Automobiles

Consumer Protections

Lemon Laws

What must I do to make lemon laws work for me?

First, you must notify the manufacturer and, in some states, the dealer about the defect. Keep a copy of every repair receipt or service receipt. These receipts record that the required number of repair attempts has been made, and can be especially important if your car's defect had to be repaired at another garage or in another city because it was physically impossible to drive the car back to the seller's repair location.

Most states require that you go through an arbitration procedure before you can get a replacement or refund. Some states sponsor arbitration programs, which may be more objective than those run by manufacturers. Arbitration is usually free, and results often are binding only on the manufacturer; if you don't like the result, you can probably still take the manufacturer to court, depending on the rules that apply to the arbitration proceeding.

Some states require arbitration only if the manufacturer refuses to give you a satisfactory replacement or a refund. You also may have the option of bypassing arbitration and going directly to court.

If you successfully pursue a lemon law claim, you may get a refund of what you paid for the car, as well as reimbursement for things like taxes, registration fees, and finance charges. If you choose, you may get a replacement car. Be sure that it is of comparable value to the lemon it is replacing, and that it satisfies you completely.