Lemon Law Blog

Strapped for cash?  Who isn’t?  Unemployment is up. News reports continue to flood in about how poor the economy is. As gas prices soar higher, the money in our wallets seems to dwindle. Our homes are not worth what they were and neither are our stock portfolios. So, how would $2,000, $3,000 or even $5000 sound?  In a non-taxable check, and you don’t have to do much to get it.  You may be entitled to a large sum of money and the answer may be right in front of your nose…in your driveway to be exact (and no, we are not talking about selling your car). If you have read it before on the blog, it bears repeating, because consumers who call into the 1 800 LEMON LAW hotline can’t beleive it.  This is a Federal law which applies to every state we work in:  Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio, Washington DC, Vermont, Rhode Island and New Hampshire.

It’s a little known Federal law called the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act, that’s not discussed by car dealerships when you purchase your car.  It’s a statute that is not heavily promoted or publicized but it applies to cars, or any products that cost over $25 and are covered by a manufacturers warranty.  What is says is that if you find that you have to get your car repaired three or more times for the same thing, it means that the warranty has not proven to efficient or very effective.  And for that reason, you could be entitled to monies that reflect the diminished value of the car as a result of the problem. So, that darn window motor that’s been replaced, the air conditioner that hasn’t been blowing cool air,  the water leak in the trunk that was finally fixed after four tries, or that nav system that’s gone through quite a few upgrades could mean thousands in your pocket PLUS
**You get to keep your car
**Your warranty remains completely in effect and they still have to fix your car.
**Your car is NOT branded in any way (like the lemon law), so know one can look up a carfax report and determine that you received this money.
**You do NOT need to  disclose that you received this money when selling or trading your car. 
**Like the Lemon Law, the Magnuson Moss provides a provision which entitles consumers to completely FREE LEGAL HELP, so they are on equal footing with the manufacturers.
 
And unlike the lemon law, this law can also apply to used cars, motorcycles(when state laws do not apply), and some seacraft too (like jet skis and sea doos). You read this right–This is free money and it applies to any car or truck which has repeated problems under an original or extended manufacturers warranty (normally three times in for the same problem) .

If you’d like to see if you are entitled to this money, click here or call us at 1-800 LEMON LAW (1-800-536-6652). Also, this past Spring, CBS3 consumer reporter Jim Donovan put together a great story on this which you can view by clicking here.

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We are seeing an increased number of cases pertaining to Yamaha Roadstar motorcycles.

These bikes could have reoccurring problems with the engine management system, which could cause the unit to stall, leak oil, or backfire. Repairs may have included installing an additive to clean varnish and carbon, yet this additive has been ruled by experts as not being effective in a long-term capacity.
 
If you are experiencing any problems with your Yamaha Roadstar, you could be entitled to a full or partial refund under State and/or Federal Laws. Motorcycles are covered under lemon law in New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Rhode Island. In other states, consumers can seek free legal relief through the Federal Magnuson Moss Warranty Act.

If you are having any problems with your motorcycle, free free to contact us or call 1-800 LEMON LAW (1-800-536-6652) and we will be glad to discuss the matter with you.

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Every month, we will be highlighting some common trends we are seeing in our lemon law claims.  We have successfully handled numerous cases with the following problems.  If you find that you are experiencing these problems, and you have been back in the shop 3 or more times for the issue, please contact us to see if we can help you receive a new car, or a full or partial refund:

TRANSMISSION FLUID LEAKS in 2005-2006 Dodge Charger, Dodge Magnum , Chrysler 300, and Jeep Commander models

WATER LEAKS in Jeep Wrangler models (we have handled hundreds of these pertaining specifically to the 2008 model)

SEVERE VIBRATION (known as “Death Wobble”) in 2005-2008 Jeep Wrangler models

VIBRATION in 2006-2007 Chrysler Pacifica models

BRAKE FAILURE in 2006-2007 Dodge Dakota models

2005-2006 Harley Davidson models are having problem with the bikes charging

PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG LIGHT in 2006 Kia Spectra models

BRAKES AND ROTOR FAILURE in Nissan Titan and Armada models

BRAKE PROBLEMS with Kia Sedona models

For more information on lemon law help, call us at 1-800-LEMON-LAW or visit our website.

