Posts Tagged ‘boats’
Your Vehicle Isn’t Covered by State Lemon Law: Do you Still Have a Case?
There are two types of lemon vehicles that are generally not covered by state lemon laws: vehicles that have exceeded a certain number of miles (e.g. 20,000 miles) and alternative vehicles such as motorcycles, ATVs and personal boats. Neither do most states have lemon laws that cover used vehicles. Under the state lemon law, vehicles must meet strict mileage based criteria before qualifying as lemons; that is, they must experience a certain number of repairs within a certain range of miles after their original delivery date. Some states also make a provision for lemon status based on how many days a new vehicle spends in the repair shop within a certain number of miles. But just because your vehicle’s type or mileage doesn’t bring it under state lemon doesn’t mean that you don’t have a case.
Unlike the state lemon law, the Federal Lemon Law applies to all personal vehicles that are still under the manufacturer’s warranty, including motorcycles, boats, ATVs and used cars. In other words, if you have a 5yr/100,000 mile warranty and your car experiences a significant defect that undergoes a series of unsuccessful repairs in year 4 at 95,000 miles, you may still have a lemon law case. In addition to the different qualifying criteria, the biggest difference between the state and Federal Lemon Law, from a consumer perspective, deals with awards. Under the state law, lemon car owners can opt to receive either a free replacement vehicle of similar make or a full refund of a lemon car’s purchase price minus a mileage based allowance. Under the Federal Law, owners receive a cash award but are not entitled to a buyback.
