If you’re getting a car, one of the biggest fears pretty much every person has is the chance that you’ll get something that looks great right up until the moment you’ve driven it off the lot. Often seen with used cars at uncertified dealerships and buyer-to-buyer sales, you can actually find yourself with a lemon with new and certified used – though it’s very unlikely.

Knowing what to do with a lemon, what your rights are regarding recovery, and who to turn to are all vitally important things that any buyer of a car should be aware of. Here, we’ll go over what lemon laws are, what they require, as well as resources to turn to if you’ve found yourself in this predicament.

What Are Lemon Laws?

Lemon laws are laws specifically created that give a person several options and opportunities if the car they’ve purchased doesn’t meet the standard in terms of quality, performance, or safety. Lemon laws are federally and state-specific laws. As such, it’s important to understand how your state specifically handles lemons and what you can do about it.

What Is Required From A Lemon Law?

It’s important to realize that not every faulty car situation deals with lemon laws. For example, lemon laws generally don’t pertain to cars that have a warranty, as they can simply be repaired without too much cost to the owner.

To be considered part of a lemon law federally, it must include the following:

1. The car must have been worked on to resolve the issue multiple times to no avail.
2. All damages or issues were revealed within the first 2 years of purchase
3. The car must have been in repair for at least 30 days (not consecutively)

What To Do If You Have A Lemon

If you suspect that you do have a lemon, there are some important things you want to start doing to make any claims easier to verify.

• Only Go To Reputable Dealerships: If you’ve found yourself using a lemon, make sure to only take it to a reputable dealership as non-reputable locations can ultimately sour any lemon claims you offer the initial dealer.

• Record Everything: The reality is that, if you don’t suspect you’ll be able to handle this situation amicably with the dealer, you may need to take this to court. If that’s the case, you want to have as many records as possible to bolster your case. That means showing all the visits to the dealer and their lack of repairs or how long it took for those repairs to get done. It’s all important and should all be noted.

• Seek An Attorney: Lastly, you will need to look into getting an attorney. Luckily, there are lawyers that specialize in lemon laws. One viable option is the Law Office of Jacob K. Kashani. They are a California-based law firm that focuses exclusively on lemon law. Even if you aren’t in the west coast, finding an impressive firm that makes lemon laws their focus should be your number one objective.