- Eligibility: 4 unsuccessful repairs or 30 calendar days out of service or 1 unsuccessful repair of safety-related defect, within shorter of 2 years or 18,000 miles.
- Resolution Attempt: Report of each defect occurrence to manufacturer, agent or dealer. State-run arbitration mechanism available.
- Law specifically applies to leased vehicles.
Update: December 2, 2011
As notorious as the Nation’s Capitol is for all of its legislation, it’s no question that if you’ve purchased a lemon in the D.C. area, that’s something you feel like pursuing to the Supreme Court. You won’t have to take it that far thanks to certain consumer protection laws put in place to get you the solution you need.
The District of Columbia has two different types of lemon laws reserved for new vehicles as well as used vehicles. An advisor at the Attorney General’s office explained that the seller must notify the consumer of their lemon law rights when purchasing a new car, but must also take it a step further for used vehicles.
“If it’s a used car they have to give the consumer notice of that and put a notice on the windshield specifying whether it’s been inspected for defects or not,” he said.
The advisor explained how even older laws like the Automobile Consumer Protection Act of 1984 are codified into the statutes to insure proper care for the consumer.
When pursuing a lemon law claim, the advisor says it is necessary to first go through the Department of Consumer Regulatory Affairs.
“If the consumer has a problem with either a new car or a used car they’re supposed to file a complaint with the Department,” he said. “If that doesn’t come out in their favor or they’re unhappy with it then they can file a suit against the seller.”
If you should win your case, the advisor explains that it is primarily up to the seller’s preference as to how the situation gets fixed.
For more information or to begin your first step in pursuing your lemon law claim, you can contact the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs at (202) 442-4400.
