Where are my Lemon Law Experts?

[Brojave22]

I will most likely be using the lemon laws in my state very soon, but FCA has an option that is not binding to you only them called manufactures arbitration here, you can also try state arbitration if your state has it but that is binding to both of you and then there is lemon laws. I figure the manufacture arbitration is worth a try because you don't pay for any lawyer fees and you have nothing to lose. I personally only want my down payment back and some of the monthly payments

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[D10S86]

I will most likely be using the lemon laws in my state very soon, but FCA has an option that is not binding to you only them called manufactures arbitration here, you can also try state arbitration if your state has it but that is binding to both of you and then there is lemon laws. I figure the manufacture arbitration is worth a try because you don't pay for any lawyer fees and you have nothing to lose. I personally only want my down payment back and some of the monthly payments

I reached out to an attorney. He was asking for a $2k retainer, also said I don’t have a strong case. Essentially the only lemon law aspect of my situation is that my car has been in the shop for over 30 days. I thought that was enough to ask for a replacement if I had a strong lawyer, but apparently it doesn’t work that way.

 

[Brojave22]

I reached out to an attorney. He was asking for a $2k retainer, also said I don’t have a strong case. Essentially the only lemon law aspect of my situation is that my car has been in the shop for over 30 days. I thought that was enough to ask for a replacement if I had a strong lawyer, but apparently it doesn’t work that way.

What are the details?

 

[HorneyBadger]

What are the details?

Yes! I asked the same thing without a response. Its hard to give you feedback with just a blank statement!

I asked:
It depends on why the truck has been there so long. Is it because they cant fix it? Or are parts on backorder. If the latter then you may be SOL.

 

[HorneyBadger]

(3) The vehicle is out of service because of the repair of any number of problems by the manufacturer or its agents for a cumulative total of more than 30 days since delivery of the vehicle.

The “Lemon Law” presumption is a guide, not an absolute rule. A judge or arbitrator can assume that the manufacturer has had a reasonable number of chances to repair the vehicle if all of the conditions are met. The manufacturer, however, has the right to try to prove that it should have the chance to attempt additional repairs, and the consumer has the right to show that fewer repair attempts are reasonable under the circumstances.

If the manufacturer maintains a state-certified arbitration program, the consumer must submit the warranty dispute to the arbitration program before the consumer can take advantage of the presumption in court. Arbitration is an alternative to court proceedings. The consumer may assert the presumption during arbitration. Information about any arbitration should be described in the warranty or owner’s manual.

 

[D10S86]

I was more so hoping to get feedback from those that have gone through the lemon law procedures. Being that I could have a case on my hands, not sure if I want to say anything wrong that could be held against me. Who knows what they would dig up if I went to arbitration.

 

[sharpsicle]

I was more so hoping to get feedback from those that have gone through the lemon law procedures. Being that I could have a case on my hands, not sure if I want to say anything wrong that could be held against me. Who knows what they would dig up if I went to arbitration.

If that's a concern you have, then I wouldn't have even started the thread.

Lemon law cases are all based on your specific circumstance and the evidence behind them. For that reason, no two are the same. So if you want opinions on your viability to lemon law the truck, you'd need to talk about the situation with us. If you don't want to talk about the situation out of fear of it coming into litigation down the road, then this thread is dead in its tracks.

 

[D10S86]

If that's a concern you have, then I wouldn't have even started the thread.

Lemon law cases are all based on your specific circumstance and the evidence behind them. For that reason, no two are the same. So if you want opinions on your viability to lemon law the truck, you'd need to talk about the situation with us. If you don't want to talk about the situation out of fear of it coming into litigation down the road, then this thread is dead in its tracks.

Read my original post. You might be able to tell my thread was meant to gain insight on what others have gone through. If you have nothing of value to add then don’t reply.

 

[sharpsicle]

Read my original post. You might be able to tell my thread was meant to gain insight on what others have gone through. If you have nothing of value to add then don’t reply.

