Some states are tackling lemon law protection for their residents head on. While federal law dictates some standard measures of consumer protection for vehicle buyers, such as an odometer disclosure and a window sticker indicating if a car is being sold as is or with a warranty, each state has very different policies for protecting consumers under the lemon law.

Massachusetts Lemon Laws require the placement of a bright yellow sticker in the window to notify consumers of their lemon law rights. Last week, a recent study by the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation of over 1900 new and used cars for sale at dealerships found many cars missing the required lemon law notification sticker in the window. Of the new cars for sale, 25% were missing the sticker. For used cars, nearly 1/2 were missing the sticker. Only 8 car dealerships of the 73 reviewed were in full compliance of the state lemon law.
“It’s very encouraging to see some states improving protection for consumers with defective vehicles and bringing awareness to dealerships that they need to comply with the lemon laws in their states if they want the trust of their customers”

An improved New Jersey lemon law signed last month expands the protection for consumers who encounter problems with their new vehicle from 18,000 miles to 24,000 miles. Under the old law, a consumer had to wait until the manufacturers made 3 repair attempts. Now, any unresolved defect that could cause serious injury or death can qualify a car as a lemon after only 1 repair attempt.

“It’s very encouraging to see some states improving protection for consumers with defective vehicles and bringing awareness to dealerships that they need to comply with the lemon laws in their states if they want the trust of their customers”, said leading lemon law attorney David J. Gorberg. “We’d like to see other states following the example of New Jersey and Massachusetts by stepping up lemon law protection and awareness of lemon law rights.”

Some states have a longer way to go. Pennsylvania lemon law ranks lower in lemon law protection than many states, with protection only up to 12,000 miles or one year. Pennsylvania requires 3 repair attempts before the consumer is entitled to a new car or full refund. These repairs must be performed by an authorized dealer, otherwise the consumer is not covered.

In states with active state agencies and consumer groups, dealerships are coming to realize that their compliance with state lemon laws could earn or lose the trust of their customers. This direct translation to the bottom line is good news for the driver looking for reliability and a good response when things go wrong.

David J. Gorberg & Associates, The Lemon Law Attorneys, has arbitrated, settled and litigated thousands of lemon law claims to date, throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania, recovering millions of dollars for it’s clients.