At Car Lemon you will find state lemon law summaries for each of the fifty states, as well as for the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (the federal lemon law). Generally, the term “repair attempts” refers to one or more attempts to fix the same defect under the manufacturer’s written vehicle warranty coverage as opposed to multiple defects within the entire product (which generally falls under the days out of service category). Where the period covered lists more than 1 option, the period applies to the option which occurs first.
In some states the lemon law process will require you to hire an attorney and take the manufacturer (not the dealer) to Court in order to resolve your lemon law dispute. If a State utilizes the BBB Autoline or other Informal Dispute Resolution process, you sometimes must first present your case to the arbitration board, and if you are not satisfied with the outcome, you may then file suit. Be advised, however, that some of these arbitration programs are not administered by the State but instead are privately funded by the auto manufacturing industry.
And even if you don’t have a lemon under your state’s lemon law statute, your rights under the Truth in Lending Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, Electronic Fund Transfer Act and/or Equal Credit Opportunities Act can all be violated during the purchase of a car, or you may be a victim of auto fraud.
Federal Lemon Law CoverageConsumers everywhere are protected by the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, the Federal Lemon Law which applies to all consumer products, including automobile, trucks, motorcycles, RVs, boats, and all other ordinary consumer products including computers and household appliances.
Repair Interval and Coverage Period