Lemon Law
In order to most thoroughly understand lemon law, one must first know what it is that is considered to be a lemon. In a court of law, a lemon is defined by the state in which the car transaction resides. However, generally speaking, a lemon is a vehicle that has a defect within it that does not allow the car to function in the manner in which it should. According to most state laws that define a lemon, a lemon is a vehicle that has a defect that prohibits the safety and the reasonable value of the vehicle. A lemon is usually characterized by the state laws by containing such a defect that is beyond repair.
As far as the applicability of the lemon laws to vehicle types, the terms of the lemon law will apply to new cars, and the law generally applies to used cars, as well. It is important to make this point clear because there are many that are unaware that there are some states that will enforce the lemon law in instances of the purchase of a new vehicle. It is not only old cars that fit the description of a lemon. For this reason, one of the main distinctions that is made on a state by state basis if the lemon laws do apply to both used and new cars, is whether or not the laws extend to be both private and public dealers.
There is often a process by which you are able to see if the lemon laws of your state will serve to protect you. Before a person will generally pursue carrying out the terms of their state lemon law, they will often see if the vehicle can be repaired. They are then to hold on to receipts and diagnostic records in order to pursue the matter further, on the basis of violation of the lemon law, if need be. Often the first step that people will take when they want to initiate this process is to contact the manufacturer, or those states where applicable, the dealer of the vehicle, in order to report the defect that they are experiencing in the vehicle that they have just purchased.
The next step in the approach to accessing the lemon laws to rectify your vehicle claim is to locate an arbitration program where it can be confirmed that the vehicle that you were sold violates the lemon laws of your state. In accordance to the lemon laws of your state, the expert representative will conclude whether or not the vehicle does, in fact, have a defect that violates the terms of the state lemon law. These arbitration programs are generally found at a Division of Motor Vehicle Agency. If it is determined that the defect of the vehicle is a violation of the lemon law, the typical conclusion is that the dealer or manufacturer will have to repair the vehicle. If this is not carried out in the manner in which the buyer is satisfied with, he or she has the right to take the manufacturer to court in order to have a judge evaluate the matter. If the lemon law case is won by the plaintiff, there are a number of things that the laws say that the buyer is entitled to. What is granted to the defendant by the court is completely up to the judge, but some of the things that the laws mentions is reimbursement for the price of the vehicle that was paid, and any additional fees and applicable charges that was associated with the car that the buyer paid.