Nothing can throw a wrench in your life quite like learning your new car is a lemon. What should be an exciting time to show off one of the largest purchases you’ll ever make in your life ends up a morass of embarrassing breakdowns, trips back and forth to the dealer, disruptions in your schedule and waits for tow trucks and ride shares. This is the best case scenario for lemon cars, as some defects that can make a car a lemon are dangerous, like safety system failures or catastrophic engine problems.
It’s small comfort knowing you aren’t alone. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates 150,000 vehicles sold every year in the United States are “lemons:” vehicles containing repeating, unfixable problems. Every vehicle manufacturer in the world builds the occasional lemon, though never intentionally. Some defects arise from design flaws or faulty components, while other come from substandard materials or even human error during the manufacturing process or transportation to dealerships. It doesn’t matter how it happened to the consumer, though, only how the manufacturer plans on fixing the problem.
When manufacturers sell a new car, they include a written warranty explaining their responsibility to the consumer, what systems they will repair if they malfunction within a given span of time. When manufacturers fail to uphold their end of the bargain, lemon laws give consumers and their attorneys the tools they need to get satisfaction through the legal system. Building a lemon law claim involves close work between the lemon law attorney, their staff, and their client. When all three work together they can build a claim impervious to scrutiny – one with the best chance of getting the best possible return for the client so they can get back to the business of living their life.
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The first step to building a successful lemon law claim may sound obvious, but for many it isn’t: contacting a lemon law attorney. Some people think they can pursue a lemon law claim against their vehicle’s manufacturer and succeed without contacting a lemon law lawyer. However, that simply isn’t likely for the vast majority of plaintiffs who try going it alone.
Allen Stewart, attorney and owner of Allen Stewart P.C., said a lemon law attorney acts as the clients advisor and advocate throughout the lemon law claims process. They act in the client’s best interests, with detailed knowledge of how the claims process works.
“A consumer with a lawyer has someone who knows when they’re being bamboozled,” Stewart said. “Someone who knows when what that company just said isn’t the law, or the truth, or equitable. The consumer with the lawyer has an advocate that has seen many other people in like circumstances and knows what the appropriate standard of care and compensation should be.”
Stewart said the single best step a consumer can take is talking to an experienced lemon law attorney about their claim.
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“I have never seen the circumstance of a self-represented plaintiff show up in front of the judge and at the end of the proceeding the judge not tell them ‘sir or ma’am, the best thing for your case is you getting a lawyer,’” he said. “Even the simplest things in the law can be complicated because if you miss the timeline, you could lose it all,” Stewart said. “If you file the wrong paperwork, it could set you back time and money, and you might lose the case.”
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The next step after talking to a lemon law attorney will be gathering information about your specific claim. The attorney or a paralegal will ask you where and when you bought the car, the vehicle’s year, make and model, and the specific problems you are having with it. They will also ask how many times you’ve allowed the dealership to attempt a fix. The attorney takes all this into consideration before deciding whether they can help you.
If the attorney believes you have a valid claim, the next step is collecting documents. A solid paper trail builds the foundation of a successful lemon law claim. Meticulous record keeping often makes the difference between a rock-solid claim and a precarious one. The attorney will ask for all of the documents you received when purchasing the vehicle , every scrap of paper. They will also ask for records documenting every attempted repair of the defect, showing when they attempted the repair and what they did to fix the problem. Every time you take your vehicle back to the dealership to fix anything, be sure to demand written records of the visit.
One practice that can help both you and your attorney is digitizing your records. Some dealerships will send you electronic copies of your purchase documents at the point of sale. Many times, however, you’ll have to scan them yourself. A flatbed scanner works just fine for this, though not everyone has one at home. Luckily shipping stores including FedEx and UPS have scanners available at their retail locations and their employees can help you get your documents scanned and uploaded to either personal or cloud storage. There are also various smartphone apps that use your device’s camera to scan documents, creating both digital images and searchable, editable digital documents.
Lemon laws are confusing. Read our guide to the lemon law complaint process.
Having your documents easily sent digitally to your lemon law attorney speeds up the claims process and helps your attorney build a better case faster, without having to wait on physical mail.
Your lemon law attorney will, using the purchase documents you provide, build a lemon law claim sure to stand the test of the courts and get you the compensation you deserve. The lemon law attorneys of Allen Stewart, P.C. have handled countless lemon law claims for their clients and gotten them money back for their defective vehicles. They have combined decades of knowledge and experience taking on automotive manufacturers who fail to uphold their end of their written warranties. The sooner you reach out, the better your chances of getting the most compensation. Don’t delay, contact Allen Stewart P.C. today.