Arizona Lemon Law for Vehicles

Leaving a dealer in a new car is one of the most exiting purchase you can ever make. No matter how often you buy a new car, that first drive is always special, and you want to enjoy a wonderful car that is reliable and everything it is supped to be. While for most people that is the case, there are a few cars out there that are anything but reliable. Often referred to as the Friday afternoon cars, they can cause endless problems that never seem to be fixed. A typical vehicle buyer does not think of the Arizona Lemon Law before they shop.

These kinds of vehicles are few in number, but if you are unlucky and get one, knowing it is a rare thing is no help. So, what can you do if your new vehicle is always at the shop or has an ongoing issue? The answer is the Lemon Law in Arizona, legislation designed to protect consumers from problem vehicles of this kind. AZ Lemon Law is largely aimed at new vehicles, but it can be applied to used vehicles too. In both cases, the Lemon Law in Arizona covers cars, SUVs, vans and trucks, along with the chassis, chassis cab and drivetrain of a motor home, but not the portions used as living space. In addition, vehicles bought at public auction, and those over 10,000 pounds in weight are also exempt from the Arizona lemon law. Under this statute, those who find themselves with a lemon vehicle in Arizona can obtain either a replacement vehicle or a full refund on their purchase, along with any outstanding additional costs they have incurred.

That sounds great of course, but as with most legal situations, to benefit from the Lemon Law in Arizona you need to understand what it covers, how it works and when to file. We want to make sure that you don’t make any frustrating or expensive mistakes, and so here is our guide to the lemon law in Arizona.

Knowing what qualifies as a lemon vehicle in Arizona

As expensive purchases, we expect a vehicle to work as intended as soon as we drive it away from the dealer, but they are also complex machines, and sometimes there may be problems. However, if the lemon law in Arizona applied to every vehicle that developed any kind of issue, dealers and manufacturers would be bankrupt pretty quickly, so there are some qualifying requirements before the Arizona lemon law applies.

If you do have a problem with your vehicle, it should be dealt with quickly by the dealer, and you should expect any problem to be dealt with in a couple of visits, but to qualify under the AZ lemon law, your vehicle and situation should meet some specific requirements.

Qualifying as a lemon car in Arizona

To qualify as a lemon vehicle in Arizona, your vehicle should meet at least one of the following criteria within two years or 24,000 miles, whichever is sooner for new cars, or fifteen days and five hundred miles for used car purchases:

• The vehicle has had four or mor attempted repairs on a single issue that has still not been resolved.
• The vehicle is out of use for repair for a cumulative total of 30 days or more

To maintain qualification for the Arizona lemon law, the vehicle must be within warranty and follow all manufacturer recommended service schedules. This also means that you must ensure that only the manufacturer or their agent or authorized dealer attempt repairs to the vehicle. If you take the vehicle to a third-party organization, you will void the warranty and be unable to file a claim.

For used cars, owners are required to pay up to $25 for the first two repairs that are required, and due to the much smaller timeframe, is actually a more difficult process to  follow for a successful claim.

Keeping Records

One of the important aspects of making an AZ lemon law claim is that it is not enough to simply explain what has taken place with the vehicle, you must prove it. As such, if you do have any issues with a vehicle purchase, keep records from the very beginning.

• Keep a record of the dates of phone calls, who you spoke to and the contents of the discussion.
• Make notes on the service records identifying repeated repair work
• Keep all written correspondence between yourself, the dealer or manufacturer

Maintain Recommended Servicing

A key aspect of the process that it is easy to make a mistake with is servicing and warranty requirements. If the vehicle is in and out of the shop and you can’t rely on it anyway, it is tempting to ignore the service schedule and just not bother. However, this would void the warranty and prevent a claim, so as with only using authorized service and repair agents, make sure that the vehicle is serviced as per manufacturers recommendations.

Remedies for Arizona Lemon law

The legislation lays out the remedies that consumers may be entitled to on a successful claim under the lemon law in Arizona, this includes:

• A replacement vehicle of equal value
• A full refund on the purchase price of the vehicle

This applies to both new and used vehicles under the Arizona Lemon Law, but it is important to remember that for used vehicles, it is just the cost of the initial purchase that can be reimbursed, not any repair costs incurred during ownership.

Filing a claim on the Lemon Law in Arizona

There are two options when filing a claim for a lemon vehicle in Arizona. You can hire a lawyer or file yourself. However, while filing yourself is an option, you really should find an experienced, AZ lemon law lawyer to take on your claim.

There are several reasons for this. The manufacturer will contest your claim using their own extensive legal team, who will be looking for any mistakes you make to have the claim dismissed. The lemon law in Arizona can be complex to put forward, with extensive documentation and proof required to be submitted accurately, and finally, if you win, your legal costs are covered by the manufacturer making it a sensible option.

Proving you have a lemon vehicle in Arizona, taking the right approach and dealing with an aggressive legal team is not for the inexperienced. Finding an Arizona lemon law specialist will help you have the best chance in dealing with a lemon vehicle in Arizona.