Lemon Law Myths and Misconceptions

By: Charles Essmeier

Buying an automobile, truck, or sport utility vehicle is often a
daunting, stressful and expensive process. People pay more money
for their cars than for just about anything other than their
homes. And once the vehicle has been purchased, one hopes that
it will run just fine for the foreseeable future.

But
sometimes things go wrong. For those situations, every state has
passed a lemon law, a statute that exists to backup the
manufacturer's written warranty that comes with the vehicle. But
most people don't know anything about lemon laws and rarely give
them a thought until something goes wrong. And once people start
to given lemon laws some thought, they often realize that what
they thought they knew about them is wrong.

Here are a
few things about lemon laws that are often misunderstood:

Used cars are covered under state lemon laws.
Generally, this is not true. Most states' lemon laws cover the
original owner of a new car only. If you are the second owner of
a car, even if it is still under warranty, you may find that
your state's lemon law doesn't protect you. There are a few
states that cover the car during the duration of the warranty
regardless of the number of owners and a few that even have
special lemon law for used cars. If in doubt, check with your
state's Attorney General's office.

If you buy a
new car, you may return it for a refund within three days of
purchase. Again, generally not true. It may be true if you buy a
toaster, but for large purchases such as a car, once you buy it,
you own it. For that reason, make sure that you test drive any
new vehicle that you are thinking about buying. And not just one
like it - drive the exact car you intend to buy. If you are
buying a used car, have an independent mechanic check it out
before you buy to make sure that it is in good
order.

The dealer must inform you if the vehicle
has been in an accident. Most states do not require this.
Furthermore, it's not always possible for a dealer to even know
if a vehicle has previously been in an accident. Dealers are,
however, generally required to disclose information about any
known damage to the vehicle. Don't expect the dealer to be
forthcoming with information that he or she may not necessarily
want you to know. Be proactive and ask a lot of questions. And
again, if it's a used car, be sure to have an independent
mechanic look it over before you buy.

Lemon laws are
there to protect consumers from defects in workmanship and to
make sure that the dealer and/or manufacturer will repair any
problems that arise during the warranty period. But a lemon law
is no substitute for diligence or research on the part of the
buyer. Know what you are getting into before you buy a car,
truck or SUV.

About the author:
©Copyright 2006 by Retro Marketing. Charles Essmeier is the
owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational
Websites, including LemonLawHelp.net, a site devoted to
information regarding auto lemon laws.