Know Your Lemon Laws For Your Car

By Sandra Ander

My partner is buying a new car this week. Hes seen it, likes the look of it and the price, and the delivery options. And hes already figured out that, given that hes not mechanically inclined, hell be able to bring it in to the dealership where hes buying it from, because they operate a garage as well. Ive steered clear of this whole decision-making process because I certainly am no more mechanically-inclined than he is. This said we definitely don't want to buy a lemon.

And certainly, the last thing we want is to drive off in a car that breaks down on the road. This happens! The term lemon, by the way, became popularized in the early 1900s as slang, meaning worthless, and today is a synonym for cars that break down.

Its a brilliant idea to be, as a very minimum, well-read up on car purchases so that you ask the right questions and don't give yourself away as someone who knows very little about cars. Because a sure-fire way to end up buying a lemon, is to sound like you know nothing at all about car mechanics.

More importantly, though, you want to know your rights so that if the car you buy does spend a lot of time in the repair shop that you don't just settle for trying to get it to work. Lemon Laws are federal and state legislations in the U.S. which have been passed in an effort to protect the consumer, and as you can well imagine, they do vary from state to state.

The legislation offers remedies to consumers who have purchased a lemon. Some states also over protection when it comes to leased cars, others do not. For example, in California, there is a clause to protect consumers who have purchased a car which has repeated mechanical difficulties. This law means that you have some ground to stand on when you attempt to contact the previous car owner to say that you were sold a lemon.

The best way to proceed is to know the legislation in your state before making any purchases. This way, you'll know what your options are, prior to evening consulting an attorney. If you want to have rights under lemon laws, it will depend on whether or not there's a warranty left on the car, or alternatively an extended warranty. If there is, this means good news for you. Alternatively, you may want to apply for compensation for violations of consumer protection laws. - 29952

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