Have You Bought a Lemon? New Car Buyer's Rights
by: Northwestern Legal Services
WHEN IS A CAR A "LEMON"
A car is a "lemon" if it has a manufacturing defect which is beyond reasonable repair.
- A defect or "nonconformity" in the car means that it substantially impairs the use, value, or safety of a new vehicle and fails to conform to the manufacturer's express warranty on the vehicle.
- Most customers do not recognize a Pennsylvania Automobile Lemon Law situation until much of it has transpired.
- Usually an attorney is consulted only after key events have occurred.
- The best that can happen is for you to obtain a refund of the purchase price less an allowance for your actual use of the car or a comparable replacement vehicle if the car is a true lemon.
YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE PENNSYLVANIA LEMON LAW
When you purchase or lease** a new motor vehicle for personal, family or household use from a motor vehicle dealer, you should get a written warranty for its condition and fitness for use plus all supplementary terms from the manufacturer. You should also get a copy of a statement of purchaser's rights, which includes a list of zone offices with addresses and phone numbers.
**In Pennsylvania, vehicles leased after February 11, 2002 are covered under the PA Lemon Law.
- Your Lemon Law rights as a purchaser and the manufacturer's repair obligations remain in tact for the period of the manufacturer's warranty on the vehicle.
- The general standard warranty for Lemon Law rights is the conventional "twelve and twelve" meaning 12 months or 12,000 miles.
- The first occurrence of a nonconformity must arise within the warranty period, or the first 12 months or 12,000-mile period. After this period you may still have a claim but under other state and federal law.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU THINK YOUR VEHICLE IS A LEMON
If you purchased a defective vehicle, you must return it to the manufacturer's authorized service facility within Pennsylvania, unless the vehicle is unable to be transported or there is some other reasonable cause for your inability to return the vehicle. You should then notify the manufacturer or authorized service and repair facility in writing of the defect.
- The manufacturer has the option to service or repair the vehicle at the site of the nonconformity or to pick up the vehicle or arrange for its transportation to its service facility. The manufacturer should bear all the costs of transporting the vehicle when you are unable to effect its return to the service facility.
- Each time you visit the dealer for service, ask for an itemized statement explicitly describing the repair problem. Be sure that the defect, which has been subject to repair and yet continues to exist, is accurately described on such an itemized statement. At the same time, the dealer must notify the manufacturer of the nonconformity by certified mail within seven (7) days of the delivery of the vehicle for its second repair attempt.
WHAT IF THE CAR REMAINS UNFIXED?
After three (3) unsuccessful repair attempts for the same problem, or after a total of thirty (30) days in which the vehicle is out of service for repair, you may be entitled to a comparable replacement vehicle or a refund of the purchase price less an allowance for your actual use.
- If a dispute arises concerning a defect, you must first resort to any arbitration program or informal dispute settlement procedure established by the manufacturer to assert your Lemon Law rights.
- When the above and all other remedies have been exhausted and are unsuccessful, you may sue the manufacturer for violating the Pennsylvania Automobile Lemon Law and the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law.
- You can request a refund or replacement of the motor vehicle, or three times your actual damages, attorney's fees and costs.
Last Reviewed: December 2008
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