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On Your Side: Car Issues by Jim Donovan

PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ― Are you having mechanical problems with your car? While state lemon laws can help, some Federal laws are designed to protect you too. In fact the Magnuson-Moss Act may be your best bet.

Jan Jeffries bought a certified pre-owned Jaguar about a year ago. Almost immediately he had problems. The anti-lock brakes were malfunctioning and needed repeated repairs. While Jan’s mechanical problems weren’t covered by state lemon law, he was entitled to compensation under the Federal Magnuson-Moss act.

“If the vehicle is under warranty and you’ve had problems with it, subject to repair, and it has not been resolved, you have federal, Manguson-Moss warranty rights.” says attorney Craig Kimmel. The Magnuson-Moss Act applies to vehicles under their original or extended manufacturers warranty, and the car must be in the shop for 3 or more times for the same problem. Kimmel says, “We’re talking brakes, transmission, suspension, head lights, water leak, paint defect, any of these problems and more, those issues the consumer should step up and force the manufacturer to comply with the warranty and if they can’t, call a lawyer.”

That’s what Jan Jeffries did. He says, “I got $6,000 from Jaguar as compensation for what would ultimately be reduced value of the vehicle.”

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is a Federal Law that protects the buyer of any product which costs more than $25 and comes with an express written warranty. This law applies to any product that you buy that does not perform as it should.

Your car is a major investment, rationalized by the peace of mind that flows from its expected dependability and safety. Accordingly, you are entitled to expect an automobile properly constructed and regulated to provide reasonably safe, trouble-free, and dependable transportation - regardless of the exact make and model you bought. Unfortunately, sometimes these principles do not hold true and defects arise in automobiles. Although one defect is not actionable, repeated defects are as there exists a generally accepted rule that unsuccessful repair efforts render the warrantor liable. Simply put, there comes a time when “enough is enough” - when after having to take your car into the shop for repairs an inordinate number of times and experiencing all of the attendant inconvenience, you are entitled to say, ‘That’s all,’ and revoke, notwithstanding the seller’s repeated good faith efforts to fix the car. The rationale behind these basic principles is clear: once your faith in the vehicle is shaken, the vehicle loses its real value to you and becomes an instrument whose integrity is impaired and whose operation is fraught with apprehension. The question thus becomes when is “enough”?

As you know, enough is never enough from your warrantor’s point of view and you should simply continue to have your defective vehicle repaired - time and time again. However, you are not required to allow a warrantor to tinker with your vehicle indefinitely in the hope that it may eventually be fixed. Rather, you are entitled to expect your vehicle to be repaired within a reasonable opportunity. To this end, both the federal Moss Warranty Act, and the various state “lemon laws,” require repairs to your vehicle be performed within a reasonable opportunity.

Under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, a warrantor should perform adequate repairs in at least two, and possibly three, attempts to correct a particular defect. Further, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act’s reasonableness requirement applies to your vehicle as a whole rather than to each individual defect that arises. Although most of the Lemon Laws vary from state to state, each individual law usually require a warrantor to cure a specific defect within four to five attempts or the automobile as a whole within thirty days. If the warrantor fails to meet this obligation, most of the lemon laws provide for a full refund or new replacement vehicle. Further, this reasonable number of attempts/reasonable opportunity standard, whether it be that of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act or that of the Lemon Laws, is akin to strict liability - once this threshold has been met, the continued existence of a defect is irrelevant and you are still entitled to relief.