I'd love to help. But you're asking for insight without giving us anything to go off of. I was explaining how that was a problem. You need to come to the table with some valuable information for us to give you value in return. Multiple other members have also replied here asking for information so they, too, can provide more value to your thread.

You told us you wanted to lemon law it, that an attorney told you there isn't enough in your case to pursue that, and are refusing to tell us what those particulars are that led the attorney to that conclusion. If that's all we've got, then I'm not sure what other valuable insight we could give you at this point. All you'll get now are anecdotal stories that most likely will do nothing for you but muddy the waters even more, since they're all based on different situations over different problems in different states with different people at different dealerships. And we have no clue what the differences actually are, since we don't know the details of your situation.

If you don't want to discuss it, I understand and respect that entirely. Many instances I have advised people to do exactly that; stay off the forum and let the attorney handle it. But that also kills our ability to help you out. It's up to you in the end. No need to get upset at me.

 

[D10S86]

Ok, looks like the thread has turned into something it wasn’t meant to be. If you have personally had an experience with FCA and the lemon law, please respond or personally message me.

I’m not looking for legal advice or Google search results.

 

[JWM PLAYS]

I successfully completed a lemon law claim against Ford several years ago. Below are my notes I typed for sharing with others that might be doing similar.

Coming from someone who just successfully completed a lemon law claim in my state (TX).
1. You don't need an attorney. You can do it yourself.
2. Read the law for your state and know it well so you know when/if you're eligible.
3. Be prepared for your new part time job which is handling your lemon law claim.
4. If you've made up your mind to pursue a lemon law claim with the end result of them buying the truck back, be prepared for them to say "well your trucks fixed now, how about a check for $3k for your trouble?" To me, this is a trick because if you take the check, the case is closed and good luck filing another claim if after you cash the check, the truck goes back in the shop for 100 days.
5. Know the details of the laws in your state that would qualify/disqualify you. For example, in my state, the vehicle has to be in the shop for 30 days in the first 2 years/24k miles WITHOUT being supplied a loaner vehicle. If they provide you a loaner, you have no claim.
6. Know that they aren't going to pay you what you paid for the truck. They are going to pay you what you paid minus usage which in my case usage was calculated based on the mileage on the truck at the time of the claim.
7. Know that you file your lemon law claim with the manufacturer but your state likely has a department that you can file a claim with IF your manufacturer doesn't seem to be following the law. I recommend opening a claim/case with both on the same day that way IF you get 3-4 months in and the manufacturer starts flaking out, you will already have a case with the state open and all the paperwork filed so that you just flip it over to them to handle.
8. I'll say it one more time, if you Google "lemon law" for your state, the first 18 things that come up will be attorneys that want to "handle," your claim. All they want is for you to cut them in on the settlement which means they get $. IMO this is the easy/lazy way out.
9. In my case, I was able to get Ford to also pay for all the aftermarket accessories that I had put on the truck after buying it.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Ok, looks like the thread has turned into something it wasn’t meant to be. If you have personally had an experience with FCA and the lemon law, please respond or personally message me.

I’m not looking for legal advice or Google search results.

Again - it won't matter a bit. People shouldn't ask things like that because your STATE laws will vary, the AG may be involved, your situation is different than anyone else. It's akin to asking "what's the fix for a misfire".
It's just not going to help you at all.
Even if someone went through it in your own state, say, 3 years ago, it won't matter.
Read the current laws for your state and go from there.
You will not find anything helpful in what someone else did or how it turned out.
Judges, arbitrators, attorneys, all are individual people and that difference alone can impact outcome of a case.
There are as many variables as there are in any other part of life.

I successfully completed a lemon law claim against Ford several years ago. Below are my notes I typed for sharing with others that might be doing similar.

