The Missouri New Vehicles Warranty Law is a statute that was written to help enforce auto manufacturer’s written warranties that must, by law, be provided with the purchase of any new vehicle. Most new vehicles sold for passenger use, such as cars, vans and light trucks, are covered, although there are some exceptions. Mopeds, motorcycles, vehicles designed for off road use and the living quarters of motor homes are not covered.

In order to qualify as a lemon, a vehicle must meet the following requirements:

• It must have a defect which adversely affects the safety, use or value of the vehicle. This defect must occur during the manufacturer’s warranty period or up to one year after purchase, whichever is earlier. A defect does not qualify if it was due to abuse, neglect or unauthorized modifications to the vehicle, or if the complaint by the owner was not filed “in good faith.”
• The defect must still exist after the manufacturer has had a “reasonable” number of attempts to repair the problem. The state defines “reasonable” as four or more attempts to fix the problem.
• A vehicle will also qualify if it has been out of service for 30 or more business days due to repairs.

Should a vehicle qualify as a lemon, the manufacturer has the option of offering the owner a comparable replacement vehicle or a refund of the purchase price. The replacement vehicle must be acceptable to the vehicle owner. A refund may be adjusted to compensate for prior use and miles driven, although the law does not specify how that compensation should be derived. This strikes us as a rather weak point, as the compensation portions of lemon laws vary dramatically from state to state. The differences in how these things are calculated could amount to thousands of dollars.

Should the manufacturer refuse to offer a refund or replacement, the owner may apply for relief through the manufacturer’s arbitration program, should they provide one. Most manufacturers do provide arbitration programs in most states. As such, the vehicle owner would have to submit to arbitration as the next step.

Should the manufacturer prevail in the arbitration hearing, the owner reserves the right to file a lawsuit. While you generally do not need legal representation in an arbitration hearing, an experienced lemon law lawyer will be useful should the case go to trial in the form of a lawsuit.

The Attorney General’s Office is prohibited by law from acting as your attorney in such cases. You must either pursue the case yourself or hire a lemon law attorney to act on your behalf.

Missouri also offers protection for fraudulent auto repair and on sales of some used cars (BEWARE! Missouri does allow sales of used cars on an “as-is” basis!).

All in all, Missouri’s defective vehicle statute is a pretty weak one, particularly in that it allows the manufacturer to choose the form of relief compensation. Choose your purchase carefully.

Further information on the Missouri lemon law is available from the Website of the State of Missouri.

If you are having difficulties with your car, SUV or van, you may find that you need the aid of an experienced lawyer. LegalMatch can help find an experienced attorney to help you where you live. Confidentiality is assured, all legal representatives are licensed, and the service is free.