New York Lemon Laws
New York’s lemon laws state that if the buyer or lessee of a vehicle finds a major fault in it – which the manufacturers are unable to fix even after 4 valid attempts by the vehicle manufacturer to repair it – the manufacturer is liable to repurchase or replace the faulty vehicle. This law applies to the vehicle throughout its express warranty period, and if the vehicle is still under its warranty period and meets the eligibility criteria as specified by New York’s state laws, the owner of the vehicle can claim their lemon aid and demand the manufacturers to provide them with the necessary reimbursement, in the form of a refund or replacement of the faulty vehicle through arbitration. The repurchase costs will also cover any additional costs the owner underwent while purchasing the vehicle.
New York Lemon Law Time Limit & Eligibility
To be eligible for a lemon aid in New York, an owner must first possess a vehicle that has less than 18,000 miles of use or is no older than two years starting from the date of first purchase. The vehicle must be a car or a motorcycle whose primary purpose is to transport people through New York state’s highways and roads. Also, the vehicle must only be for personal use. Commercial-use vehicles are exempt. The lemon law also covers defective wheelchairs.
Nonconforming Conditions of Lemon Law in New York
A vehicle can only be eligible for a lemon law if the problems reported have a significant effect on its value, safety, or operation. These problems must be due to errors caused by the manufacturer, themselves, and must not be due to consumer’s own abuse or negligence. Furthermore, the manufacturer must not have an established arbitration procedure set up for damaged goods. In the event that they do, then the manufacturer may refuse a lemon law hearing.
New York Lemon Law Repairs
The owner may file for a lemon aid if the manufacturer has made at least four attempts at fixing the vehicle, yet the problem still persists. The owner may also invoke the lemon law if the vehicle in question has been under repairs for a total of 30 days or more. In this case, however, the 30 days may be extended if a natural disaster affects the manufacturer’s capacity to repair or return the vehicle.
Lemon Law Compensation in New York
Upon approval, the manufacturer will need to refund the full purchase price of the vehicle and reimburse the $120 arbitration filing fee if the vehicle was bought. But if the vehicle was leased, then the consumer will no longer need to pay for excess damage and the manufacturer will need to reimburse the $75 arbitration filing fee. In this case, the manufacturer will need to reimburse the $100 arbitration filing fee.
Lemon Law Used Vehicles New York
New York’s lemon law also covers used vehicles. However eligibility period of the lemon law depends on the delivery date for the first purchase of the vehicle. Thus, a vehicle sold a few weeks before the end of the lemon law eligibility period may not be eligible for a lemon aid.
Other New York Laws