One of the most important parts of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is its fee shifting provision. This provision provides that you may recover the attorney fees incurred in the prosecution of your case if you are successful - independent of how much you actually win. That rational behind this fee shifting provision is to twofold: (1) to ensure you will be able to vindicate your rights without having to expend large sums on attorney’s fees and (2) because automobile manufacturers are able to write off all expenses of defense as a legitimate business expense, whereas you, the average consumer, obviously does not have that kind of economic staying power. Most of the Lemon Laws contain similar fee shifting provisions.

You may also derive additional warranty rights from the Uniform Commercial Code; however, the Code does not allow you in most states to recover your attorney fees and is also not as consumer friendly as the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act or the various state lemon laws.

RELATED LINKS:

PA LEMON LAW

NJ LEMON LAW

DE LEMON LAW

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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Certainly, we have all heard of the lemon law at one time or another.  Every State has one and they are designed to protect car owners when their ride turns sour.  But, what if you fall outside the lemon law provisions?  Perhaps, you live in Pennsylvania, and your problem occurred at 13,000 miles, rather than 12,000? Or you have a used car with a manufacturers warranty and the check engine light just will not go off?  Is the manufacturer off the hook?  Is the consumer out of luck?  The answer is no.

There’s a little known Federal law called the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act, that’s not discussed by car dealerships when you purchase your car.  It’s a statute that is not heavily promoted or publicized but it applies to cars, or any products that cost over $25 and are covered by a manufacturers warranty.  What is says is that if you find that you have to get your car repaired three or more times for the same thing, it means that the warranty has not proven to efficient or very effective. 

And for that reason, you could be entitled to monies that reflect the diminished value of the car as a result of the problem. So, that darn window motor that’s been replaced, the air conditioner that hasn’t been blowing cool air,  the water leak in the trunk that was finally fixed after four tries, or that nav system that’s gone through quite a few upgrades could mean thousands in your pocket PLUS**You get to keep your car**Your warranty remains completely in effect and they still have to fix your car. **Your car is not branded in any way (like the lemon law)**You do not disclose that you received this money when selling or trading your car.  **Like the Lemon Law, the Magnuson Moss provides a provision which entitles consumers to completely free legal help, so they are on equal footing with the manufacturers. And unlike the lemon law, this law can apply to used cars.

You read this right–This is free money and it applies to any car or truck which is still under an original or extended manufacturers warranty. If you think you may be entitled to money under the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act, click here and we will be glad to contact you to further discuss your claim.  

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By Jacqueline Mitchell, Forbes.com

Think about a used car and you might think junky, dirty and old. But another market is catching the attention of savvy buyers who want updated rides without paying new-car prices.

These certified used or certified “pre-owned” (CPO) vehicles have been inspected and refurbished by the manufacturer and are backed by extended warranties. The certified used car market isn’t one that automakers can afford to ignore. According to a recent J.D. Power and Associates study, sales of certified used cars have increased 46% since 2000. Auto experts estimate that 1.6 million certified used cars are sold annually, a number equivalent to 10% of new vehicle sales. This rapid growth started when the segment emerged in the 1990s. Luxury automakers like Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Lexus, looking for ways to unload vehicles coming off lease programs, introduced the certified pre-owned programs as a way to attract the discerning buyer who wanted a luxury car but didn’t want to shell out the big bucks. Other luxury and non-luxury automakers who found themselves in similar situations began offering their versions of these programs. Smart car buyers like them, too. Now, with this best-and-worst list of certified used cars from Forbes.com, smart buyers can be even smarter about this growing market segment.

Kelley Blue Book experts say new vehicle prices average $35,000 and depreciate at a rate of about 20% a year. With this in mind, the cost involved with the inspection, refurbishment and warranty of a certified pre-owned vehicle may add up to a better purchase package than buying a brand new car. “CPO cars are selected from the best of the best,” says Micah Muzio, video road-test editor of Kelley Blue Book. “Automakers can sell them for a premium, usually about $3,000 more than a used (non-certified) car. But the customer gets peace of mind, because the vehicle has been inspected and it’s backed by an extended warranty.”

