Vehicle ownership in the US has witnessed a consistent increase over the years. In a country as prosperous as the US, it is imperative for citizens to buy their dream cars. Business owners invest in commercial vehicles to expand their fleets and reduce dependence on rental services. Statistics show that Americans bought 2.86 million cars in 2022. The number of buyers will likely increase in the future.
Of course, you want to be a part of the statistics, but you should understand the risks of automotive purchases. Like every product, cars may occasionally have inherent defects. Fortunately, Americans are protected by lemon law buybacks as a legal recourse to claim their loss if they end up with a ‘lemon’. In legal terms, a lemon is a vehicle with severe defects persisting even after a reasonable number of attempts to fix it.
Even top-selling brands like Fiat, Cadillac, and Porsche list of armenia whatsapp phone numbers have a notorious reputation for producing lemons. Buying a top brand doesn’t reduce the risk, so awareness is a savior for savvy customers. You should take the legal route to get a fair resolution in such a situation. But people often make some mistakes because they do not know the laws well enough.
Here is a list of lemon buyback blunders that can affect your claim.
Blunder #1: Not Understanding State-Specific Laws
The federal and state governments enacted laws to dissuade manufacturers from manufacturing and selling defective and potentially dangerous products. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975 is the cornerstone federal lemon law. Besides federal law, state-specific laws may vary, and buyers should be aware of them.
For example, the California Lemon Law is applicable to all new vehicles sold in the state and requires manufacturers to address most defects surfacing within 18 months or 18,000 miles. For North Carolina vehicle owners, the numbers are 24 months or 24,000 miles. To qualify as a lemon, your car should have a substantial defect that the manufacturer couldn’t repair after a reasonable number of attempts.
Starting a claim without knowing the law of your state is a mistake because you may go wrong with the process and timelines.