Lemon laws are American state laws that provide a remedy for purchasers of cars that repeatedly fail to meet standards of quality and performance. These cars are called lemons. The federal lemon law (the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act) protects citizens of all states.
Lemon law rights vary, however, from state to state and some do not necessarily cover used or leased cars. The rights afforded to consumers by lemon laws may exceed the warranties expressed in purchase contracts. Lemon law is the common nickname for these laws, but each state has different names for the laws and acts.
The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (P.L. 93-637) is a United States federal law (15 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.), legislated in 1975, it is the federal law that governs warranties on consumer products. The Act was sponsored by Senator Warren G. Magnuson of Washington and Congressman John E. Moss of California, both Democrats. Legislative history of the Act indicates that its purpose is to make warranties on consumer products (automobiles, in the case at hand) more readily understood and enforceable and to provide the Federal Trade Commission with the wherewithall to protect U.S. consumers.
The Magnuson-Moss Act provides that anybody warranting a consumer product (auto/ car) to a consumer by means of a written warranty must disclose, fully and conspicuously, in simple and readily understood language, the terms and conditions of the warranty to the extent required by rules of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC has enacted regulations governing the disclosure of written consumer product warranty terms and conditions on consumer products actually costing the consumer more than $15 (e.g., cost of most cars).
The Act is meant to provide car buyers with access to reasonable and effective remedies where there is a breach of warranty on a consumer product. The Act provides for informal settlements or, if necessary, for actions brought by the federal or state government.
In the State of California, lemon laws cover anything mechanical, like the federal lemon laws. In addition, lemon law also provides that the warranter may be obligated to pay the prevailing party's lemon law attorney fees in a successful lemon law suit, as do most state lemon laws. Lemon Laws vary from state to state -- therefore, accurate info on the scope and restrictions of Lemon Laws in a particular state should be obtained from a "Lemon Law Attorney" practicing in your state.
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