Once you have hired our firm, the next step will be for you to forward all of the relevant vehicle documentation to our office. Important documents include the Purchase Agreement, the Financing Agreement, the Vehicle Registration, the Repair Invoices, any documentation received from the Manufacturer or Dealer and a copy of the Manufacturer’s Warranty. After review of the documents, I will send a letter to the Manufacturer asking them to buy your lemon back and issue a refund of the purchase price. Concurrent with that, I will begin the informal dispute resolution process. This often includes filing an Arbitration claim with your local Better Business Bureau office. The Pennsylvania Lemon Law requires the vehicle owner to partake in this informal dispute resolution process prior to filing a lawsuit against the Manufacturer under the PA and Federal Lemon Laws. The BBB will issue a decision, usually within a month or so of the filing of the claim, and you can then choose to accept or reject their decision. If you reject their decision, I will file a lawsuit against the Manufacturer. At that point, we prepare as if we are going to trial. All the while, throughout the entire process, I remain in contact with the Manufacturer and its representatives attempting to work out a settlement in your favor. These cases rarely go to trial because the PA Lemon Law is very strongly in the consumer’s favor.  Of course, the final resolution of your matter is dependent upon the strength and merits of your claim.

We are proud to offer our assistance in these matters and are very pleased when our clients end up in a win-win situation. 

After a few phone calls to the selling dealership brought no results, Doug contacted our office.  We immediately undertook representation of Doug and initiated a claim under the New Motor Vehicle Damage Disclosure Act.  This Pennsylvania law sets forth that a dealer must notify a purchaser of any vehicle of any damage that occurred to the vehicle prior to sale if the damage surpasses $500 or 3% of the purchase price.  This law provides tremendous relief to the purchaser, in that they are eligible for a full refund of the purchase price or a new replacement vehicle.  The Damage Disclosure Act further provides that a violation coonstitutes a violation of the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law.  That law is an extremely powerful law that allows for recovery of your reasonable attorney fees.

Within a matter of days, the selling dealership’s attorney contacted our office with a settlement offer.  The dealership had located a replacement vehicle for Doug and agreed to pay his attorney fees in full. 

Fortunately, that doesn’t mean that you don’t have a case of some sort. If you have purchased a “used” vehicle that still had some of the original manufacturer’s warranty on it at the time of it’s purchase, and a defect arose while under that warranty, you may be able to bring a “Lemon Law” type claim. There is a federal law called the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act that covers used cars that have a written warranty on them (as long as the vehicle is used for personal use).

The benefits of this law are many. Like the PA Lemon Law, the Magnuson Moss Act provides for a full refund or free replacement of the defective product if it cannot be repaired properly after a reasonable number of attempts. Most typically however, the remedy is one of cash compensation for the decreased value of your vehicle.  This means that you may be entitled to receive cash, and keep your vehicle too.

Typically, the number of repair attempts must be three times for the same defect. The Act further provides for recovery of all associated costs of the claim including recovery of reasonable Attorney fees. The Magnuson-Moss Act is a law that was designed to ensure that manufacturers (of any product) who offer a written warranty on that product abide by and honor the terms of any warranty that they give. A purchaser of a used motor vehicle is a prime candidate to use this law in the event that he purchases a used “lemon”, because the original manufacturer’s warranty transfers to all subsequent owners of the vehicle until it expires based upon mileage or a given length of time.

In practice, Lemon Law Attorneys have used this law very successfully in Pennsylvania to protect purchasers of defective “used” motor vehicles. If your used vehicle has suffered a defect while still under the original manufacturer’s warranty, you may be entitled to a full refund or free replacement utilizing this law.

Another law that may assist purchasers of Used Vehicles in PA is the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (UTPCPL). This law was designed to help consumers who have not received “what they paid for”. Our office uses this law quite frequently to pursue used vehicle claims where the consumer purchases a vehicle from a dealer and the vehicle suffers major problems shortly after purchase.  When the dealer fails to adequately remedy the situation, we file a claim under the UTPCPL. The great thing about the Unfair Trade Practices Act is that it also provides for recovery of reasonable attorney fees.

Either of the above laws provide great protections to individuals who have purchased defective used vehicles in Pennsylvania. Contact our office if your vehicle has suffered a serious defect that the manufacturer or dealer could not repair.

