How Does Used Car Lemon Law Operate?When your new car experiences persistent mechanical problems that are not remedied by trips to the shop, you may have considered the possibility that your vehicle is a lemon and covered under applicable lemon laws. But what if you have a used car? Can you get coverage? Is there a corresponding used car lemon law to provide consumer protection? The answer is yes and no. How, you may ask? If it is available at all, the coverage may vary from state to state; it may be contingent on very specific factors like warranties and other state sanctioned parameters. Keep reading for further explanation of how used car lemon law operates. It must be remembered that although lemon law has been enacted in all fifty states in some form, the same cannot be said for used car lemon law. Only a small number of states have explicit provisions in place for protecting used cars under lemon law, while the rest of the nation establishes protection for only new and leased automobiles. States that offer used cars coverage include Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Connecticut, Hawaii, and Arizona. Concerning those states that do choose to offer used car protection, it is provided under specific conditions, the primary one being that car has a warranty. If a state has used car lemon law statutes in place, then those vehicles that are applicable for coverage are those which dealerships have registered express warranties. These express warranties must outline the areas of coverage that a consumer's vehicle will have and what situations will make it applicable for lemon law coverage. If repairs were made and vehicle is returned to working order then there are no grounds for declaring the vehicle a lemon, but if after repeated and unsuccessful attempts have been made then the warranty can be declared broken and eligible for refund or replacement. While the need for warranties on used cars remains a primary factor, there are other conditions that may need to be met in order to qualify for used car lemon law protection. Of those states that do have definite lemon law provisions for used cars, some require that the used vehicles meet a number of other parameters not necessarily outlined in the express warranty registered with the dealership. Some of these factors can include the age of the vehicle, the mileage, price paid for the used vehicle, as well as where the dealership where the car was purchased is located. All of these elements together create a very strict automobile profile that helps regulate used car lemon law in applicable states. The operation of used car lemon law is governed various points from where it is available to the conditions of warranties and the cars themselves. It may even be depended upon whether you bought the vehicle in-state or out-of-state. It is hoped that this article has provided you a bit more information on the hows and whys of used car lemon law. |