Follow these steps to get rid of your Lemon and get into a brand new vehicle
1. Take the vehicle to the dealer each time your encounter a given problem
I have found that many people fail to take the vehicle in to the dealer for repairs because they either don’t have time, it’s too inconvenient, ect... but this is a very important step in the process. State lemon laws all provide that the dealer/manufacturer must be given a reasonable opportunity to repair the defects.
2. Be sure that the Service Department lists all of your complaints on the repair order.
I have found this one to be troublesome. Many times, consumers take their vehicles in for repair and tell the service advisor the problems that are being encountered. The service advisor may fail to list all of the complaints with the vehicle. At trial, if the complaint is not listed on the repair order, it becomes a he said/she/said matter to determine whether the dealer had an opportunity to repair.
3. Get a copy of the repair order.
I have found that many times, the consumer fails to receive a copy of the repair order. Under most state laws, the dealer is required to give you a copy of the repair order each time you take the vehicle in for servicing.
4. Hire an attorney.
This one is a no-brainer. All states have lemon laws on the books, and most of those lemon laws provide that the manufacturer must pay your attorney fees. In that regard, you end up with free legal representation. If your attorney asks you for an up front retainer for a lemon law case, ask him why.
5. Provide your attorney with all of the relevant documents.
Your attorney will need the purchase/lease agreement, the financing agreement, the repair orders, any TSB’s, the warranty booklet, a copy of your registration, and a copy of your title, if you have it.
6. Allow your attorney to go to work for you.
The lemon law field is a pretty small one. For the most part ,the attorneys who handle these types of cases know what they are doing. Follow their advice.
7. Do not always insist on a buy-back of the vehicle.
This is a big one. Many clients who call my office demand that the Manufacturer buy their vehicle back. And many times, they are within their rights to do so. However, as you can imagine, Manufacturers are not quick to buy vehicles back. What the client needs to look at is how they can get out of their vehicle in the quickest, fairest fashion. Often times, a cash settlement can be beneficial in this regard. This may give you enough money to get out of the vehicle and have a nice down payment on a new one. Again, though, I only advise this when it is in the client’s best interests.
Can a Collection Agency threaten...?
Most Collection agency threats are illegal. They generally cannot "threaten" to do anything that is illegal, and they cannot "threaten" to take an action that they do not intend to actually take.
Debt Management Companies, do they work?
Debt Management programs often charge outrageous up front fees and provide little or no benefit to consumers.
PA Lemon Law - Is it really free?
The PA Lemon Law provides for recovery of your reasonable attorney fees. In addition, experienced lemon law firms in PA pay the costs of your lawsuit up front so that you do not have any out of pocket expenses in pursuing a lemon law claim.
