Lemon law is for those consumers that may have defective cars, trucks, vans, SUV's, motorcycles, boats, RV's, motor homes, computers and other consumer products.
Our aim here is to give you a better understanding of this law and whether or not you qualify under the terms of this law. Please be aware that the lemon laws can vary from state to state which we do cover in our posts on the site.
We also have a complete FAQ section on our site where you as the consumer are encouraged to participate in the conversation and ask the questions that you need the answers to.
So What Is Lemon Law?
The federal law defines a lemon as any new vehicle that has a serious defect that isn't fixed within "a reasonable number" of attempts or after "a certain number of days" out of service. Under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, the buyer is protected for any product costing more than $25 that comes with a written warranty.
The case may be that you have purchased a car with either an existing warranty or no warranty at all. The seller must disclose all information about the vehicle as possible. This way you know before you make the purchase whether or not something mechanical is wrong or if the vehicle has been repossessed wrecked or water damaged. If you find out later that the seller was fraudulent, the law may be on your side.
Where Did The term "lemon law" Come From?
The term "lemon law" was first coined back in 1909 when American English speakers started using the word lemon to describe something that was worthless. It was a slang word taken from the 1900's when people would use the word lemon as a descriptive word that referred to someone being sour or unfriendly.
As time progressed the usage of "lemon" was put towards mechanical devices that were busted or clearly defective from the get go. More often than not you hear about lemon laws when dealing with automobiles.