Coming from someone who just successfully completed a lemon law claim in my state (TX).
1. You don't need an attorney. You can do it yourself.
2. Read the law for your state and know it well so you know when/if you're eligible.
3. Be prepared for your new part time job which is handling your lemon law claim.
4. If you've made up your mind to pursue a lemon law claim with the end result of them buying the truck back, be prepared for them to say "well your trucks fixed now, how about a check for $3k for your trouble?" To me, this is a trick because if you take the check, the case is closed and good luck filing another claim if after you cash the check, the truck goes back in the shop for 100 days.
5. Know the details of the laws in your state that would qualify/disqualify you. For example, in my state, the vehicle has to be in the shop for 30 days in the first 2 years/24k miles WITHOUT being supplied a loaner vehicle. If they provide you a loaner, you have no claim.
6. Know that they aren't going to pay you what you paid for the truck. They are going to pay you what you paid minus usage which in my case usage was calculated based on the mileage on the truck at the time of the claim.
7. Know that you file your lemon law claim with the manufacturer but your state likely has a department that you can file a claim with IF your manufacturer doesn't seem to be following the law. I recommend opening a claim/case with both on the same day that way IF you get 3-4 months in and the manufacturer starts flaking out, you will already have a case with the state open and all the paperwork filed so that you just flip it over to them to handle.
8. I'll say it one more time, if you Google "lemon law" for your state, the first 18 things that come up will be attorneys that want to "handle," your claim. All they want is for you to cut them in on the settlement which means they get $. IMO this is the easy/lazy way out.
9. In my case, I was able to get Ford to also pay for all the aftermarket accessories that I had put on the truck after buying it.

On your point 8 - ONLY GO BY the site by your OWN state's AG or official entity. DO NOT go by Google results. I can point to two specific reasons -
For Iowa, the law had changed - the "lemonlaw.state.com/iowa" type sites were 1 to 2 years behind. They were stating things from past Iowa laws. Use the official government sites for your state. NOT attorney sites (similar reason among others - their web site may be a year or more behind!)
Only ever go by what comes out of your official state government - no other site. That will almost always be a dot GOV site. Don't accept any other site info as accurate.
Another case was disposing of junk cars. Site after site - almost a dozen of them, said that in Iowa you MUST have the title for the vehicle before it can be junked or sold for scrap. Not a single site was current except for an iowa dot gov site - we'd changed our laws - depending on value and age, title isn't necessary. I even had Iowans telling me it was.
Just showing that there's only one source to trust - your own state government site, none other.

4. - not necessarily a trick, because it may truly be fixed. Only the owner knows that for sure. Time tells, the owner's experience tells. And like everything else, there's no one blanket statement to fit that point at all. If the engine blew a rod and they replaced it - it's fixed. The odds of that next engine doing the same are nothing. When major parts are replaced, it's likely resolved. If they put in 2 camshafts on the right bank over 6 months then it's iffy....... what was the cause of the problem and is it still there? Maybe.
The one thing that can be stated for sure - once you accept that payment and endorse and deposit that check, you are indeed done.
it's not necessarily a trick - could be in good faith. and often it will be fixed. Depends on the situation.
That's absolutely why no one can tell another how it will turn out or advise legally or otherwise.
Every problem is different, every shop is different in what they try and how hard they try.
A shop may be doing the very best they can with top techs, maybe a master tech, and keeping on constant contact with Jeep - or they may be tossing stuff at the wall to see what sticks.

Every case will be different. That's why I stop with "go find YOUR state's lemon laws, read, read read. No one can really tell anyone beyond that - other than non-binding arbitration is free, easy, usually faster.
Sometimes things go fast, sometimes they don't. Face it - it's in the best interest of any car maker to drag things out and hope you cave so keep that in mind, but also consider the number of people doing this sort of stuff and how everyone is behind on everything right now. You can't rush anything.

