Sage Datko  |  July 9, 2020

Category: Auto News

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Lemon law in Pennsylvania

Buyers or lessees of a defective new vehicle might be able to bring a claim under the lemon law in Pennsylvania.

What Is a Lemon Law?

A lemon law is a law protecting consumers who have purchased a defective product. Generally, lemon laws apply to new and used motor vehicles. Lemons are vehicles that fail to live up to the advertised quality or usefulness, or are affected by a persistent problem that resists being fixed. Consumers are required to allow the manufacturer to attempt to repair the issue several times before they may be eligible for a refund or replacement under lemon laws.

In order to qualify as a lemon, the problem with the vehicle must generally be serious enough to reduce its value or usability. For instance, a cosmetic issue may not qualify a car as a lemon, but an issue with the steering or brakes may. As many as one percent of new cars sold may be lemons, with two-thirds of these vehicles showing symptoms of the ongoing issue within one month following purchase.

While lemon laws most often apply to new vehicles purchased directly from dealerships, they may also apply to other vehicles. Lemon laws may also apply to boats, motorcycles, or recreational vehicles.

What’s Covered Under the Pennsylvania Lemon Law?

Leased and purchased new vehicles are under the coverage limits for Pennsylvania’s Automobile Lemon Law. The vehicle has to be used for household, personal, or family reasons.

Off-road vehicles, motor homes, commercial cars and trucks, and motorcycles are not covered by the lemon law.

The law only covers problems within a certain time period or mileage limit, too. The issues must present in the vehicle within 12,000 miles of ownership or within 12 months after the car has been leased or bought.

Lemon law in PennsylvaniaWhat Problems Are Covered Under the Penn. Lemon Law?

In order for a car to qualify for repair or a damage suit under the lemon law in Pennsylvania, the issue must significantly impair the safety, use, or value of the vehicle.

As the owner or lessee of the vehicle, you should notify the dealer as soon as possible that you’re experiencing an issue. The dealer has to give you a repair invoice for each time that you visit them in an effort to fix the issue. If you have to go back to the dealer a second time for the same issue, the dealer is responsible for contacting the manufacturer on your behalf about that.

If the initial visit to the dealer to report the problem and to attempt a repair is unsuccessful, the subsequent problems with that same issue will still be covered by the lemon law in Pennsylvania.

When Do I Have a Pennsylvania Lemon Law Suit?

You have to give the manufacturer a reasonable amount of effort to correct the problem. This means that the manufacturer has up to three repair attempts for the same concern. Although consumers are required to allow dealerships multiple attempts to fix the issue, some states have lemon laws that require the problem to be fixed within a certain time period. If attempting to fix the issue takes the vehicle out of commission for a long enough period of time, the consumer may also be eligible to receive a refund or replacement. Under the lemon law in Pennsylvania, this time period is 30 days.

If three repairs have already been attempted and your car is still impaired in use, safety, or value because of the original issue, you can demand a replacement vehicle or a refund.

What Is a Refund Offset?

A term known as refund offset refers to what the manufacturer is entitled to receive for your use of the vehicle. This cannot be greater than $.10 per mile driven before the first reported repair or ten percent of the purchase price. If the manufacturer is unable to replace your car model or year type, a comparable vehicle of equal value must be given to you if the repair attempts have already been exceeded.

If you believe that you bought a car that falls under the lemon law in Pennsylvania, you need to consult with an attorney to confirm your rights. Top Class Actions can help you connect with the right attorney.

Are There Any Federal Lemon Laws?

Even if your case does not fall under the bounds of a Pennsylvania lemon law, you might still be able to bring a lemon law case under the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act. This enables all consumers to bring lawsuits to fight for damages in relation to a defective product.

Some of the most important aspects of the federal lemon law include the fact that there’s no mileage limitation, used vehicles are covered, there’s an option for cash with continued possession of the car, and possible payment of attorney fees by the manufacturer held responsible for defects.

Join a Free Lemon Law Defective Vehicle Investigation

If you have a defective vehicle that is under warranty and is still not fixed after multiple attempts, you may qualify for help under your state’s Lemon Law.

(Note: Residents of North Carolina do not qualify for this investigation.)

Learn more by filling out the form on this page for a free case evaluation by experienced Lemon Law attorneys or call (877) 289-0615.

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PLEASE NOTE: If you want to participate in this investigation, it is imperative that you reply to the law firm if they call or email you. Failing to do so may result in you not getting signed up as a client or getting you dropped as a client.

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