But don’t rush out and purchase or lease just any vehicle wearing a CPO badge. The programs vary by automaker — and the quality of the vehicles is just as diverse. We looked at a combination of measures to find the best and worst certified used cars on the market, including Consumer Reports’ used-car verdict scores, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for crash test ratings and manufacturer-backed warranty programs.Topping our list of the Best CPO vehicles are the Honda Accord, Toyota 4Runner, Acura TL, Subaru Impreza and Lexus GS.

Making our list of the Worst CPO vehicles are the Saturn Relay, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Pontiac G6, Volkswagen New Beetle and Mercedes-Benz E Class.Vehicles that weren’t at the top of class as new car purchases won’t emerge at the top as stellar CPOs, Muzio says. The Relay, New Beetle and E Class, for example, are aging, older models; the Pontiac G6, while fairly new, isn’t a big seller in the segment for family cars. And the Jeep Grand Cherokee has struggled in the highly competitive SUV market.

To get a comprehensive list, we did not use multiple vehicles from one brand, but took the best of the bunch. So if one company had two vehicles that could make the list, we chose the top-ranked car from that brand, based on our measures, to include on the list. We did not include vehicles that had been significantly redesigned for 2008, and we excluded vehicles that did not have complete reporting data for safety or Consumer Reports’ used-car verdicts.

Those used-car verdicts are based on reliability history in 17 areas, ranging from the engine, transmission, and brakes to power equipment and the electrical system. Consumer Reports provides the data, where available, dating back to 1998. We used data for a three-year period spanning 2005 through 2007, as data for a five-year period was not always complete. The highest possible score a vehicle could earn over that time period is 15, or five points for each of the three years. We considered only vehicles with a total of 13 points or greater for the “best” list; a cutoff of seven points or less was used to determine the “worst.”

The only vehicle making our list with a score of 15 is the Honda Accord. The vehicles with the lowest score are the Saturn Relay and Jeep Grand Cherokee, both tying with a score of three.Keep in mind a score of 15 doesn’t mean that the vehicle is problem-free; it just means that it has relatively fewer problems compared with other models. And a score of three doesn’t mean a vehicle is unreliable; it merely has a higher rate of problems than the average model.

Safety was another key factor. Using information from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, we were able to find historical crash test ratings. All the vehicles that made the “best” list have safety ratings of “good” for both frontal-offset and side-impact crash tests for the three model years considered.

The vehicles on the “worst” list all earned “good” ratings in frontal-offset testing, but earned scores of less than “good” for side impacts. The lowest score was “poor” — for the Volkswagen New Beetle. The Saturn Relay, depending on the year, had scores of “average,” “marginal” or “poor.”

We looked at the extended standard warranty and the number of points inspected, which range from 75 to 165. For the best, we used a cutoff of 150 points or higher; for the worst, 130 points and below. The length of time of an extended standard warranty and additional benefits were taken into consideration, but were not as heavily weighted as the number of inspection points, crash-test ratings and reliability history. All extended standard warranties kick in when the original manufacturer warranties expire; if the original has already expired, the new warranty goes into effect at the time the CPO vehicle is purchased. This information is available at the manufacturers’ websites and the Kelley Blue Book site.

The CPO Acura TL includes 24-hour roadside assistance, 24-hour emergency towing services, emergency fuel delivery and emergency lock-out service as part of its 12-month/12,000-mile extended warranty.

The CPO Lexus GS comes with a loaner car, 24-hour roadside assistance and trip interruption service (If your vehicle breaks down while you are away from home, this will cover reimbursement for meals, lodging and rental for a certain period of time, while your car is under repair) under its three-year/100,000-mile standard warranty. Some vehicles making our “worst” list also offered some added benefits under standard warranty plans. The CPO Pontiac G6 standard warranty includes 24-hour roadside assistance, a three-day, 150-mile satisfaction guarantee and a vehicle history report that details any past accidents, damage or “lemon” history.

With the information you need guiding you to the right CPO vehicle, you just might be able to slide behind the wheel of your dream car sooner than you think.

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