When you’re dealing with a malfunctioning vehicle, there’s nothing more frustrating or potentially threatening to your rights than to have your dealership stand in your way when you’re trying to get your car fixed. Have you given up after several repair attempts because your car or truck wasn’t fixed? If you’re at your wits’ end with a dealer who seems to block your requests for repair records or otherwise adds to your problems, it’s time to have your attorney step up to protect your rights.
The big question is; can you sue the dealership or just the manufacturer?
We’ll show you the structure of a typical lemon law case and how it involves focusing on the manufacturer while incorporating the dealership’s actions to back up your claim.
What Qualifies a Vehicle as a Lemon?
The main qualification to identify your vehicle as a lemon is if it has a substantial defect that affects its use, safety, or value. It can’t be a negligible matter that annoys you, but something that severely impacts your life, such as an engine issue, persistent charging software problem, safety-related issue, recurring transmission trouble, or continuing brake problems, to name a few. The issue has to be derived from the vehicle itself; it can’t be from an accident or user-caused, such as through neglect or modification of the vehicle.
The manufacturer usually gets three repair attempts. Sometimes the number of attempts can be fewer or greater depending on the nature of the issue, or if it’s safety-related. These details are covered under the requirements of your state’s lemon law.
Your attorney will go over all these points with you and the other parts of your state’s lemon law to determine if your car qualifies as a lemon.
Gather Your Documentation
Your claim will be in part based on your documented interactions with your dealership and the manufacturer. Gather and organize all records regarding the issues your vehicle has had and any repair records you have, if the dealer did indeed make repair attempts. Your attorney will go over these documents and ask your questions to put together the events involving your claim.
For more information on arbitration and other frequently asked lemon law questions, click here.
What happened? When did it happen? How many times? Was the dealership cooperative, or did they try to block your requests, and what reasons, if any, did they give? These and more questions and the answers will all help your lemon law attorney understand your situation and move forward with your claim.
What if My Dealership Refused to Repair My Vehicle?
Document their refusal to do so and their reasons for denying your request. Keep all of this information along with dates and other notes regarding the situation. Your lemon law attorney will review all of these details and use them to build your case.
Having Trouble Getting Your Dealer to Provide Repair Records?
Your attorney will take on the responsibility of corresponding with the dealer and manufacturer. If you have already corresponded with them, share any documentation regarding those conversations with your lawyer. It’s your attorney’s special expertise to negotiate and communicate, and they will do so, letting the other side know that you have made a claim and their cooperation is requested.
When State Lemon Laws Fall Short
You can benefit from a lemon law attorney who can not only represent your interests and structure your case aligning with state lemon laws, but who also knows how to win compensation using federal law. This law, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, focuses on warranties and how manufacturers must stand behind their products, including automobiles.
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Manufacturers and sellers have to provide detailed warranty information upfront, so customers can make an informed decision before purchasing. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act provides the protection of “implied warranty of merchantability.” That means that your good (in this case, your vehicle) is supposed to operate as it should. In other words, a vehicle should not have persistent, substantial defects, as we defined them earlier. Plus, the warranty must say exactly what’s covered, and that warranty can’t be altered at the whim of the dealer or manufacturer.
Lemon laws are confusing. Read our guide to the lemon law complaint process.
Since the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act’s protections apply across the country, that helps protect you, should your state’s lemon laws fall short.
Consult Allen Stewart, P.C., and have us review your claim. If it is valid, we can pursue compensation for you with no upfront payment for our services. That’s because the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act requires manufacturers to pay your attorney’s fees, another major reason we will sue the manufacturer, not the dealership. Call us at 866-440-2460 to schedule your consultation, or contact us online.
Trust Your Lemon Law Attorney to Make Sense of All the Legal Complexities
If you’re tired of getting nowhere with your dealership, it’s time to have a lemon law attorney handle your case for you. Your attorney will let the dealership and the manufacturer know about how the law firm will protect your rights to gain compensation for your lemon vehicle. Most often, lemon law claims settle out of court because manufacturers don’t want bad publicity, and they don’t want to waste time and money. You can also depend on your lemon law attorney to represent you, should your state require arbitration. If your case does go to court, your attorney’s experience will be an invaluable asset to you, as they will know how to counter attempts by the manufacturer to deny or reduce the severity of your claim.
Allen Stewart, P.C. Protects Your Rights in Lemon Law Cases
There’s no room for error when you’re trying to win compensation in a lemon law case. Dealerships that evade, deny or otherwise drop the ball, frustrating your attempts to get your vehicle repaired, are just the beginning of potential problems. Manufacturers can do the same thing, and worse, standing in your way of receiving the compensation you are due. Allen Stewart, P.C. is prepared to fight for your rights. Especially when dealing with uncooperative dealerships and manufacturers, Allen Stewart, P.C.’s attorneys are who you need to ensure your claim is taken seriously. Plus, you pay nothing to our firm upfront, so you can proceed with your case knowing that initial costs won’t stand in your way of success.
You’ll perhaps wonder if you really need a lawyer. Even if you’ve experienced just a bit of pushback from dealerships and manufacturers, it can get more complex as the case proceeds. Allen Stewart, P.C. knows exactly how to get our clients the compensation they deserve because we have the experience and knowledge to do it. We have won many lemon law cases both in and out of court as top Texas, California and New York lemon law attorneys. We’ve also won numerous lemon law cases across the country.
When you call us at 866-440-2460 to schedule your consultation or contact us online, you’ll be taking a proactive step to protect your rights. Allen Stewart, P.C. will take into account all aspects of your involvement with your dealership, and if they have blocked repair attempts or even gone so far as to commit fraud, we will protect your rights. You don’t have to face dealerships and vehicle manufacturers alone. Our attorneys are here for you. Contact us today!