Pennsylvania Lemon Law Firms:
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Pennsylvania Statutes Annotated, Title 73, §§ 1951-1963

1951 Short title.

This act shall be known and may be cited as the Automobile Lemon Law.

1952 Definitions.

The following words and phrases when used in this act shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Dealer" or "motor vehicle dealer."

A person in the business of buying, selling or exchanging vehicles.

"Manufacturer."

Any person engaged in the business of constructing or assembling new and unused motor vehicles or engaged in the business of importing new and unused motor vehicles into the United States for the purpose of selling or distributing new and unused motor vehicles to motor vehicle dealers in this Commonwealth.

"Manufacturer's express warranty" or "warranty."

The written warranty of the manufacturer of a new automobile of its condition and fitness for use, including any terms or conditions precedent to the enforcement of obligations under the warranty.

"New motor vehicle."

Any new and unused self-propelled, motorized conveyance driven upon public roads, streets or highways which is designed to transport not more than 15 persons, which was purchased and is registered in the Commonwealth and is used or bought for use primarily for personal, family or household purposes, including a vehicle used by a manufacturer or dealer as a demonstrator or dealer car prior to its sale. The term does not include motorcycles, motor homes or off-road vehicles.

"Nonconformity."

A defect or condition which substantially impairs the use, value or safety of a new motor vehicle and does not conform to the manufacturer's express warranty.

"Purchaser."

A person, or his successors or assigns, who has obtained ownership of a new motor vehicle by transfer or purchase or who has entered into an agreement or contract for the purchase of a new motor vehicle which is used or bought for use primarily for personal, family or household purposes.

1953 Disclosure.

The Attorney General shall prepare and publish in the Pennsylvania Bulletin a statement which explains a purchaser's rights under this law. Manufacturers shall provide to each purchaser at the time of original purchase of a new motor vehicle a written statement containing a copy of the Attorney General's statement and a listing of zone offices, with addresses and phone numbers, which can be contacted by the purchaser for the purpose of securing the remedies provided for in this act.

1954 Repair obligations.

(a) Repairs required. The manufacturer of a new motor vehicle sold and registered in the Commonwealth shall repair or correct, at no cost to the purchaser, a nonconformity which substantially impairs the use, value or safety of said motor vehicle which may occur within a period of one year following the actual delivery of the vehicle to the purchaser, within the first 12,000 miles of use or during the term of the warranty, whichever may first occur.

(b) Delivery of vehicle. It shall be the duty of the purchaser to deliver the nonconforming vehicle to the manufacturer's authorized service and repair facility within the Commonwealth, unless, due to reasons of size and weight or method of attachment or method of installation or nature of the nonconformity, such delivery cannot reasonably be accomplished. Should the purchaser be unable to effect return of the nonconforming vehicle, he shall notify the manufacturer or its authorized service and repair facility. Written notice of nonconformity to the manufacturer or its authorized service and repair facility shall constitute return of the vehicle when [the] purchaser is unable to return the vehicle due to the nonconformity. Upon receipt of such notice of nonconformity, the manufacturer shall, at its option, service or repair the vehicle at the location of nonconformity or pick up the vehicle for service and repair or arrange for transporting the vehicle to its authorized service and repair facility. All costs of transporting the vehicle when [the] purchaser is unable to effect return, due to nonconformity, shall be at the manufacturer's expense.

1955 Manufacturer's duty for refund or replacement.

If the manufacturer fails to repair or correct a nonconformity after a reasonable number of attempts, the manufacturer shall, at the option of the purchaser, replace the motor vehicle with a comparable motor vehicle of equal value or accept return of the vehicle from the purchaser and refund to the purchaser the full purchase price, including all collateral charges, less a reasonable allowance for the purchaser's use of the vehicle not exceeding the per mile driven or 10% of the purchase price of the vehicle whichever is less. Refunds shall be made to the purchaser and lien holder, if any, as their interests may appear. A reasonable allowance for use shall be that amount directly attributable to use by the purchaser prior to his first report of the nonconformity to the manufacturer. In the event the consumer elects a refund, payment shall be made within 30 days of such election. A consumer shall not be entitled to a refund or replacement if the nonconformity does not substantially impair the use, value or safety of the vehicle or the nonconformity is the result of abuse, neglect or modification or alteration of the motor vehicle by the purchaser.