In Pennsylvania, a vehicle is a Lemon if it exhibits “a defect or non-conformity that substantially impairs the use, value or safety of the vehicle.” Typically, the defects that meet this requirement involve the engine, electrical system, transmission, suspension, brakes or the steering. Other types of defects, such as leaks, noises and heating or cooling issues may be considered substantial as well. Please know that this list is not exclusive, but rather a general list of the common problems that we encounter.  These issues are looked at on a case by case basis, but if your vehicle has exhibited problems or defects the same or similar to those mentioned, you may be driving a lemon.

It is important to know that if your vehicle has suffered one of the above listed defects (other types of defects may suffice as well) the manufacturer must be given reasonable opportunities to repair or correct the problems. In Pennsylvania, three (3) is considered a reasonable number, except under special circumstances. Those special circumstances arise where the problem incurred is likely to lead to severe personal injury or death as a result of the defect. As of the date of the writing of this article, there have been no authoritative Pennsylvania cases dealing with such an issue.

Another circumstance that removes the three (3) repair attempts rule is if the vehicle is out of service for 30 or more days as a result of the defect. In that instance, only one repair attempt would be required.  (The 30 days does not have to occur all at once. Two (2)repairs that are 15 days each, three (3) repairs of 10 days each, etc… will also meet the criteria under the PA Lemon Law.

If the manufacturer fails to repair or correct the defect within three opportunities, or one of the special circumstances applies, the vehicle may be considered a lemon.  In that instance, you are eligible for a full refund of the purchase price, a replacement vehicle or cash compensation, in addition to free legal assistance.

After the first repair attempt, John assumed that the vehicle was fixed.  Unfortunately, the problem returned and the dealer was unable to fix the problem after three more attempts.  When John finally called our office, his Cadillac had been in for engine repairs on 4 separate occasions, all for the stalling problem, and had been out of service for approximately 55 days total. 

We contacted representatives from GM immediately.  After an exchange of documents and several phone calls, we convinced GM to buy back John’s Cadillac voluntarily and to refund all of the monies that he had spent on its purchase.  The entire process took about 30 days from the time that John first called our firm.  While we cannot guarantee success to anyone, especially within such a short time frame, this is just another example of how our firm provides results to those who have purchased defective vehicles in Pennsylvania.

1. Does the vehicle come with a warranty?

This is an extremely important question. Is there a warranty? What does the window sticker say? Even if the warranty is only a 30 day/1000 mile warranty, it is better than having no warranty at all. You would not believe the number of phone calls that I get where the client advises that they have just purchased a used car and it suffered a major breakdown immediately after driving it off of the lot.

2. Has the vehicle been in an accident?

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is a favorite motto of used car dealers. Pennsylvania does not make it mandatory that a dealer disclose prior accidents to potential buyers. However, if you ask the specific question “Has the vehicle been in an accident?”, they cannot lie to you, and must provide you with the truth, at least to the best of their knowledge.

3. Do you have a Carfax or similar vehicle report that I could review?

Carfax is a company that maintains reports of vehicle accidents and other associated problems with vehicles. While their system is not foolproof, it definitely provides useful information to the potential buyer. If the dealer does not have one for the vehicle that you are considering, I would suggest that you spend the couple of dollars that are necessary to obtain a report before you acutally sign on the dotted line.

4. Have you (the dealer) thoroughly inspected and reviewed the vehicle? ( Have you found any problems or made any repairs?)

This is another important question because the dealer must answer it honestly. If they have not reviewed the vehicle, that likely means that it came directly from auction and they have not had it on their lot for very long. If they have reviewed it then that is a plus in your favor. It may help create some liability in the event that something goes wrong with the vehicle immediately after purchase.  In that instance, you may be able to make the argument that the dealer should have discovered the problem before sale via its inspection.

5. How did you obtain the vehicle?

Specifically ask the dealer how they obtained the vehicle. Was it a trade-in, an auction vehicle, or something else. If they give you a story about a little old lady, then you merely have to review the Carfax report to determine how truthful the dealer is.

Please know that this list is not meant to be exhaustive by any means. These are just a few of the questions that I believe are necessary to ask prior to purchasing a used vehicle. In my experience, I have found that many of my clients have failed to ask these simple questions, and today are very sorry that they didn’t.

If the person explains that the vehicle was purchased AS IS, with no warranty, it is at that point that I typically tell the person on the other end of the phone that there is nothing that I can do for them. AS IS is a legal term that means that you are making a purchase of “something”, and that “something” offers no warranties whatsoever as to quality, fitness, usefulness or value. What you see is what you get. You are accepting that “something” exactly as it sits before you with all of its defects, undisclosed problems and deficiencies. You are agreeing that you will not seek recourse from the seller if that “something” does not work correctly or it does not operate as you would expect it to.

