Lemon Laws and Extended Warranties: Do They Work Together?

When you buy a new vehicle, you feel protected as it comes with a warranty. The warranty covers the major systems for a specified timeframe/mileage period. But the dealer tells you there could be coverage gaps. So, you buy their extended warranty, too, hoping to protect yourself against potential high repair costs. Your extended warranty is a separate agreement. It is also known as a service contract. It provides coverage for repairs and maintenance, and in some cases can include additional services such as a loaner car and towing assistance.

But What If Things Go Wrong?

When purchasing a new vehicle, things can go wrong, and then you may not know where to turn.

Has this happened to you?

You bought a new vehicle, and things seemed pretty good at first. Small to moderate repair costs cropped up, and your warranties took care of those. Then, a major problem occurred. After several repair attempts, the issue persisted. Unfortunately, by then, your main vehicle warranty had expired. The manufacturer said that they don’t have to reimburse you due to the expired warranty.

But what about your extended warranty? Also, is there a chance you could have the vehicle declared a lemon, and get a replacement or a refund?

What to Do to Protect Your Rights

You may be frustrated with a problem like this, or a similar serious vehicle issue that can’t be fixed. This scenario and others like it happen to people every day. With multiple factors involved, it’s easy to get confused about coverage and how and if lemon laws can protect you. That’s why working with a lemon law attorney is recommended. Lemon law attorneys understand the full implications of warranties, state lemon laws, and even federal laws to help you pursue your claim against the manufacturer.

How a Lemon Law Attorney Can Help You?

Lemon law attorneys typically provide a free case evaluation where they review the facts about your claim. Here’s what they will need from you to help determine next steps:

• The date you purchased the vehicle.
• Copies of the warranty and extended warranty (if applicable).
• Detailed repair records, with issues and dates documented.
• Copies of any correspondence you have had with the manufacturer and dealer.

Your attorney’s job is to review the facts of your claim, and then determine how your state’s lemon laws apply. Every state’s lemon laws include certain provisions; some are more extensive than others. That’s why it’s important to have a lemon law attorney review your claim, as the lawyer will know how your state’s laws apply to your situation. These will apply in conjunction with your manufacturer’s warranty.

Typical State Lemon Law Protections

There are various state lemon law criteria that need to be satisfied to have a vehicle declared a lemon. These require that the issue substantially impacts the use, safety or value of the vehicle; that there were a number of repair attempts without successfully fixing the issue (usually 3 or 4 attempts); and when the issue occurred (timeframe and mileage specifics). There can be other criteria, too, and your attorney will review your claim against these.

Variables Relating to Warranties

Other factors can be taken into account, such as if your vehicle’s problem began during the warranty period, and now the warranty is expired. Your extended warranty is useful to help you against out-of-pocket expenses, but it is the manufacturer’s warranty that state lemon laws are concerned with, in determining if a vehicle can be declared a lemon

How Manufacturers’ and Extended Warranties May Interact with Lemon Laws

Here are two examples about how warranties could impact resolution of vehicle problems, and how your lemon law attorney can help you:

Brake Issue Occurring Soon After Vehicle Purchase

Your car’s brakes start failing six months after you purchase the vehicle. Your vehicle is still under the manufacturer’s warranty. The dealer tries to fix the brakes four times, but the problem persists. Even if you have an extended warranty, it’s the manufacturer’s warranty that matters regarding state lemon laws. A lemon law attorney could potentially help you get the car declared a lemon, and you could then seek compensation for a new vehicle or a refund from the manufacturer.

Engine Problems After the Manufacturer’s Warranty Expires

You experience repeated engine problems, making your car unsafe. These problems surfaced nine months after the manufacturer’s warranty expired. When you bought the car, you also purchased an extended warranty. The extended warranty, which is a service contract, pays for parts and labor during the repair attempts, plus may offer towing services and a loaner car when the vehicle becomes undrivable.

If an engine defect can be proven to have existed during the manufacturer warranty period, then continued to occur after that warranty expired, lemon laws can potentially protect you. We will also discuss momentarily how a potential breach of your extended warranty could help you get compensation.

Please note: The two examples above are just a few of the potential scenarios where manufacturer warranties and extended warranties come into play. It’s vital that you contact a lemon law attorney who can assess your situation and consult on the best way forward to help you gain compensation.

Federal Law That Can Protect Your Rights

The federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act’s premise is based on ensuring that the manufacturer or extended warranty provider is honoring their warranty obligations. This can involve what is called an ‘implied warranty of merchantability;’ that a car should work as it should. Or your case could involve an ‘implied warranty of fitness;’ that the dealer knew what you were buying the vehicle for, and the vehicle should have been fit for that purpose.

The Center for Auto Safety provides this definition on how the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act could potentially be used to help you gain compensation if there is a breach of your extended warranty service contract. It states:

“Breach of Service Contract

The Magnuson-Moss Act provides a cause of action for breach of a “service contract” as defined in § 301(8). The optional “extended warranty” offered through many dealerships by auto manufacturers and independent insurance companies are “service contracts” as defined by the Act.”

Warranty obligation elements can influence your case and are best reviewed and pursued by an experienced lemon law attorney. Only through your attorney’s careful weighing of all the factors involved in your case, can you have the best opportunity to gain compensation.

Allen Stewart, P.C. understands how difficult it can be dealing with warranties, dealers, and manufacturers. Often, manufacturers are not motivated to help you, and they can also dismiss, reduce, and try to avoid their obligations under the law. Call our office now (866-440-2460) or contact us online for your free consultation.

Trust Allen Stewart, P.C. to Help You Win Your Lemon Law Case

You would think that with a manufacturer’s warranty and perhaps even an extended warranty, it would be easy to know how you are protected in the event you have vehicle problems. But warranties may not cover your issues; they expire; the manufacturer can be uncooperative or even dishonest; and you may not know if state lemon laws or federal laws (or both) apply to your case. There are a lot of timeframe issues to take into consideration, too. While having an extended warranty can bring peace of mind, it is but one safeguard that mostly helps with repair expenses. There are gray areas, however, such as when issues carry over into extended warranty timeframes, or breach of these service contracts. It’s important to have a lemon law attorney review your specific case and how the laws apply.

What you need is an aggressive, knowledgeable and experienced lemon law attorney who can leverage all legal remedies on your behalf, even federal law, to help protect your rights.

Allen Stewart, P.C. provides you with the benefit of our knowledge and experience as top lemon law attorneys in Texas, California, and New York. We’ve also won compensation for clients in many other states across the country. We will review your claim and, should it align with state lemon laws (or even federal law protection), we can pursue your case for you.

There’s no need to worry about whether you can afford a lawyer. Thanks to federal law, our clients pay nothing out of pocket, and our initial consultation is free. Don’t delay. Call us now (866-440-2460) or contact us online for your free case evaluation.