Lemon Law Help

The Florida Lemon Law as explained by Michael Schiff recently in Miami:

A consumer recently purchased a new car and already has made several trips to the dealer’s service department for repairs. After picking up the vehicle, the same problem occurs, or new ones arise. The dealership employees don’t seem to care. Will they give you a refund or a new car? (As if . . . .)

Consumers do have options: The quickest and least expensive is to a claim for arbitration under the Florida Motor Vehicle Warranty Enforcement Act, also known as the “lemon law.”

This affords consumers a refund of monies paid to date for the lemon (less depreciation) or a reasonably equivalent replacement of the vehicle. It must have been purchased new in Florida, and a claim must have been filed within 24 months after delivery.

This is the deal: Once you take a car in for repairs three times for the same defect or has had it in the shop for 30 nonconsecutive days for a variety of problems, a claim is in order. You must first go through the manufacturers’ own arbitration program (which, in my opinion, is rarely helpful). If you lose, you then are allowed to proceed through the state’s own program. In both, the key to winning is proving that the car has a substantial defect that impairs its safety, use or value.

Though the law is meant to be consumer-friendly, it can be quite complicated, especially in proving to an arbitration panel that a vehicle has a substantial defect. In addition, calculating a refund can be difficult without an understanding of how depreciation and trade-in values work. Despite that, the benefits outweigh a lengthy, costly trial.

What can be done to avoid buying a lemon?

Investigate the prospective car’s repair history in Consumer Reports and auto magazines, Internet chat groups and with trusted mechanics. Many new cars go through several model years before the manufacturer works out all the kinks.

If the vehicle’s a lemon, it may help to have a private mechanic inspect it to determine the problems. You should always obtain and read all repair orders and question the findings of the dealership’s mechanic. Often, the order will state that the car’s performing to manufacturer’s specifications despite the private mechanic’s observations. There’s even a trend for dealerships to deny warranty coverage and bill the consumer for costly repairs.

Does the lemon law apply to recreational vehicles?

A Pittsylvania County couple won a significant victory for consumers under the state’s lemon law.  In the past, judges found the law didn’t apply to recreational vehicles.  But it does now.

Henry and Suzanne Reynolds work and play hard.  Travel is their reward.  They bought a brand new RV, and they paid $211,000 for it.  They purchased it two years ago, but they only used the Mandalay Motor Coach for 17 days.  It’s been in the shop the rest of that time.

The RV has so many problems, the Reynolds’ lost count of them.  But the couple wasn’t too concerned.  After all, Four Winds International’s promotional literature says it’s covered by “bumper to bumper” warranty.

If this had been a conventional car or truck, there would be no question: the state lemon law would require the company to give the couple a new RV, or give them their money back.  But Four Winds relied on case law that held RV’s are not really “motor vehicles.”

While Judge Jackson Kiser declared Virginia’s lemon law “perfectly ambiguous,” he decided a motor home does fit the definition of “passenger car.”  The judge ruled that it was the intent of the General Assembly to alleviate the hardship on consumers caused by the purchase of defective motor vehicles.  Most important, Judge Kiser ruled an RV is a motor vehicle.

While that’s a major victory for the consumer, the Reynolds are a long way from getting their money back, or a new RV.  Their complaint is set for trial in federal court next month.

Meanwhile, they’re stuck making a monthly payment of $1,400.

Watch the video here.