1956 Presumption of a reasonable number of attempts.

It shall be presumed that a reasonable number of attempts have been undertaken to repair or correct a nonconformity if:

1. the same nonconformity has been subject to repair three times by the manufacturer, its agents or authorized dealers and the nonconformity still exists; or

2. the vehicle is out-of-service by reason of any nonconformity for a cumulative total of 30 or more calendar days.

1957 Itemized statement required.

The manufacturer or dealer shall provide to the purchaser each time the purchaser's vehicle is returned from being serviced or repaired a fully itemized statement indicating all work performed on said vehicle including, but not limited to, parts and labor. It shall be the duty of a dealer to notify the manufacturer of the existence of a nonconformity within seven days of the delivery by a purchaser of a vehicle subject to a nonconformity when it is delivered to the same dealer for the second time for repair of the same nonconformity. The notification shall be by certified mail, return receipt requested.

1958 Civil cause of action.

Any purchaser of a new motor vehicle who suffers any loss due to nonconformity of such vehicle as a result of the manufacturer's failure to comply with this act may bring a civil action in a court of common pleas and, in addition to other relief, shall be entitled to recover reasonable attorney's fees and all court costs.

1959 Informal dispute settlement procedure.

If the manufacturer has established an informal dispute settlement procedure which complies with the provisions of 16 CFR Pt. 703, as from time to time amended, the provisions of section 8 shall not apply to any purchaser who has not first resorted to such procedure as it relates to a remedy for defects or conditions affecting the substantial use, value or safety of the vehicle. The informal dispute settlement procedure shall not be binding on the purchaser and, in lieu of such settlement, the purchaser may pursue a remedy under section 8.

1960 Resale of returned motor vehicle.

(a) Vehicles may not be resold.-If a motor vehicle has been returned under the provisions of this act or a similar statute of another state, it may not be resold in this State unless:

1. The manufacturer provides the same express warranty it provided to the original purchaser, except that the term of the warranty need only last for 12,000 miles or 12 months after the date of resale, whichever is earlier.

2. The manufacturer provides the consumer with a written statement on a separate piece of paper, in ten point all capital type, in substantially the following form:

"IMPORTANT: THIS VEHICLE WAS RETURNED TO THE MANUFACTURER BECAUSE IT DID NOT CONFORM TO THE MANUFACTURER'S EXPRESS WARRANTY AND THE NON-CONFORMITY WAS NOT CURED WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME AS PROVIDED BY PENNSYLVANIA LAW."

The provisions of this section apply to the resold motor vehicle for the full term of the warranty required under this subsection.

(b) Returned vehicles not to be resold.-Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), if a new motor vehicle has been returned under the provisions of this act or a similar statute of another state because of a nonconformity resulting in a complete failure of the braking or steering system of the motor vehicle likely to cause death or serious bodily injury if the vehicle was driven, the motor vehicle may not be resold in this Commonwealth.

1961 Application of unfair trade act.

A violation of this act shall also be a violation of the act of December 17, 1968 (P.L. 1224, No. 387), known as the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law.

1962 Rights preserved.

Nothing in this act shall limit the purchaser from pursuing any other rights or remedies under any other law, contract or warranty.

1963 Nonwaiver of act.

The provisions of this act shall not be waived.

In simple terms, the Lemon Laws state that if you purchase (and in many states, lease) a new or used car or other vehicle under warranty that is repeatedly faulty, and the original maker just can not correct it in spite of recurrent tries (within a set time limit that varies from state to state), or if the product is in the shop for a designated time (often 30 days) because of its defects, you are eligible to a wide range of abuses, including:

1. Monetary restitution
2. A compensation of the original price
3. A new car
In addition, just about all the Lemon Laws (and the Federal Warranty Law) contain a fee switching mechanism that states that if you win your case, the manufacturing business or car dealership which sold you your lemon is obliged to repay litigation bills.


