Consumer Blog
Lemon Law applies to new cars - and nothing else
Missouri consumer writes:
Does the "lemon law" cover appliances? I purchases a GE dishwasher on Aug 28, it did not work on delivery and GE has been giving me the run around with parts availability. It has been 1 month and numerous calls to GE, with no satisfaction. What are my options?
The answer is no. The Lemon Law only applies to new cars - not used cars, as many people think. For everything else, there is no right to return merchandise under state or federal law. The only exceptions: you have three days to cancel a door-to-door sale, a health club contract or a travel club membership, and five days to cancel a timeshare purchase. Having said that, you are welcome to file a consumer complaint with our office about the dishwasher. We get good results with mediation - $5 million back to consumers in 2006 without ever going to court.
Technorati Tags: consumer complaints, lemon law, right to cancel, moagoconsumer, consumer protection
Posted by on September 26, 2007 9:20 am :: Comments (12) :: Permalink
12 Responses to "Lemon Law applies to new cars - and nothing else"
says:
November 28, 2007 11:45 am
Does the Lemon Law applie to equipment such as a Bobcat Loader?
says:
November 29, 2007 1:29 pm
To Casie:
This is tough one, and there doesn't appear to be a clear answer. However, it's worth pursuing.
Here are the exceptions to the Lemon Law, from Chapter 407 of the Missouri statutes. Notice that none of them seem to apply to a Bobcat, meaning it's NOT one of the clear exceptions.
Check out the section, item #6.
Also,
here are the definitions of motor vehicle from Chapter 301, MO statutes.
says:
February 22, 2008 1:42 pm
I have a Frigidaire washing machine that I have have for 5 months and have had problems for the past 3 months. I was wondering what my recourse is. The manufacturer told me the warranty was a repair warrenty and not a replacement warrenty. I have had 6 service calls with 2 different companies and it still does not work correctly. Any suggestions? Thanks.
says:
February 25, 2008 10:31 am
To Debbie:
You can file a consumer complaint with the Illinois Attorney General here.
says:
July 17, 2008 10:14 pm
I have a 2008 Ford Edge that has been in the shop for 3 times for the Vista roof not being installed correctly. There is also a rattle in the front door that the dealer can't seem to fix. It is now in the shop again and Ford is sending an engineer because something is wrong with the design when they compare it to other brand new Ford Edges. If something is wrong with the design when this car left the line why do I have to pay for a defective car. What is my recourse - when do I start pushing for a replacement or my money back?
says:
July 18, 2008 10:02 am
To Cyn:
The Lemon Law may apply to your situation. Our All About Autos publication explains how to begin this process. If you run into trouble, you can file a consumer complaint with our office (see link in response above to Debbie).
says:
July 21, 2008 2:14 pm
I have a 2007 Dodge Caravan which I purchased brand new in 2007. I have had it back to the dealers at least 6 times now to have the air conditioning fixed. Each time they have had to do something different to it. We are taking it back again this week, because it's making weird noises when I turn the a.c on. It seems, the dealer repairs it, then when the summer gets at it's hottest, I don't have A.C. Do you think I stand a chance with the lemon law? I don't have money for an attorney, so I would have to make the csse myself, but the records are all on file at the dealer's. Thank you
says:
July 21, 2008 2:48 pm
To Sarah:
See response to Cyn, above. And by the way, you don't need a lawyer to initiate the Lemon Law process laid out in your owner's manual.
says:
August 4, 2008 12:10 pm
I have a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan.I bought it new 2 1/2 years ago. It has 36,700 on it. This is a leased van. It has been in the shop for little over two months now. My motor had to be replaced.They got the motor in about two weeks after it went into the shop, but there was no gasket sets with it they was on back order,it took them a month or so to get them in. Well they got the motor into the van and it was doing the same thing as the last but worse, well it is 9 weeks later and they have supposly put in 3 motors in the van and they all are doing the same thing. They are suppose to be getting in a forth motor that a enginer is going to go through. I am grateful that they are fixing it in the first placed because I am over my milage by only 700 miles. But my oil was changed every 3,000 at a dodge dealer on the last oil change we told them that it was losing oil, they said everything is fine.I would like to know if I have any rights here? We have tried to get out of our lease, which is done in January but they will not let us they still want there money. So I been paying two months of payments for a van I do not have.I don't think how we are being treated is fair. Can you please help us?
says:
August 5, 2008 9:53 am
To Tonya:
See response to Cyn, above.
says:
December 22, 2008 12:56 pm
Dec22,08 12:28pm I have a chevy Malibu LTZ 06 that was pricd out as new 07 on aug 25,07 because of the low miles. My problems started in 2/15/08 I noticed that the inside of the trunk where the spair tire is stored was full of water.Grossinger has replaced or tried to fix this problem 13 times as of 12/16/08 GM has deemed this car a lemon how long should it take for this to go through?& WHAT are my options of course the dealership is tell me I can't take any advanage of the sells that are in place @ this time if I swop cars Why can't I . Thank you Jacqueline
says:
December 22, 2008 4:20 pm
To Jacqueline:
Not sure what is happening here, but you could file a consumer complaint with our office and see if we can figure it out.
