January '02 - Lemon Law
One of the most nerve-wracking feelings is having a car we just bought die on us. Fear runs through us. Did we just spent thousands of dollars on a piece of junk? Call us fickle, but the slightest problem makes us want to return the car and get our money back. Of course that is easier said than done. Massachusetts does have a "Lemon Law," but there are significant restrictions on your right to return a car when it is a clunker.
Whether the car is new or used, if a problem arises during the warranty period, the dealer is allowed a "reasonable number of attempts" to repair it before having to give you your money back. So, what is reasonable? For a used car, it is three attempts or a cumulative total of 10 business days. For a new car it is three attempts or a total of 15 business days, and then the dealer gets one more shot at fixing it, and can take up to 7 business days to do it. (So it is really 4 attempts and 22 business days.) And the number of days can be extended if the delay was due to war, strike, natural disaster, or even if the dealer has to order out for parts.
The other catch is that it has to be in the shop all this time due to the same defect. Is it the same defect if you bring it in one time because the engine keeps stalling, and then bring it back because it is smoking? You can bet the dealer is going to claim it is a different defect. Ask any service manager and he can tell you exactly what the Massachusetts' Lemon Law says. He is trained in it and knows it inside-out. And since he is also trained in automobile repair, you will have a difficult time proving your case against him.
So what does the Lemon Law do for us? In my opinion, not much. It's power lies more in what it threatens to do than in what is actually does. Hopefully the dealer will work harder to actually fix a problem, versus putting a band-aid on it, if there is the threat hanging over his head that you will try to return your car under the Lemon Law. But don't count on actually getting your money back. In a large majority of the cases, this is simply not what happens.
