Lemon law information may not be accurate

Owners of defective vehicles need to be careful when looking for lemon law information in their state. Laws change from time to time, and you cannot necessarily trust even the most obvious sources of information.

More below.

Lemon law information may not be up to date

Most consumers never have any sort of problem with perpetually defective vehicles, as the quality of most autos in this country is quite good. When cars or trucks do turn out to be defective, the owners of those vehicles have recourse through both Federal law and the laws of their state. Each of the fifty states now has a lemon law on the books to protect consumers from problems associated with habitually defective vehicles.

What does a consumer with a problem vehicle do? The first step is usually to look for information in order to find out whether or not the problem or problems are covered by law. There are a number of places that one can go for that kind of information; this Website is one of them. While the many Websites on the Internet are a good starting point, many of them (including this one) have trouble keeping up with the many changes that take place each year in the laws of the various states.

The next obvious place to look for current information would be the Website of the state itself, or perhaps the Website of the state’s Attorney General’s office. After all, the Attorney General’s office is usually responsible for upholding and enforcing the law, so they should have accurate information, right?

Unfortunately, that is not necessarily the case. Recently, a television station in Memphis, Tennessee, discovered that the official Website of the state of Tennessee had incorrect information regarding the state’s lemon law. Not only that, but the erroneous information had been posted on the site for more than four years! Legislators made changes in the law in 2003 that made the law more favorable to consumers. Unfortunately, the people responsible for noting those changes on the state’s Website failed to do so.

This was potentially harmful to consumers, as the changes to the law reduced the number of repair attempts that were necessary for a vehicle to qualify as a lemon from four to three. It is quite possible that during the past four years, a number of people who had three, but not four, repair attempts might have been discouraged from seeking relief under the law due to the incorrect information.

It’s worth noting, by the way, that the information posted on this site has been correct all along. 

What does this mean for consumers with problem vehicles? Before taking any action regarding a potentially defective vehicle, you should check with more than one source of information in order to make sure that the information you have is both correct and current. It might be wise to consult with an attorney who specializes in vehicle law; they tend to be pretty good at keeping up with changes. You might also contact your state’s Attorney General’s office directly; a phone call can clear up a lot of misinformation in a hurry.

Having the wrong information when something goes wrong with your car can cost you thousands of dollars. Be careful to make sure that the sources you have are up to date and accurate. If you can, check with more than one source. It’s better to be safe than sorry, as having the wrong information could be expensive.