In Pennsylvania, if you have a Lemon you are entitled to a free replacement vehicle or a full refund of the purchase price.
Everyone has heard the phrase "Lemon Law", but I find that most people don’t really know about the benefits of this law or the remedies that it provides. In Pennsylvania, if your vehicle is determined to be a Lemon, you have the choice of selecting a free replacement vehicle or a full refund of the purchase price. A replacement vehicle would be a new model of the vehicle that you had classified as a "Lemon", at no additional cost to you. A full refund would include any down payment that you made towards the vehicle, any value or equity from your trade in (if applicable), any down payment made towards the purchase price, any payments made to your financing company, including interest, and all other costs associated with the purchase, i.e. tax, tag, title, plates. You are entitled to recover essentially every dollar that you put into the purchase of the vehicle. In addition, and this is a huge benefit of the PA Lemon Law, the Manufacturer will be responsible for paying your Attorney fees. I will go out on a limb and suggest that most people would agree that getting all of their money back plus having a free attorney is a very good thing.
It should be noted that in most instances, if you have a Lemon, the Manufacturer is entitled to an offset/deduction for mileage during your use of the vehicle. This offset is typically 10 cents per mile up to the first occurrence of the problem or defect. For example, suppose that you paid $20,000 for the vehicle. Let’s assume that the transmission was faulty. Let’s further assume that the transmission was first taken to the dealer for servicing with 2,000 miles on the vehicle. If the vehicle was subsequently determined to be a lemon, the purchaser would be entitled to a refund of the $20,000, minus the charge for mileage usage, which would be (2000 x .10 = $200. In the end, the purchaser would be able to recover $19,800, plus his or her attorney fees.
Greg Artim is an Attorney based in Pittsburgh PA. He handles Lemon Law and Breach of Warranty matters in all of Pennsylvania. Visit his website at www.ihatethislemon.com for answers to more of your vehicle related legal questions. If you have a Lemon in another state, Greg recommends www.50stateslemonlaw.com
