Ohio Lemon Law - Your Last Recourse

by Kevin Bishop

If you buy a new vehicle, you are sure to have a warranty from the manufacturer. What it does is that it requires the manufacturer to pay for parts and service if any problem arises. Now, if the problem is critical and it falls under the warranty, all you need to do is approach the dealer to resurrect it. And if the dealer cannot fix the problem after a considerable number of attempts, you may have a lemon. Yes, you can claim a lemon law that makes you entitled of a replacement or compensation on part of the manufacturer.

Ohio lemon law came into being to safeguard the consumer's rights against any flaw that largely impairs its use, worth or safety, and has not been suitably repaired or repaired in a timely manner on part of the manufacturer. Passenger cars, motorcycles, motor homes and "light" trucks are the vehicles covered by the lemon law. Remember, the lemon law is pertinent for the above said vehicles in the first year or 18,000 miles of action, whichever happens first. However, recreational vehicles as well as boats are out of the question. It is worth mentioning that Ohio lemon law is not applicable for used cars.

Lemon laws make sure that the manufactures and dealers reimburse the purchased price of the vehicle or provide a replacement vehicle, if they are unsuccessful to resurrect the problem within a considerable amount of time. Any letdown to act in accordance with Ohio's Lemon Law is a breach of Ohio's Consumer Sales Practices Act.

Before a vehicle is said to be a lemon, there are a lot of things apart from the manufacturer's defect, which are required to be considered. If within the first year of purchase or 18,000 miles of operation, the manufacturer through the dealer has made three or more attempts to fix the problem, but all in vain the law is applicable.

Similarly, if the vehicle does not function for a total of 30 or more calendar days for repairs. If the manufacturer takes eight or more tries to repair a sizeable problem covered by the warranty, it still calls for the enactment of the lemon law. The law also applies when there has been one repair attempt at the most for a safety-related problem, which still remains unresolved.

Ohio Lemon Law also ensures that the automakers and dealers present more information to consumers than before. Consumers should keep good records and an exact maintenance history to stay in safe hands. They should keep all warranty and repair orders intact. On receiving the order, consumers must counter check it to authenticate all the pertinent information. From writing down the vehicle's problems to filing in the repair records, everything needs to be done. Last but not the least, a consumer should certainly follow the owner's manual.

Always remember that before you file a lawsuit, arbitration is another way to resolve your dispute. Arbitration can also be compulsory at times. Generally, verdict is given within 40 days after the Board has received the consumer's application for arbitration. The best part is that the manufacturers pay for arbitration programs irrespective whether they win or lose.

With the initiation of the Ohio lemon law, there has been less problems with automobiles and hence a good number of satisfied customers.

About Kevin Bishop
Kevin Bishop is a successful writer and publisher of legal issues, for more informative articles go to http://www.lemonlawmoney.com

PA Lemon Law - Is it really free?

by Greg Artim

The PA Lemon Law provides for recovery of your reasonable attorney fees. In addition, experienced lemon law firms in PA pay the costs of your lawsuit up front so that you do not have any out of pocket expenses in pursuing a lemon law claim.

I practice law in Pennsylvania with a concentration on Lemon Law and Breach of Warranty issues for vehicles. Our state Lemon Law protects consumers who have purchased defective vehicles, and it’s a pretty powerful statute. The best provision in the law, in my opinion, is that it allows for recovery of your reasonable attorney fees.

In Pennsylvania, under a typical lawsuit, there is no recovery of attorney fees. For instance, if you wanted to sue someone who owes you money, you would likely have to hire an attorney and pay him/her a retainer out of your pocket. Then, whether you win or lose the lawsuit, you must realize that you will not get your attorney fees back. Its considered a cost of filing a lawsuit here in PA.

On the other hand, as mentioned previously, the Lemon Law has a provision that allows for recovery of attorney fees. Because the law is so generous and consumer oriented in regard to attorney fees, you will not ever have to pay a retainer to an attorney who handles these types of matters, at least not if he/she is versed in the law. (You should really not consider hiring an attorney who asks for a retainer on an actual lemon law case). At the time of the writing of this article, I can say that there are only about 5-6 law firms based in Pennsylvania who specialize in Lemon Law cases, and I can say with certainty that none of them would ask for a retainer on a Lemon Law case. In addition, I believe that all of these firms actually pay for the costs of the lawsuit (filing fees, expert witness fees, etc...) so that you do not have to spend anything out of pocket to pursue a claim.

As there is no attorney fee out of pocket, its pretty much a no-brainer when deciding whether to hire an attorney and present a lemon law claim. The only issue, as mentioned previously, is to make sure that you hire an experienced lemon law attorney who is versed in the attorney fee provision.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Greg Artim is an Attorney based in Pittsburgh, PA. He handles Lemon Law and Breach of Warranty matters in all of Pennsylvania. For more answers to your PA Lemon Law questions, please visit his website at Lemon Law . If you live in a different state, Greg recommends visiting Lemon Laws