Implied Warranties

Implied warranties are unspoken, unwritten promises, created by state law, that go from a seller or merchant, to its customers. Implied warranties are based upon the common law principle of "fair value for money spent". There are two types of implied warranties that occur in consumer product transactions. They are the implied warranty of merchantability and the implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose. These warranties are present on almost every vehicle (that is not marked AS IS) that is sold in Pennsylvania.

The implied warranty of merchantability is a Seller's basic promise that the goods sold will do what they are supposed to do and that there is nothing significantly wrong with them. In other words, it is an implied promise that the goods are fit to be sold. The law says that merchants make this promise automatically every time they sell a product they are in business to sell. For example, if an automobile dealer, sell a vehicle, you are promising that the vehicle is in proper condition for sale because it will do what vehicles are supposed to do—operate safely along a roadway. If the vehicle does not operate safely and/or properly, then the vehicle is not fit for sale, and your implied warranty of merchantability would be breached. In such a case, the law requires the Seller to provide a remedy so that the Buyer gets a working vehicle.

The implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose is a promise that the law says a Seller, makes when its customer relies on the Seller's advice that a product can be used for some specific purpose. With the Automobile Dealer example again, suppose that a Buyer asks for a vehicle that will be reliable as transportation to and from the Buyer's work. If the Seller recommends a particular model, and the customer buys that model on the strength of the Seller's recommendation, the law says that the Seller has made a warranty of fitness for a particular purpose. If the model that the Seller recommended proves unreliable, the warranty of fitness for a particular purpose is breached.

Implied warranties are promises about the condition of products at the time they are sold, but they do not assure that a product will last for any specific length of time. (The normal durability of a product is, of course, one aspect of a product's merchantability or its fitness for a particular purpose.) Nor does the law say that everything that can possibly go wrong with a product falls within the scope of implied warranties. For example, implied warranties do not cover problems such as those caused by abuse, misuse, ordinary wear, failure to follow directions, or improper maintenance.

Generally, there is no specified duration for implied warranties under state laws. However, the PA state Statute of Limitations for breach of either an express or an implied warranty is generally four years from date of purchase. This means that buyers have four years in which to discover and seek a remedy for problems that were present in the product at the time it was sold. It does not mean that the product must last for four years. It means only that the product must be of normal durability, considering its nature and price.

Federal law prohibits a Seller from disclaiming implied warranties on any consumer product if the Seller offers a written warranty for that product or sells a service contract on it.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions that you may have about Implied Warranties, Breach of Warranty, or any other defective automobile related issue at 1-888-LEMON-44 or via email to Attorney Greg Artim