Lemon Law Buybacks

On 2016-08-24 15:00:23

With approximately 50 million used cars sold each year, it is estimated that 75,000 have been repurchased by manufacturers under various state "lemon laws". All 50 states have Lemon Laws which require manufacturers to buy back vehicles from customers whose automobiles cannot be fixed after a reasonable number of repair attempts. The defect must be substantial and affect the vehicles safety, value or use.

When an automobile is bought back, the dealer will try to repair the problem and eventually send the vehicle to auctions where the buying dealer is told of the status of the car. The warranty will often be extended to make up for its “lemon” history. In some states, it is mandatory that the title is branded as a lemon, but this information does not always make it to the consumer. The “lemon” designation can be lost if a car is sold in a state other than the one where a lemon law case was pursued.

If you are buying used, there are a few ways of avoiding a lemon law buyback.

  • Select makes and models with good reliability records. Recalls and Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs) give good insight to potential problems you can expect with the vehicle.
  • Services such as Carfax or Autocheck offer vehicle history reports that can give some protection, but even those services can miss a buyback car or be misled by the laundering of a title.
  • Check the repair history by taking the vehicle identification number (VIN) to a dealer that services that make and ask them to run it through their computer database. Manufacturers keep a national record of a car's warranty service history, which should reveal how many times the vehicle was serviced and if it was bought back.

Part of buying smart is knowing what protection you have before you need it. The differences in lemon law regulations from state to state and the degree of consumer protection they afford make it easy for consumers to get burned. If you think your vehicle could be a lemon get the help of a lemon law attorney experienced in the laws of your state. They can determine if your vehicle is a lemon and help you get it bought back.