Legal Specs

Used Vehicles in PA - Is it a Lemon?

25 Mar 2008

I receive several phone calls at my law office each day inquiring about the Pennsylvania Lemon Law and Used Vehicles. I begin by telling each prospective client that the PA Lemon Law does not cover used vehicles at this time.

Fortunately, that doesn't mean that you don't have a case. If you have purchased a “used” vehicle that still had some of the original manufacturer's warranty on it at the time of it's purchase, and a defect arose while under that warranty, you may be able to bring a Lemon Law type claim. There is a federal law called the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act that covers used cars that have a written warranty on them. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act protects consumers who purchase any product that costs over $25 and comes with a written warranty, so a used car would be covered by this law.

The benefits of this law are many. Like the PA Lemon Law, the Magnuson Moss Act provides for a full refund or free replacement of the defective product if it cannot be repaired properly after a reasonable number of attempts. Typically, the number of repair attempts must be three times for the same defect. The Act further provides for recovery of all associated costs of the claim including recovery of reasonable Attorney fees. The Magnuson-Moss Act is an act that was designed to ensure that manufacturers (of any product) who offer a written warranty on that product abide by and honor the terms of any warranty that they give. A purchaser of a used motor vehicle is a prime candidate to use this law in the event that he purchases a used “lemon”, because the original manufacturer's warranty transfers to all subsequent owners of the vehicle until it expires based upon mileage or a given length of time.
In practice, Lemon Law Attorneys have used this Act very successfully in Pennsylvania to protect purchasers of defective “used” motor vehicles. If your used vehicle has suffered a defect while still under the original manufacturer's warranty, you may be entitled to a full refund or free replacement utilizing this law.

Another law that may assist purchasers of Used Vehicles in PA is the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law. This law was designed to help consumers who have not received “what they paid for”. Our office uses this law quite frequently to pursue used vehicle claims where the consumer purchases a vehicle from a dealer, the vehicle suffers major problems shortly after purchase, and the dealer fails to remedy the situation. The great thing about the Unfair Trade Practices Act is that it also provides for recovery of reasonable attorney fees.

Either of the above laws provide great protections to individuals who have purchased defective used vehicles in Pennsylvania.

Greg Artim is a Consumer Attorney based in Pittsburgh, PA. Visit his website at www.IHateThisLemon.com. For lemon law information in other states, please visit www.50stateslemonlaw.com