New York Lemon Law: Some Of Its Unique PointsJust as with every other state in the U.S., the state of New York has its own consumer protection laws that provide assistance to the owners of new, used, or leased vehicles that have developed serious defects during the warranty period. Collectively, these statutes are New York lemon law. Like many other states, there are some unique features of the lemon law that are not represented the same in another. These discrepancies create difficulties that are still need to be surmounted by lemon law advocates. New York lemon law has its share. One in particular has received some recent press. It involved the decision of the New York Court of Appeals to uphold a twenty-year old decision regarding arbitration process in lemon law cases. It was in 1987 that New York's lemon law required that the manufacturer would be required to attempt to repair a defect at least four times before the consumer was allowed to obtain either a replacement vehicle or a refund. The controversy involved a point argued by auto manufacturers. The question asked, "What if the problem was remedied after four attempts-say the fifth or sixth attempt by the mechanic?" Of course, the position the manufacturers maintained was that if repairs succeeded after the fourth attempt then there was no reason to pursue restitution. At the time, the law was upheld as written. The new decision made by the Court of Appeals reaffirmed the original decision by citing that making the consumer wait longer with no guarantee of successful repair was unfair. Unlike some states, New York has two separate New York lemon laws. One focuses specifically on new and leased automobiles and affords them all of the common lemon law protections that deal with vehicle defects that substantially impair the use and lower the value. The second New York lemon law is geared towards those consumers who purchase used cars. Hence, it is called the New York Used Car Lemon Law. In order to facilitate the explanations of each of these complex laws, the New York office of the Attorney Generally has issued a set of guides. These guides specifically outline the provisions of the New Car Lemon Law and the Used Car Lemon Law, respectively. They have been arranged in an easy to read booklet that can be printed directly off the Office of the Attorney General website. Copies of both New York lemon law guides are also made available Attorney General's offices in New York City and the various regional affiliated offices. New York Lemon Law is constantly being updated and particular points or provisions are being argued and reargued in court cases. It is a constant process to either make or break the law and constitutes a tug-of-war between the interests of the car manufacturers and the consumers. By taking advantage of some of the resources and knowledge made available by the Attorney General, you will stand a better chance if you find yourself in lemon law arbitration. |