Lemon Law Regulations
State-specific Lemon Law Statutes
Each of the 50 states has a different Lemon Law statute. Although the protections of each state's statute vary, the standard state Lemon Law statute affords aid for consumers with a impared auto purchased with a warranty if:

1. The dealer or manufacturing business just can not accurately correct a particular gremlin in the car after a fair number of repair efforts (ordinarily at least 3);
2. The car can't be used for at least 30 days due to problems in the automobile; or
3. The car dealership or manufacturing business can't repair a failing that is a endangering safety hazard.

Typically, a bad motor vehicle is a motor vehicle with a problem or condition that often degrades its usability, value, or safety to the consumer and doesn't comply with the warranty. Typically, the period in which the Lemon Laws are applicable are relatively short; the problems and resultant repair efforts (or out-of-service period of time) generally will take place during the first two-years or 24,000 miles the owner has the vehicle. However, a number of states have even shorter time periods. Also, almost all states have notification and activation requirements, such as wanting the consumer to send off registered post notice to the original equipment manufacturer of the flaws and giving the dealership a chance to fix the car. Furthermore, most states require that Lemon Law lawsuits be adjudicated through an arbitration program.

Generally, state Lemon Law regulation codes also are applicable to leased automobiles and preowned cars bought while under the producers written warranty. A number of state Lemon Laws also are applicable to automobiles other than passenger cars. depending upon the purchaser's home residence, or the state in which the consumer purchased the automobile, Lemon Laws may be applicable to:

-RV's
-Motorcycles
-Pleasure Boats
-Other consumer commodities (such as electronics)
There are a number of robust remedies possible under the Lemon Laws. American Statesally, if the manufacturing business just can not fix the vehicle, the consumer can either require the manufacturing business to replace the motor vehicle, or make the manufacturing business to take the motor vehicle and return the purchase price plus incidental costs, such as all charges, towing charges, repair charges, associated travel costs and other damages incurred by the consumer as a consequence of the defects in the motor vehicle. Another important resolution possible under most Lemon Laws is legal fees. In virtually all states, if you prevail in a Lemon Law case, you will not have to pay any litigation expenses-the auto original equipment manufacturer that sold you your lemon is forced to pay your laywers' fees.

The defendant car manufacturer can implement various defenses to a Lemon Law claim. The conventional statute provides that the original producer is not guilty if it can demonstrate that the flaws in question were caused by misdeed, negligence, or the alteration or modification of a motor vehicle by anyone other than the original equipment manufacturer, its agent, or an authorized repair facility. In different words, if the consumer breaks his or her own automobile, or the flaws were the fault of changing or alterations conducted by an unauthorized person, the original equipment manufacturer might not be liable.


Federal Lemon Law Statutes
The Magnuson Moss Act
The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is the federal law that regulates consumer product warranties. Signed by Congress in 1975, the Magnuson Moss Act requires manufacturing business and marketers of consumer items to provide consumers comprehensive data about warranty coverage benefits. In addition, it determines both the rights of public consumers and the obligations of warrantors under original warranties.

Even though the Magnuson Moss Act doesn't require an vehicle original equipment manufacturer to provide buyers with a warranty, if a warranty is offered, the Magnuson Moss Act provides numerous protections for the consumer. The Magnuson Moss Act makes it easier for buyers to sue for not honoring the warranty by making breach of warranty noncompliance of federal law, and by permitting public consumers to recoup litigation costs and fair laywers' fees.

