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Lemon Laws

Both State and Federal lemon laws have been enacted to protect consumers who have purchased a new vehicle that is defective.

But what constitutes a defect under lemon law? Do you need to act immediately? What does your warranty provide? Should you approach the dealer as well as the manufacturer? Are you allowed to stop payment on your contractual obligations?

Both state and federal law cover these and many other important questions. You may have valuable rights and remedies under one or both sets of laws. Finding an experienced consumer law attorney is highly advisable.

• What are state "lemon laws"?
• How do state lemon laws protect consumers?

What are state "lemon laws"?

About two-thirds of the states have enacted "lemon laws", which are state statutes intended to protect a consumer who purchased a defective new car or truck. These laws were enacted because car buyers had been unable to get car sellers to fix defective new cars voluntarily. The public policy is based on the belief that the consumer should be responsible for only a reasonable number of repair attempts before a new vehicle is considered a "lemon".

How do state lemon laws protect consumers?

Although lemon laws vary from state to state, they share many basic similarities.

Most define a "lemon" as a car or truck that has serious safety defects, such as problems with brakes, steering, or another defect so serious that the car or truck has been in the repair shop for a period of thirty days or more in a one-year period.

Many states cover "leases" as well as sales.