Lemon Law Blog

As we previously mentioned, the New Jersey Lemon Law may be expanded to include additional protection for distressed drivers.  The NJ Lemon Law currently protects consumers who suffer a problem that occurs in the first 18,000 miles or 24 months, whichever comes first, and continues to occur three or more times despite repair attempts from an authorized manufacturers dealership.   Assembly Bill 1954, sponsored by Assemblywoman Mila M. Jasey, looks to expand the lemon law parameters to include problems that occur in the first 24,000 miles or 24 months.  Furthermore, consumers who suffer a serious defect which is likely to cause death or serious bodily injury if the vehicle is driven would be able to file a lemon law claim if the problem cannot be fixed after one repair attempt.  We have seen similar provisions in other State Lemon Laws, including Ohio.

1-800 LEMON LAW Communications Director Michael Sacks discusses this Bill and all of its benefits, plus provides an update on the Chrysler and GM restructuring, all this weekend on News 12 New Jersey’s “In Your Corner with Walt Kane.” If you live in Central or North Jersey, check your local listings for show dates and times.

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Many distressed drivers throughout New Jersey are not aware they are entitled to free legal representation if their car is defective. Consumer rights under the New Jersey Lemon Law and Federal Magnuson Moss Warranty Act will be discussed on “Eye On Ocean County.”  The program will air on Comcast throughout Ocean County, New Jersey Wednesday, July 8 at 9pm on Channel 19.

Guests will include NJ Lemon Law Attorney Amy Bennecoff and Automotive Consumer Advocate Michael Sacks from the law firm of Kimmel and Silverman.  Topics discussed include rights and remedies under the New Jersey Lemon Law; car-buying tips to ensure that your dream car does not turn into a nightmare; and an update on how lemon law and breach of warranty claims for Jeep, Dodge and Chrysler drivers will be handled once Fiat takes over ownership of Chrysler.

The New Jersey Lemon Law is the second most effective lemon law in the Nation, according to the Center for Auto Safety.  The Law covers vehicles with a significant defect within the first 24 months or 18,000 miles that can’t be repaired despite a reasonable number of repair attempts, normally three.  The Law also covers vehicles that are in the shop for repair 20 days in the first years and those days do not have to be consecutive. Remedies under the NJ Lemon Law could include a new car or full or partial refund. In addition, there are other remedies available for vehicles that may not fall under the Lemon Law mileage provisions but are still under manufacturers warranty.

We hope Ocean County viewers will join us July 8 at 9pm on Channel 19.

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1-800 LEMON LAW attorneys Bob Silverman and Amy Bennecoff have received a significant amount of exposure and kudos this past week for working with Chrysler’s and Fiat’s attorney to ensure lemon law and breach of warranty protection for Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep drivers.  Kimmel and Silverman was the only lemon law firm in the Nation to be involved in these meetings.  

In addition to interviews with Comcast, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Automotive News, Bob Silverman and our client Bob Buchecker were featured in this Action News segment which aired Friday night on WPVI TV in Philadelphia.

Get the full story by clicking here.

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NBC 10 Consumer Reporter Tracy Davidson recently reported on the 2009 Car Complaint Index.  As Tracy reports, the big story is not which cars are on the list, but rather WHY these cars are on the list in the first place.

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Lemon Law Attorney Bob Silverman and the 1-800-LEMON LAW team were answering car questions on KYW TV Eyewitness News yesterday and many callers were calling regarding the Chrysler bankruptcy and its effect on consumer rights.  Check out what Bob has to say to Eyewitness News consumer reporter Jim Donovan by clicking here.

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Late last month, we worked on an investigative report with WTAE TV reporter Paul Van Osdel, uncovering which cars provides the most headaches for drivers throughout the Keystone State. Paul obtained a list from PENNDot (Pennsylvania Department of Transportation) and according to their records, from 2003-2008, Chevrolet led the list of lemons in Pennsylvania. Their list is as follows:

Chevrolet (their story featured 1-800 LEMON LAW client Sarah Griffith of Monroeville, who received a complete buyback after suffering problems with her Trailblazer)

Ford
Dodge
Nissan
Suzuki
Jeep
Hyundai
Cadillac
Volkswagen
GMC

We find this list to be rather incomplete, as it only covers vehicles that were purchased back from the manufacturer and officially titled as lemons. The list does not include vehicles where consumers received thousands of dollar in monetary damages and were able to keep their cars.

Being that we are the oldest and largest lemon law firm in Western Pennsylvania, Paul asked us to compile a list of the cars we see the most in our Pittsburgh caseload. Although he didn’t have time for the information in the story, we thought it would be interesting to give our top 10:
Chevrolet Cobalt
Chevrolet Impala
Chevrolet Silverado
Chevrolet Malibu
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Jeep Liberty
Chevrolet Equinox
Kia Sedona
Pontiac G6
Saturn VUE
Jeep Commander
Jeep Wrangler

and of course, to view the cars that receive the most complaints nationally per sales, check out the 2009 Car Complaint Index.

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