The Magnuson Moss Act is oftentimes helpful in a lemon situation in which, for some reason, a state Lemon Law claim is not available or otherwise unsuited. For example, divaricate from the relatively short period provided to public consumers with many Lemon Laws, you can register a claim for breach of warranty after the warranty period has passed if the problems happened during the warranty period. Moreover, although some Lemon Laws limit their coverage benefits to a narrow group of cars, the Magnuson Moss Act applies to nearly all consumer items. The Magnuson Moss Act may also apply if you bought or leased a expended automobile without a manufacturer's warranty, or if the automobile is covered by a third party service contract or other type of extended warranty.


The Uniform Commercial Code
The Uniform Commercial Code (referred to as "UCC") has been enacted in every U.S. state. It is the main authority of law governing product warranties, including automobiles and other items. The UCC affords an alternative legal avenue for public consumers with lemon troubles.

UCC code provides that the purchaser of a good is entitled to return products which break in any feature to the contract. Thus, if your brand new vehicle does not function as warranted by the original maker (your written warranty is part of your contract), you can have a claim citing the UCC in addition to whatever additional claims you may have.

The time period for rejecting a motor vehicle with the UCC is not limitless. If you see a problem in your automobile inside a reasonable review time period, you may refuse the motor vehicle. Unfortunately, new cars are often mechanically enigmatic and you may not recognize if your vehicle conforms to the contract till after you purchase the vehicle and defects start to develop. In essence, if Long after this review period you do not refuse the vehicle, you will be alleged to have o.K.ed it and will have no claim through the UCC.

The length of the review time period is not defined in the statute. The Courts decide how long the fair inspection period is based on the consumer's proficiency and personal experience, the consumer's difficulty in coming upon the gremlin, and the consumer's chance to detect the problem.

In spite of this limit, the UCC stipulates that in certain examples where a purchaser is stated to have approved of products (i.e. the fair inspection time has passed), a purchaser can still disclaim his acceptation of those goods where the non-conformity considerably cripples the marketability of the goods to him. Those cases include circumstances where it was challenging to observe the nonconformity or the purchaser was guaranteed that the non-conformity would be repaired. Re-stated, the local court will exempt the purchaser from not rejecting the goods where the purchaser could not have reasonably done so, or where the manufacturer promised the buyer that the problems would be repaired.
When a car excessively fails and you have to keep taking it back to the dealer for repair under the warranty, the car lemon law might be your next recourse. The fault ought to be substantive where it hampers your driving the product or your safety. A product stalling frequently would be a substantive fault. This is precisely the type of problem that may diminiah your driving and your safety. Under the motor vehicle lemon law you are not obligated to indicate why the automobile is stalling, you just have to show that it is stalling. Basically you need to check up on the lemon law in these three situations: the automobile keeps failing within the warranty period, the automobile is a safety risk, the dealer is unable to restore the automobile when it is warranted.

If you have a vehicle which is a lemon you can directly write to the original maker and ask for another equivalent vehicle. If this demand is not acceptable to the original maker, you can start into an arbitration program. A few manufacturing business* incorporate their own arbitration program. Other manufacturing business* employ external arbitration program including Autoline by the BBB. The recommendation of the arbitrators is binding on the original maker but not on the buyer. If unsatisfied with the recommendation, the buyer can take the original maker to court.

Virtually all laws specify that the customer needs to be returned back to the fiscal status they were in prior to purchasing the vehicle, less the measure that the customer benefited from by using the vehicle. To get the payback sum a number of components are considered such as was it a sale or a lease, the purchase price, taxes and license, and mileage etc.
Some almost new used motor vehicles may qualify under normal lemon laws. For example, a pre-owned automobile may fall under regular lemon laws if it is less than one year old and has got less than 12,000 miles on the odometer. States which do have a pre-owned car lemon law may be more accommodative with the age and measure of mileage. Still, the car has to be sold by a dealer that extends a warranty. Private party sales are not included, neither are vehicles sold under a certain original price paid. There might be other restrictions to a used car lemon law such as the functions for which the vehicle is used or the classification of vehicle. Older motor vehicles, are commonly excluded from pre-owned car lemon laws. Used car lemon laws ordinarily cover a much shorter period of time than new car regulations. They usually range from 30 to 90 days, depending on your pre-owned car's mileage.
When finding an attorney for your lemon case, make sure that your lawyer is knowledgeable about the laws that apply to your state. Also enquire about the pricing program. Many lemon law attorneys require a relatively humble retainer to manage a lemon law claim, and thenceforth, the attorney's bills are billed to the original maker. Essentially, lemon law claims are usually very inexpensive to public consumers. The reimbursement of attorney expenses varies from state to state. About half of the states allow you to recoup your Attorney fees if you win. The attorney's fee is based on actual time logged rather than being connected to any other portion of the recovery. In some States, you have to pay the manufacturer's attorney's charges if you lose.

