If you realize you have a lemon on your hands you are not stuck. You are protected by state laws and a manufacture’s warranty that is usually found on the inside of every owner’s manual. A car owner’s rights are much more than what a dealer and a manufacturer want the car owner to know about.
It is common for people to think that when they buy a lemon from a dealer they are limited to their word against the dealers, especially if verbal promises were made to the buyer. Manufacturers and dealers want you to feel like your options are limited and there is nothing you can do about it other than what they tell you. This is not the case. It is important to document everything from day one. You should seek a professional certified mechanic and have them run a thorough inspection of the vehicle.
Dealers are also known to manipulate records or say they cannot find the records. The biggest concern in lemon law cases is that the repair records are not available. The customer normally never sees the paperwork of repair orders when a vehicle is taken in for repair under warranty. The mechanic always makes notes on paperwork under warranty vehicles but the customer never gets a copy of the notes made by the mechanic.
Dealers who repair vehicles also hide defective issues mechanics point out. For instance, if a mechanic at a dealership finds a defect but there is not a corrective procedure existing for the fix, they are often instructed not to fix the vehicle. The dealer doesn’t tell the owner and the person drives the car around thinking it is fixed when it is really not. The problem with this practice is that it can lead to a potentially dangerous situation.
A good example where something like this would occur is when a uniform problem with a model of a vehicle exists but the manufacturer has not come up with a factory authorized repair. The dealer will be instructed by the manufacturer to write on the form ‘could not duplicate’ or that the vehicle is operating as it is designed to. They will then send the customer on their way and not perform any fix to the vehicle. This problem happens more often than people would think when it comes to manufacturers and dealers.
Why the Manufacturer Won’t Just Replace the Car
Many people ask the question why they cannot just get the manufacturer to just replace the vehicle. This would seem like the easy fix and it only seems fair. However, this will never happen with any vehicle and it isn’t that simple.
All of the manufacturers of motor vehicles have hotlines, customer service departments, and quality care divisions that are set up to respond to complaints. The warranty of a vehicle is usually stated inside of the owner’s manual and the proper way to complain. Consumers are directed to call these departments if they cannot resolve their issues through the dealer. The problem is that these departments are not really designed to help a customer but to pacify them. When a consumer mentions the word ‘lemon’, all attempts at pacification are ceased.
It is also common for customer service departments to be instructed to tell you that they will resolve the issue with the dealer and be in contact with you. They might promise to be in contact through email or tell you to send an email to your factory representative. The manufacturer will try to sound as convincing as possible, again to pacify you.
There are select cases where a manufacturer will actually agree to replace the vehicle or give a refund. They will misquote the legal obligation and leave the buyer with fees of thousands of dollars in mileage, taxes and other fees they have no right to demand from the buyer.
