There are few kinds of “lemon” laws in the USA. One is federal lemon law, named the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act. Other state lemon laws are divided into 3 groups:
- Motor Vehicle Lemon Laws – every state has it now
- Assistive Device Lemon Law – deals only with certain kinds of assistive devices for disabled people
- The “Puppy” Lemon Law – only few people have ever heard of it as it exists only in a few states. If you bought a pet and it turned out to be ill so after the purchase you will have to look it up on your own or talk to a consumer law lawyer near you.
Each state has its own version of laws and requires consumers to take certain actions in order to remedy the situation.
In this article I will describe the Lemon Law which is designed to protect car buyers from getting ripped off or getting cars that are “lemons”.
If you buy a new, but in some states used, motor vehicle then the manufacturer has to fix the defect within a certain number of attempts , usually three or four tries. The vehicle can only be out of service a limited amount of days (usually 30 to 45). Some states also say that if the defect is “deadly” so the factory dealer gets only one or two chances to fix it. We have to know that all lemon laws are quite detailed and do not always cover all sorts of vehicles. To find out what the motor vehicle lemon law says in the state where you live you can easily check this in the internet.
In Wisconsin Lemon Laws deals with all vehicles except mopeds, semi-trailers or trailers in combination with truck or truck tractor. The repair interval and coverage period is 4 repair attempts or 30 days out of service (warranty period or 1 year).
It is good to use the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s form to ask the manufacturer for a refund or replacement vehicle. Send the form to the manufacturer and he has 30 days to respond. Your refund should include the full purchase price, any finance charge, sales tax, and collateral costs. If we get a replacement vehicle, the manufacturer should refund your collateral costs and charge nothing for mileage. If you have questions:
E-mail: dealers.dmv@dot.wi.gov
Call: (608) 266 – 1425
Fax: (608) 267 – 0323
Write to the address below:
Wisconsin Department of Transportation
Dealer & Agent Section
4802 Sheboygan Avenue, Room 201
P.O. Box 7909
Madison, WI 53707 – 7909
Wisconsin Lemon Aid offers free telephone consultation at 262 – 347 – 2005 and free case review and evaluation. The manufacturer is required to pay the consumer’s attorney fees if the consumer prevails.
Manufacturer participating in Wisconsin:
Call: (608) 266 – 1425
Fax: (608) 267 – 0323
Write to the address below:
Wisconsin Department of Transportation
Dealer & Agent Section
4802 Sheboygan Avenue, Room 201
P.O. Box 7909
Madison, WI 53707 – 7909
Wisconsin Lemon Aid offers free telephone consultation at 262 – 347 – 2005 and free case review and evaluation. The manufacturer is required to pay the consumer’s attorney fees if the consumer prevails.
Manufacturer participating in Wisconsin:
- Acura
- AM General
- Audi
- Bentley (Rolls-Royce)
- Buick
- Cadillac
- Chevrolet
- Ford
- GMC Truck
- Honda
- Hyundai
- Indian Motorcycle
- Infiniti
- Isuzu
- Kia
- Land Rover
- Lincoln
- Lotus
- Mazda
- Mercury
- Nissan
- Oldsmobile
- Pontiac
- Saab
- Saturn
- smart USA
- Volkswagen
- Workhorse Custom Chassis
Lemon Law is the common nickname for various laws, but each state has different names for the laws and acts. Lemon laws protect consumers from products that are plagued with serious defects. If an item cannot be satisfactorily repaired within a certain timeframe (usually within the warranty period) or if the item is not as good as new after so many repairs, it is considered a “lemon”.
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