By Sarah Ballentine
When your vehicle breaks down, it often rearranges your entire week. You have to negotiate repairs, find an alternate means of transportation and possibly even cancel some social plans. However, within a few days time, your car is ready to drive and perform dependably for the foreseeable future; that is, unless you're driving a "lemon." For almost a century, the term lemon has been used to describe machinery that doesn't live up to its promised level of performance. But today, the term lemon is typically associated with vehicles that don't live up to their warranty. More specifically, each state has statutes that define a lemon. Lemon Laws vary from state to state; however, as in other states, Texas Lemon Laws entitle consumers to be fully compensated for a lemon. In most cases, Texans who want an expedient resolution to their lemon case consult with a TX Lemon Law attorney to achieve one of two resolutions.
The most common resolution is a manufacturer replacing the lemon with a new vehicle that's comparable in terms of price, expected performance and style. The other form of resolution is when the consumer receives a full refund for the purchase price of the car, minus a mileage based allowance and finance charges, and is also reimbursed for collateral costs. In most cases, the manufacturer benefits from offering a replacement vehicle because payment arrangements are transferred to the new vehicle. However, the consumer can opt for a full refund instead of accepting a replacement vehicle.
Texas Law considers a vehicle a lemon if its defects significantly compromise its market value or represent a life-threatening safety hazard. However, there are technical requirements that must be met for a vehicle to achieve lemon status. These requirements are met when a vehicle experiences one of three scenarios.
The first scenario that denotes lemon status is when the manufacturer has repaired a vehicle four or more times for the same defect and two of the repairs have been made within the first 12 months of the vehicle's original delivery date or within 12,000 miles, whichever comes first, and the other two repairs have been made within the first 12 months or 12,000 miles following the date of the second repair attempt, but the defect remains.
The second scenario that defines lemon status is when a vehicle's defect creates a serious safety hazard and the vehicle has been repaired two or more times by the manufacturer and at least one of the repairs occurred within the first 12 months or 12,000 miles of the vehicle's original delivery date, whichever comes first, and at least one other repair was made within 12 months or 12,000 miles of the first repair, whichever comes first, but the defect remains.
The third scenario that establishes lemon status is when a vehicle is in the repair shop for a total of 30 or more days within the first 24 months or 24,000 miles, which ever comes first, and at least two repairs were made within the first 12 months or 12,000 miles of the vehicles' original delivery date, whichever comes first, but the defect remains. However, days out of service in which a loaner vehicle was provided do not count towards the total number of days the vehicle was in the repair shop.
Keep in mind that even if you do not fall into any of the above categories under the state lemon law, you may have a case under the Uniform Commercial Code or the federal lemon law. These laws have a more relaxed standard to overcome, however, the remedy will usually not be a buy-back of your vehicle, but some form of cash compensation and possibly attorney's fees and costs. You can still get rid of the vehicle if you wish by using this compensation to offset losses, however, the manufacturer will not be taking it back.
Lemon Law cases may be resolved without dispute. But neither is it uncommon for manufacturers to claim that a vehicle's persistent defect is the consumer's fault. In such cases, having a TX Lemon Law lawyer on your side is essential to receiving the compensation that you deserve.
Texas Lemon Laws are designed to protect consumers against purchasing inherently defective vehicles. Many people claim that they drive "lemons". But there is a set of statutes that define a vehicle as being a lemon. If you suspect that you're driving a lemon, consulting with a TX Lemon Law attorney will help clarify your case. Because Lemon Law cases are time sensitive, contacting a TX Lemon Law lawyer today is essential to the life of your case. In my research for writing this article about the TX Lemon Law, I found a great web site, AmericanLemonLawCenter.com that covered everything I needed to know and more.
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