 

[JWM PLAYS]

Again - it won't matter a bit. People shouldn't ask things like that because your STATE laws will vary, the AG may be involved, your situation is different than anyone else. It's akin to asking "what's the fix for a misfire".
It's just not going to help you at all.
Even if someone went through it in your own state, say, 3 years ago, it won't matter.
Read the current laws for your state and go from there.
You will not find anything helpful in what someone else did or how it turned out.
Judges, arbitrators, attorneys, all are individual people and that difference alone can impact outcome of a case.
There are as many variables as there are in any other part of life.



On your point 8 - ONLY GO BY the site by your OWN state's AG or official entity. DO NOT go by Google results. I can point to two specific reasons -
For Iowa, the law had changed - the "lemonlaw.state.com/iowa" type sites were 1 to 2 years behind. They were stating things from past Iowa laws. Use the official government sites for your state. NOT attorney sites (similar reason among others - their web site may be a year or more behind!)
Only ever go by what comes out of your official state government - no other site. That will almost always be a dot GOV site. Don't accept any other site info as accurate.
Another case was disposing of junk cars. Site after site - almost a dozen of them, said that in Iowa you MUST have the title for the vehicle before it can be junked or sold for scrap. Not a single site was current except for an iowa dot gov site - we'd changed our laws - depending on value and age, title isn't necessary. I even had Iowans telling me it was.
Just showing that there's only one source to trust - your own state government site, none other.

4. - not necessarily a trick, because it may truly be fixed. Only the owner knows that for sure. Time tells, the owner's experience tells. And like everything else, there's no one blanket statement to fit that point at all. If the engine blew a rod and they replaced it - it's fixed. The odds of that next engine doing the same are nothing. When major parts are replaced, it's likely resolved. If they put in 2 camshafts on the right bank over 6 months then it's iffy....... what was the cause of the problem and is it still there? Maybe.
The one thing that can be stated for sure - once you accept that payment and endorse and deposit that check, you are indeed done.
it's not necessarily a trick - could be in good faith. and often it will be fixed. Depends on the situation.
That's absolutely why no one can tell another how it will turn out or advise legally or otherwise.
Every problem is different, every shop is different in what they try and how hard they try.
A shop may be doing the very best they can with top techs, maybe a master tech, and keeping on constant contact with Jeep - or they may be tossing stuff at the wall to see what sticks.

Every case will be different. That's why I stop with "go find YOUR state's lemon laws, read, read read. No one can really tell anyone beyond that - other than non-binding arbitration is free, easy, usually faster.
Sometimes things go fast, sometimes they don't. Face it - it's in the best interest of any car maker to drag things out and hope you cave so keep that in mind, but also consider the number of people doing this sort of stuff and how everyone is behind on everything right now. You can't rush anything.

You said the most when you said read. That’s what I did and followed the guidelines of my state through to completion.In my case, they did try to cause me to waiver by saying they finally got it fixed and they would give me $3k for my troubles if I keep the truck but I refused. I didn’t ask but I’m sure that check would have come with legal documents that I would have had to sign stating that they had fixed the issue to my satisfaction and that I was waiving all rights to future claims or litigation. Since my issue was that the truck was burning 5qts of oil between oil changes, no way was I going to take their word for it and take a check. I pushed it all the way through until Ford wrote me a $42,000 check.

 

[HorneyBadger]

Ok, looks like the thread has turned into something it wasn’t meant to be. If you have personally had an experience with FCA and the lemon law, please respond or personally message me.

I’m not looking for legal advice or Google search results.

If you have had personal experience with FCA and the Lemon Law ...IN CALIFORNIA..........

 

[sharpsicle]

If you have had personal experience with FCA and the Lemon Law ...IN CALIFORNIA..........

Yes, but also, he's not looking for legal advice while talking about a law.

So, only respond if you've had experience with the Lemon Law, in California, but please don't talk about legal things, so don't talk about the lemon law?

I've got multiple lemon law experiences. I'd love to help. But I was told no, because I was asking about "legal" related things.

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