- Eligibility: 4 unsuccessful repairs, 30 calendar days out of service or 1 unsuccessful repair of braking or steering system within shorter of 15 months or 15,000 miles.
- Resolution Attempt: Certified mail notice, return receipt requested + opportunity to repair within 30 calendar days of receipt of notice to manufacturer or factory branch. Law specifically applies to leased vehicles.
Update: December 2, 2011
Whether you’re en route to Ocean City for some weekend recreational activities or simply heading to Captain James Landing for a beer and blue crab dinner, you’re out of luck if you have no car to get you there. If you have purchased a car that has spent more time in the repair shop than transporting you, it may be time to examine your rights as a consumer and what you can do.
An advisor at the Department of Consumer Protection defined the basic characteristics that a car must have before it can be under consideration as a possible lemon.
“The vehicle has to be registered in Maryland,” she said. “It has to have been driven less than 18,000 miles and it must have been owned less than 24 months.”
She added that used and leased vehicles, as well as motorcycles are covered within those parameters, however commercial vehicles remain exempt. The advisor said that there are a few options available to consumers when deciding what steps to take in your lemon law process.
“They can pursue it on their own,” she clarified. “They can pursue it by mediation through our office, the Consumer Protection Division, or they can try and file a lawsuit.”
She explained the out typical outcome of cases that go through the Department of Consumer Protection.
“We keep the manufacturer involved so that the manufacturer can be working to make the changes not just the dealership,” she said. “Generally we find that it’s usually the manufacturer that either fixes the car or works with the dealership to get it replaced.”
Considering that many of the benefits of winning a lemon law case follow a case-by-case basis, it is definitely something worth checking out if you feel like you have a solid claim.
To get more information, you can log on to the Attorney General’s website at http://www.oag.state.md.us/index.htm or call the Department of Consumer Protection at (410) 576-6550.
