Reporting lemons

Here you are, all excited about getting your new car,
and then disaster strikes. It keeps breaking down, or
you are finding the brakes are not as efficient as
they should be, giving you that feeling of dread every
time you get in it.

What to do next? Well, naturally, you take it back to
the seller and show him the faults. Give him time to
remedy the faults but make sure that certain criteria
are followed.

If the same fault keeps re-occurring make sure that
your repair order form states exactly the same fault.
Under certain lemon laws you must prove that the fault
keeps occurring. Simply stating that brakes are faulty
may not be enough to prove a re-occurring problem.

Ask for a receipt even if there was no charge for the
repair. Many sellers will not want to do this but this
is your proof positive that your car was off the road
and out of your possession.

Take notes of mileage etc., so that you can prove you
are not using the car. This also stops the seller
using your vehicle for his own purposes - crazy but it
has been known to happen!

Many of us blindly trust that a new car will be
perfect. Unfortunately this is not always true. Make
sure to check out your state’s lemon law before you
buy if possible. This will give you great pointers
about what to look for when buying a new or used car
and the remedy, should it be necessary, to obtain
compensation.