Kansas Lemon Law for Vehicles

There are a few purchases we make in life that really make you stop and think. These are generally because they represent a big investment. Your home and your vehicle are usually the two biggest purchases you will make, so it makes sense to choose carefully. When buying a car, you probably spend a long time looking at manufacturer websites, checking specifications, reviews and so on. Once you have settles on a make and model,  you probably spend a few hours looking at the color options and other options to get an idea of the perfect vehicle you want. But what happens if after all; that, you end up with a new vehicle that doesn’t live up to expectations?

Vehicles today are incredibly reliable, and it is rare, but sometimes a car comes off the production line that never seems to work right. It may have a serious issue that renders it unusable, or it could be a lot of faults that keep returning, making the vehicle to unreliable to be your primary transport. These vehicles are often referred to as a ‘Friday car’, but no matter how low the chances, what happens if your new vehicle is one?

The answer is from a piece of legislation that many people are unaware of, and its known as the Kansas lemon law. Designed to protect consumers in situations where they purchase or lease a new vehicle that turns out to be infit for purpose, it covers all vehicles purchased or leased and registered in Kansas that weigh less than 12,000ils and are covered by a manufacturers warranty. The lemon law in Kansas does not cover off-road vehicles, commercial vehicles, motorcycles and mopeds. In addition, only the chassis and motor of a motorhome or RV are covered, the living quarters are excluded from this legislation.

However, as with any legislation, ensuring that you take advantage of that protection if you should need it means understanding the limitations, what is covered and how to make a claim. Getting this wrong can be an expensive mistake, and so we have created a guide to ensure you have everything you need.

What qualifies for the Kansas lemon law?

The first thing to understand about the Kansas lemon law is that there is a level of fault that a vehicle must pass before it can be called a lemon car. This makes sense, if every minor problem could be claimed under this law with consumers awarded a new vehicle or full refund, there wouldn’t be any dealers or manufacturers left to us to buy vehicles from. As with legislation in other states, the lemon law in Kansas strikes a balance between consumer protection and the need to support business. To accomplish that, there are certain thresholds that a vehicle needs to pass before the Kansas lemon law applies.

However, before we look at those thresholds, it is important to remember that you should have high expectations for a new vehicle whether you purchase or lease it, and even with minor faults, dealerships should be making the effort to get things fixed for you quickly, minimizing your inconvenience.

The requirements needed for a vehicle to be a Kansas lemon car

To fall under the lemon law in Kansas, within one year of lease or purchase, one or more of the following must apply:

• At least four attempts were made to repair on specific defect by the dealer or manufacturer
• At least 10 attempts were made to fix several different defects by the dealer or manufacturer
• The vehicle has been out of service for at least 30 non-consecutive days

It is important to remember that in addition to these requirements, you also need to maintain the manufacturers warranty throughout ownership, even when making a claim for a lemon car in Kansas. This means complying with all warranty terms, which usually restricts any repair work to approved dealerships only. It is also important to maintain the approved service schedule too, even if your vehicle is the subject of a claim, if it has reached a service milestone, go ahead and have the work done, it will strengthen your claim later on.

Proving that your vehicle is a Kansas lemon car

It is not enough that your vehicle fulfills one of those conditions to be considered under the Kansas lemon law, you must be able to prove that those conditions are fulfilled. Because this is a legal process, the need to provide adequate proof of everything you say is not a surprise, however there can be an issue. No one buys a vehicle expecting a lemon, and if you do have a problem, you will likely take the vehicle in for work in good faith too, expecting it be fixed without further problems. It is only once the repair fails several times that you even begin to consider the lemon law.

This is why when buying or leasing a vehicle, from day one you should keep records of everything, just in case you later need to prove the events. In practice, this means documenting everything, including:

• All phone calls regarding the vehicle. This should include dates, name of the person youtalked to and what the call was about, any promises made.
• All written correspondence, including service bills, repair confirmations and so on.
• Make sure that your dealer includes any conversations in their service notes regardingongoing issues.

If you have all this for your vehicle, if it does get as far as a Kansas lemon law claim, you have everything you need to provide your vehicle is indeed a lemon car in Kansas.

Remedies from the Kansas lemon law

As part of the legislation the lemon law in Kansas lays out the remedies available to consumers who make a successful claim, these are:

• The manufacturer shall accept the return of the vehicle and refund the amounts paid for thepurchase or lease including collateral and reasonably incurred incidental charges, less anoffset for the consumer’s use of the vehicle
• Provide a replacement vehicle of comparable value, including any collateral and incidentalcharges less a reasonable offset for the consumer’s use of the vehicle.

Filing a Claim under the Kansas lemon law

Manufacturers always defend lemon vehicle claims, and as such it is important to have experienced legal representation during any hearings. A qualified attorney who is used to dealing with Kansas lemon law claims offers the best chance of success, and in Kansas this is even easier to do.

Under the lemon law in Kansas, the manufacturer is responsible for your legal costs, so there is no risk to having professional representation. Your attorney will be able to help you with every aspect of the case, ensuring that the paperwork and other complexities are taken care of for you and providing a stress-free approach to claiming under the lemon law in Kansas.