Filing a Lemon Law Claim on Vehicle

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CULater
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Filing a Lemon Law Claim on Vehicle

Post by CULater »

I'm thinking about filing a Lemon Law claim against Honda for my 2017 CRV. I'm wondering if I can do this myself or should hire an attorney up front. Would appreciate input from anyone who has pursued a lemon law claim on their vehicle and advice as to how I should proceed. If it is advisable to use an attorney, how can one be found with a track record in lemon law claims?
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researcher
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Re: Filing a Lemon Law Claim on Vehicle

Post by researcher »

CULater wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 11:11 am I'm thinking about filing a Lemon Law claim against Honda for my 2017 CRV. I'm wondering if I can do this myself or should hire an attorney up front. Would appreciate input from anyone who has pursued a lemon law claim on their vehicle and advice as to how I should proceed. If it is advisable to use an attorney, how can one be found with a track record in lemon law claims?
Why not just trade the car in on something different, like you planned to do months ago?

The weeks/months of time spent pursuing a lemon law claim, along with attorney's fees, will likely outweigh the amount you'll lose on trade-in.
Jack FFR1846
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Re: Filing a Lemon Law Claim on Vehicle

Post by Jack FFR1846 »

Every state is different. Have you read your state's lemon law? Does your car meet the criteria? Do you have to first go through arbitration? For what would you use the lawyer? How much would you sue for? At $400 an hour, it might make sense for maybe a Lamborghini Aventador, but for a Honda?
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UpperNwGuy
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Re: Filing a Lemon Law Claim on Vehicle

Post by UpperNwGuy »

I think you should sell the car immediately and put this cause of stress behind you. It's clearly eating at you in an unhealthy way.
Rupert
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Re: Filing a Lemon Law Claim on Vehicle

Post by Rupert »

Lemon laws do vary by state, but under many of them, the auto manufacturer is responsible for the plaintiff's attorneys fees.

OP, I would check out your state's law first to make sure your claim even fits within your state's lemon law. In my state, for example, there are three criteria for filing a lemon-law claim: The auto (1) is 2 years old or less (or has 24,000 miles or less); (2) has had 3 attempts or more to repair the issue by the manufacturer, a manufacturer's agent or an authorized dealer for the same defect; AND (3) has been out of service for at least 30 days and in the possession of the manufacturer, a manufacturer's agent, or an authorized dealer. Your car doesn't qualify as a lemon in my state.

This site is helpful in determining what your state's law is: https://www.dmv.org/automotive-law/lemon-law.php

As for why OP hasn't just sold the car, there was a thread recently where about half of all Bogleheads chimed in and told him he was unethical for even considering that option. So . . .
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CULater
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Re: Filing a Lemon Law Claim on Vehicle

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Jack FFR1846 wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 12:19 pm Every state is different. Have you read your state's lemon law? Does your car meet the criteria? Do you have to first go through arbitration? For what would you use the lawyer? How much would you sue for? At $400 an hour, it might make sense for maybe a Lamborghini Aventador, but for a Honda?
Yeh, that's what I was thinking too. It looks like I can send a notification to the dealer that states the criteria (three times tried and no fix), stating my desired remedy (buy back the vehicle). They have one more opportunity to fix and then I can go to arbitration or small claims court if they don't fix and fail to comply. I'm figuring they mostly will blow you off unless you have an attorney. You have to win the claim in order for your attorney costs to be paid. Seems iffy. Wondering what the odds of prevailing are for this oil-dilution issue.

I'm thinking about this as preparation for the so-called "fix" they say they will be coming up with that probably won't solve anything. After that shoe drops, I'd like to be able to take some action against them.
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BolderBoy
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Re: Filing a Lemon Law Claim on Vehicle

Post by BolderBoy »

CULater wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 12:32 pm I'm figuring they mostly will blow you off unless you have an attorney.
If they "blow you off" over a legitimate, lemon-law qualifying issue, they'd risk getting "bad faith" added to Complaint if you finally do have to get a lawyer. Juries love to stick it to companies that act in "bad faith". Just ask State Farm...

Many states have a specific outline of how to pursue a lemon-law case.

IANAL.
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thelimocat
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Re: Filing a Lemon Law Claim on Vehicle

Post by thelimocat »

Here is an example of Texas Lemon Law requirements,
"How do I know if my vehicle is a lemon?
A motor vehicle may be declared a lemon if it meets all of the following conditions:

The vehicle has a serious defect or abnormal condition.
The defect or condition is covered by a manufacturer’s written warranty.
The owner reports the defect or condition to the dealer or manufacturer within the warranty term.
The owner gives the dealer or manufacturer a reasonable number of attempts to repair the defect or condition.
The owner gives the manufacturer (preferably by certified mail) written notice of the defect and at least one opportunity for repair.
The defect or condition persists and substantially impairs the vehicle’s use or market value, or creates a serious safety hazard.
The owner files a timely Lemon Law complaint and pays the filing fee.'

So this board is not going to solve your problem. file, sell it, trade it or just live with it. I really don't think you like the car. Not trying to be nasty but this has gone on for quite a while now. Also per one of the talking heads on the car radio, a BBB complaint may get more action than the others.
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Re: Filing a Lemon Law Claim on Vehicle

Post by Jack FFR1846 »

CULater, if it were me, I'd just keep driving the car. Service it when the minder comes on. If the engine seizes from gasoline lubricated main bearings, that's on them and at that point, they would have to fix it under warranty as you have plenty of documentation from the dealer saying there isn't a problem. If you're anywhere near end of the powertrain warranty, buy a Honda extended one.
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