Used Car Lemon Laws
The Used Car Lemon Law: The Used Car Buyer's Best Friend
You've just bought yourself a used car. The car was cheap and
you left the used car lot with the feeling that you managed to
come out reasonably well. Then the car conks out - what happens
now?
Under other circumstances, you would probably have no choice but
live with your choice. Fortunately, there is a law that would
help you. The used car lemon law is the most useful law for any
person who buys a used car. The law provides a legal remedy for
those buy or lease used cars that turn out to have outstanding
mechanical difficulties, those which are better known as
"lemons".
The law has used car dealers give their buyers a written
warranty. The warrant requires dealers to repair any defects
found in the car, free of charge. The dealer can also choose to
reimburse the repair costs of the repairs to the buyer. It also
notes that if the car isn't repaired after a number of attempts,
the buyer is supposed to receive a full refund of the purchase.
For the law to cover your purchase, check your local state laws.
Usually, these four conditions should be met for the lemon law
to be invoked:
1) The car was purchased, transferred or leased after either a)
eighteen thousand miles of use or b) two years from the original
release; and
2) The purchase or lease price has the value of at least one
thousand five hundred dollars; and
3) The car has been driven less than or equal to a hundred
thousand miles at the time of lease or purchase; and
4) The car was used for non-commercial purposes i.e. personal
use. This means the car should have been used for household or
family purposes. This includes personal transportation to and
from work and household errands. The car could have been used
for a mix of business and personal use but it still should have
been used predominantly for personal use.
The law can also be used to cover motorcycles; however some
states exempt other vehicles from the used car law. Note that
the transfer of ownership of a used car is also covered by the
law; however a private purchase from a private individual is not
protected by the law. You can choose to consult a lawyer to see
what sort of action you may take.
Remember the law and check with your state before you buy a used
car. If your state has such a law, you should feel safe about
your purchase when you leave the used car lot.