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Saturday, October 17, 2009

North Carolina Lemon Law Helps Consumers Even Playing Field With Manufacturers

By Jim Johnson

To understand why the North Carolina lemon law was created, you must understand how the law worked before its inception. Before the lemon law was enacted, auto owners with auto problems were forced to seek redress of their claims with large automobile manufacturers. Seeing a problem with the disparity of the parties, the North Carolina Legislature developed the lemon law, which created the right for an automobile purchaser to bring a lemon law case against an automobile maker.

The North Carolina Lemon Law applies to cars that were purchased or leased in North Carolina. The lemon law covers new cars, which ironically are cars that are sold as new. The types of cars the lemon law covers are new passenger cars, pick-ups and motorcycles purchased in North Carolina. The lemon law covers most vans as well.

The North Carolina Lemon Law, states that a manufacturer must repair defects that affect the use, value, or safety of a new motor vehicle within the first 24 months or 24,000 miles of ownership. To make it easier for car owners to prove their case, the North Carolina legislature created a presumption that a vehicle is a lemon. The lemon law creates a presumption that a car is a lemon states if:

The same problem or issue has been attempted to be repaired by the car manufacturer or a dealer greater than four (4) occasion and the problem continues to exist; or

The car was unavailable to the consumer during or while awaiting repair of the problem or problems. The total unavailability must be for twenty or more business days during any 12-month period of the warranty. Before a consumer may take advantage of the presumption, the North Carolina Lemon Law requires the consumer to write a letter to manufacturer putting them on notice of the problems with the vehicle.

There are two ways a car owner can be compensated under the lemon law. In fact, the car owner gets to make a choice whether they wish to have a full refund or if they would rather get a replacement car. The law requires the carmaker to replace the car with a similar new car or take the car back and issue the owner a refund.

The refund to the consumer shall be reduced by a reasonable allowance for the consumer's use of the vehicle. A reasonable allowance for use is that amount directly attributable to use by the consumer prior to his first report of the nonconformity to the manufacturer, its agent, or its authorized dealer, and during any subsequent period when the vehicle is not out of service because of repair. "Reasonable allowance" is presumed to be the cash price or the lease price, as the case may be, of the vehicle multiplied by a fraction having as its denominator 100,000 miles and its numerator the number of miles attributed to the consumer.

It is advisable that if you think your car is a lemon under the North Carolina lemon law, you should seek out a lemon law attorney now. The North Carolina lemon law is favorable to consumers but still has several requirements that must be met or your case could be damaged. The best news is, the lemon law requires the carmaker to pay the owners attorney fees if they win the case. - 21393

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