Car buyers in Pennsylvania and throughout the country are generally treated well when they are visiting a dealer to buy a car. However, they tend to find that they aren’t given the same treatment when bringing in the vehicle for service. Part of this is because the dealer isn’t responsible for replacing a car if it is defective. Instead, it is up to the manufacturer to back them or replace them.
Generally speaking, lemon laws apply when a car is in the shop for 30 days or more in the first year of ownership. The law may also be triggered when there have been four or more attempts to resolve a single issue. In addition to a lack of responsibility for taking care of a defective vehicle, dealers may fear getting paid for service performed under warranty.
At a certain point, a manufacturer may try to avoid paying for work that isn’t fixing the problem. In some cases, a warranty claim may not even be approved by the manufacturer. Therefore, a dealer has little to gain by continuing to take an active role in resolving a problem. In fact, the dealer may actually encourage those who own problematic vehicles to simply look into taking legal action.
Vehicles that don’t work properly because of existing or hidden damage may be covered by existing lemon law. Vehicle owners may be able to pursue a lawsuit or a settlement with the manufacturer of the car or truck that they purchased. This may be done with or without legal counsel. However, a legal professional may be able to assist with collecting evidence in a lemon law case. He or she might also negotiate with the manufacturer on behalf of the vehicle’s owner.
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