The only potential for recourse on an AS IS purchase is where the seller blatantly and/or fraudulently lies about a characteristic of that “something”, such as making a statement that “The odometer on this vehicle is accurate, I have been the only owner and I know it to be true.”, when the seller knows that the odometer was tampered with. In that instance, you may be able to pursue a fraud claim. 

Where the purchase of a football is made AS IS, your potential loss/risk is very little because of the low price of the football. If there is a problem with the football, then its no big deal, you can simply cut your losses and buy another one. Unfortunately, vehicles typically cost a lot more than footballs, so there is a much greater risk in purchasing one AS IS. You can spend up to several thousand dollars on an AS IS vehicle, and are doing so at great risk.

Before making a vehicle purchase AS IS, strongly consider the risks and benefits of doing so. I understand that there are financial circumstances where you may have no other choice but to purchase a vehicle AS IS, but if you can avoid doing so, your wallet will eventually thank you.

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is similar to many states’ Lemon Laws. Here in Pennsylvania, I can say that it is very similar to the Pennsylvania Lemon Law. The Magnuson Moss Act provides for a free replacement of the defective product or a full refund of the purchase price, and further provides for recovery of all associated costs including Attorney fees. If the purchaser can show that the product suffered a substantial defect or non-conformity during the warranty period, and the manufacturer was unable to remedy that defect after a reasonable number of attempts, (in Pennsylvania, the number is three (3)) the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act will provide the choice of the aforementioned relief to the purchaser.  Another measure of damages for this type of claim would be “diminution in value”, that is, the decrease in value of the product/vehicle because of the defects.  This measure is not in addition to, but rather, in the alternative.

The Magnuson-Moss Act is an act that was designed to ensure that manufacturers (of any product) who offer a written warranty on that product abide by and honor the terms of any warranty that they give.

In practice, Lemon Law Attorneys have used this Act very successfully in Pennsylvania to protect purchasers of defective cars, trucks, vans, SUV’s, motorcycles and RV’s. If your vehicle has suffered a defect while still under the original manufacturer’s warranty, you may be entitled to cash compensation, a full refund or free replacement, plus free legal representation.

Unfortunately, while you are entitled to one of these remedies, vehicle manufacturers rarely voluntarily buy your vehicle back under the law, even the vehicle meets the  criteria of the PA Lemon Law. In that instance, you will have to initiate a lemon law claim. Under the law, you must first resort to the manufacturer’s informal dispute resolution program, if they maintain one, prior to filing a lemon law lawsuit.

This is where the Better Business Bureau comes in. In Pennsylvania, the Better Business Bureau runs the informal dispute resolution program for many of the major automobile manufacturers. The BBB runs the dispute resolution program for Acura, Audi, Ford, GM, Hyundai, Infiniti, Isuzu, Kia, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury, Nissan, Saab, Saturn and Volkswagen.

How does the BBB program work? Its very simple and is merely a format for exchanging information, then having a neutral arbitrator review the facts and making a decision. Our office files several of these claims each week, so it has become second nature here, but in a nutshell: The first thing is to initiate a claim with the BBB. This can be done by filling out their online complaint form. There is also a call-in option to handle the filing over the phone. You will need to provide various types of information here, including contact info for yourself and the make, model and year of the vehicle, along with the VIN. Next, you will provide a list of and an explanation of the vehicle’s defects and repair attempts. In addition, you must forward copies of all of your vehicle’s relevant documentation (purchase agreement, financing agreement, repair orders, etc…) to the BBB. Then, you will submit a written narrative of the problems with the vehicle and why you believe the vehicle is a Lemon. This information will be passed along to the manufacturer, who will formulate a response. After the response is received, the BBB Arbitrator will wish to inspect your vehicle, perhaps taking it for a test drive. He/She will render a decision within a matter of days. The entire process is supposed to take 40 days from start to finish.

It is important to know that the Arbitrator’s decision is binding upon the manufacturer, but it IS NOT binding on you. What that means is that you have the right to proceed with a lawsuit if you don’t like the Arbitrator’s decision, but the manufacturer does not have that same right.

If you do not like the result, you can simply file a lawsuit in the Court of Common Pleas of the county in which you reside.