Purchasing a Certified Pre-Owned vehicle (CPO) from a dealer can be both an overall money-saver and a way to get a late-model vehicle with lots of extras. Plus, with a CPO, there can be time remaining on the original manufacturer’s warranty (although not always). The main benefit you get with a CPO is that the vehicle goes through a multipoint inspection and comes with its own CPO warranty. This often covers the engine, transmission and drivetrain, and also it can include a bumper to bumper warranty for other components. Manufacturers offer different types of CPO warranties, but overall, when you buy a CPO, you usually start out well-covered in case of problems.
Even with CPO vehicles, a person can get into issues if persistent problems occur that cannot be fixed. These have to substantially impact the car’s use, safety or value, to qualify the vehicle as a lemon. How do you know if your CPO vehicle really is a lemon? And what can you do if you need to make a lemon law claim? And can you, in your state?
A lemon law attorney not only can answer all these questions for you, they can represent you against manufacturers who may try to avoid or dismiss your claim. What will come first is your consultation with your attorney to determine if your vehicle qualifies as a lemon.
Lemon Laws and Certified Pre-Owned Cars
You might assume that a certified pre-owned car’s stamp of approval makes it immune to lemon law claims, but that’s not the case. These cars can still turn out to be lemons if they have persistent, significant defects. In some states, lemon laws explicitly cover certified pre-owned vehicles, especially if they’re still under the manufacturer’s warranty or the special CPO warranty. This overlap means that if your certified car keeps breaking down despite repair attempts, you have every right to pursue compensation.
For more information on arbitration and other frequently asked lemon law questions, click here.
How a Vehicle Qualifies as a Lemon?
Depending on your state, the lemon laws will vary; not all states cover used cars under their lemon laws. Several that do include Connecticut, California, Minnesota, Massachusetts, New York, Texas, and New Mexico. Your attorney will determine to what extent your state may cover CPO vehicles, and under what specific circumstances.
Even so, lemon laws are frequently updated, so your lemon law attorney will be determining what the current state laws are pertaining to your CPO lemon law claim. What needs to be established is that the malfunction or defect is serious and substantially impacts the use, safety or value of the vehicle. Timing and mileage under the vehicle’s warranty will also be taken into account, and your attorney will review your documentation of the vehicle’s issues against your state’s laws and your warranty, or warranties.
If your car has a serious defect that affects its use, safety, or value, and it can’t be fixed after a reasonable number of tries, lemon laws that cover CPO vehicles can then potentially (depending on your state) come into play.
Lemon laws are confusing. Read our guide to the lemon law complaint process.
It’s important that you gather and present to your lemon law attorney all documentation and correspondence you’ve had with the dealer and manufacturer. This information, along with your state’s lemon laws and your warranty provisions, help the attorney plan pursuit of your claim.
What Compensation Can You Expect?
If your CPO qualifies as a lemon, depending on your state’s laws and your situation, you could receive a full refund of what you paid, a comparable replacement vehicle, or reimbursement for repair costs and related expenses like towing or rentals. The outcome hinges on the specifics of your case: it will depend on how severe the defect is, how long you’ve been dealing with it, and what your state allows. If you’ve hired a lawyer to fight for you, some states even let you recover legal fees.
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What Happens if Your State’s Lemon Laws Don’t Cover CPO Cars?
Your lemon law attorney will carefully review your claim against your state’s lemon laws. Some states don’t cover used or CPO vehicles. That can happen, as lemon laws often apply to new cars. You may think that you are out of luck if that happens, but it’s important to let your lemon law attorney follow up, as there can be other remedies they can access to get you compensation for your malfunctioning CPO vehicle.
Please note: Allen Stewart, P.C. offers a free case evaluation, so you will not have to wonder if your CPO vehicle qualifies as a lemon or if your state’s lemon laws will allow you to pursue a claim. Call our office (866-440-2460) or request your consultation online.
Is There a Federal Law That Covers CPO Vehicle Owners Who Have Lemon Claims?
The federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act protects consumers across the nation, and can be used by your lemon law attorney to potentially pursue compensation for your faulty CPO vehicle. This law is focused on warranties and how the manufacturer must fulfill their warranty obligations, versus the criteria that state lemon laws require. Depending on your claim, your lemon law attorney may pursue compensation under your state laws and the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.
Your attorney will review your claim to determine how this federal law could apply in your situation. Another important benefit of this law is that it requires manufacturers to pay successful claimants’ attorney fees.
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Why You Need an Attorney for Your CPO Lemon Law Claim
As we have seen, the complexities and variables included in lemon law cases in general, and specifically in regard to CPO lemon law claims, are considerable. Navigating all these yourself would not only be time-consuming, but could potentially cause you to miss opportunities to receive maximum compensation. What’s more, the manufacturer will most certainly bring their legal team to bear to try and minimize, avoid, or get your claim dismissed. Your lemon law attorney is well-versed in these manufacturer strategies to deny you the compensation you deserve. To ensure you have the best opportunity to gain compensation, it’s vital to be represented by an experienced lemon law attorney.
Allen Stewart, P.C. Provides Years of Lemon Law Experience to Win Your Case
Buying a CPO vehicle is a good choice for many people. Doing so can put you in a potentially favorable position as far as warranty coverage and the extensive inspections these vehicles undergo. Even under the best of circumstances, vehicles can suffer from substantial defects. If this happens to you, the frustration of dealing with it is tough enough, but then not knowing how or if you can get compensation, can make matters worse.
Allen Stewart, P.C. offers you the benefit of our years of lemon law claims experience. We have won many lemon law cases in Texas, New York, California and across the country. Our attorneys will review your claim, and should we determine that it is valid, we can represent you to secure maximum compensation. Remember, the manufacturer’s attorneys are not motivated to help you get compensation; often they will try to downplay or deny your claim. We will fight aggressively for your rights. Whether it’s through a settlement, arbitration or even in court, you can depend on our lemon law expertise.
Sometimes people worry that they can’t afford a lawyer. As we mentioned, there are laws that address this. Thanks to federal law, our clients pay nothing out of pocket, so contact us now for a free consultation (866-440-2460).