Consumers should put their charges in writing and retain a copy. In all written communication, always make clear how burdensome it is to bring the auto to the dealer for work and that the reliability that the owner believed He was getting has been non-existent. Any written communication with a dealer or original maker must be sent using certified mail service. In almost all instances the manufacturing business* claim that they haven't had the required number of efforts to remedy the defect. They count on the knowledge that the owner doesn't file repair orders for each occurance they have brought the auto into the authorized dealership. They also bet on the fact that the repair orders have seperate things repaired every time evidencing that they have not fixed the same defect. Consumers should respond by demanding that dealers always send them a warranty repair order. Consumers should also contend that these unrecorded trips are attempts.

Make sure to be cognisant of your rights under the lemon laws. Upon purchase, immediately read your owner's booklet and warranty info thoroughly, as well as the information with respect to lemon law rights that you ought to get when you purchase your vehicle. Don't depend on your dealer to describe what problems are covered by warranty. If your dealer states that a defect isn't covered and you believe that he is decieving you, be genteel but confident. Don't be scared to produce the section of the warranty that applies, or to call the manufacturing business for verification using the contact information included inside your owner's booklet. You should not be obliged pay for repairs linked to lemon law complaints. It's also crucial to notify the manufacturing business of a complaint right away. If you suspect that your vehicle has a problem which can't be repaired, check into your lemon law rights to see when you are able to file a lemon law complaint.

Lemon Law Tips:

1. Take your car in early - as soon as something appears wrong.
2. Hold onto repair orders - Always obtain a work order when you take the vehicle for repairs, and always obtain a completed repair order when work is completed. Be sure the work order reflects your own thoughts and comments regarding your complaints. If the technician summarizes or changes your complaint too much, have that technician add your corrected comments. Sign and receive a copy of the repair Order before leaving.
3. Be consistent in your complaints. Lemon Laws generally require that a manufacturer's authorized repair facility be provided with a reasonable number of opportunities to repair the same problem(s). Therefore, be as consistent as possible on each repeated repair attempt in describing the problem(s) you are having. This will establish that the problem is the same recurring problem, and will make any potential lemon law claim easier to establish and prove.

4. Look for TSBs: Technical Service Bulletins are issued by manufacturers regarding common defects or repairs in certain automobile models. Your dealer will not seek to tell you about TSBs unless you ask. Ask the dealer to make note of your TSB request on the repair order, even if your dealer tells you that none exist for your problem.
5. Watch for bad advice - Dealers and manufacturers personnel, without intending to, frequently practice law by giving you their version of lemon laws. Typically it is wrong and may be detrimental to your case. It doesn't matter whether the reason for this misinformation is unintentional or not. The effect is similar. So check any advice given by the dealer or manufacturer before making any decision that may harm your case.

6. Beware of arbitration - Manufacturers frequently recommend arbitration or even imply that it is a mandatory prerequisite to resolving your problem. Arbitration is neither desirable nor mandatory! And it is absolutely not a prerequisite for making a lemon law demand!
Leading Misconceptions regarding the Lemon Laws

If my case does not qualify for the lemon law there is nothing I can do.
Attorneys regularly take cases that do not meet the lemon law criteria. All purchasers of defective products have a legal right to compensation. They frequently take cases which do meet the mileage or repair criteria of the lemon law, bring them in court, and secure compensation or other relief for the buyer.

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