Update: December 2, 2011
You didn’t plan on taking your vehicle out to the Charlotte Motor Speedway, but you never anticipated not even being able to make the work commute on Highway 16 because of continuous car trouble. If you have purchased a lemon, the stress and repair bills accompanying the situation are worth pursuing a lemon law case in North Carolina.
Jessica, an advisor at the Attorney General’s office clarified the requirements needed for the state to qualify your car as a lemon, one of them being that the law is only applicable to new vehicles.
“We don’t have a used car lemon law in North Carolina,” she said. “So that being the case, it has to be within the first 24 months, or 24,000 miles whichever occurs first. At that point the vehicle has one of two things going on.
Either it’s presented a serious defect 4 or more times and the dealership has been unable to repair it, or the vehicle has been in the shop over 20 business days within a 12 month period of time for any number of mechanical defects.”Jessica explained that motorcycles are covered under North Carolina’s lemon law, but recreational vehicles like ATVs and scooters, as well as oversized trucks like RVs that violate the weight limit are not applicable.
On discussing how to follow a case, Jessica said that pursuing a claim on your own is possible but the verdict is contingent upon the elements within the situation.
“Sometimes people opt to come through our office and go through our mediation service that we provide,” she said. “I have seen vehicles purchased back or the consumer opts to be switched into an equally valued vehicle without the problems. If we are unable through mediation to get them a satisfactory result then at that point I do say it might be best to contact and consult with a lemon law attorney.”
There are benefits to the consumer should they win the claim. Jessica said that in addition to potential reimbursement of attorney fees, the consumer will have the option of either being switched into an equally valued vehicle or having the vehicle purchased back.
To find out more information on your vehicle or the state’s lemon laws, contact North Carolina’s Attorney General’s office at (919)716-6000.
