SolveYourProblem
eLearning Series: Car Lemon Laws
Got Shafted?
Fight Back if Your Car is a Lemon!
( 27 pages )
The
Facts about Lemon Laws
Every
state in America now has a Lemon Law that is built to protect
consumers from dealerships. It allows the car buyer to
exchange the messed up vehicle for a new one or to have
the manufacturer buy it back from them.
In
most states, the Lemon Law only applies to problems that
pop up during the first year or 12,000 miles of ownership.
You can obtain the rules and procedures if you need to
make a claim under the Lemon Law in your state by calling
the administrator of the state which you can find in the
phone book.
Once
you've established that the manufacturer is going to buy
back your car, the battle will switch over and become about
the vehicle's value. You want the per-mile charge to be
as little as possible so that you can get the most for
your money on the return.
The
best way that you can guard against getting a lemon in
the first place is to buy a car that has a good repair
record in the first place. Seems pretty simple right? Well,
it can be if you know what to do. Generally you can get
an amount of repairs when you submit a VIN number to websites
that can check the accident and repair rate for you. I
will give you more on that later.
Understanding the
Magnuson-Moss
Warranty Act
The
Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is basically just the federal
law that governs and monitors consumer product warranties. This
was passed by Congress in 1975, and requires manufacturers
and sellers of consumer products to provide their customers
with a lot of detailed information about their warranty
coverage.
Also,
it is worth noting that this Act affects both the rights
of consumers and the obligations of warrantors that are
offering written warranties.
To
understand the Act, it is probably best that the consumer
be aware of Congress' intentions when they first passed
it.
First
of all, Congress wanted to make sure that consumers
could get complete information about warranty terms and
conditions up front and in their truest form. By providing
people with a way of learning what warranty coverage
is offered on a product before they buy, the Act actually
gives them a way to know exactly what they should expect
if something goes wrong, and it also goes a long way
in increasing customer satisfaction.
Secondly, Congress
wanted to make sure that people could compare warranty
coverages before buying their cars because in doing this,
consumers can choose a product that has the best combination
of price, features, and warranty coverage to meet their
individual needs.
Thirdly, Congress
wanted to promote competition on the basis of warranty
coverage alone. By making sure that consumers can get warranty
information, the Act has practically forced dealers and
manufacturers into hosting sales promotions on the basis
of warranty coverage and this competition among companies
has made it much easier for consumers to seek various levels
of warranty coverage. (Are you seeing a trend yet?)
Finally, Congress
wanted to strengthen the pre-existing incentives for companies
to perform their warranty obligations in a timely and efficient
manner so that it would be easier to resolve any consumer
disputes with a minimum of delay and expense.
Because
of this, the Act makes it easier for consumers to seek
a private solution for any breach of warranty in the courts,
but it also creates a foundation for companies to set up
good operating procedures for resolving disputes inexpensively
and informally, without litigation.
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