Lemon Law car buyback for the dealer?

[stockae92]

Anybody experienced / exercised lemon law for car buy back from the dealer which they failed to resolved an issue from new car? How do you proceed? Do you need to get one of those lemon law lawyer insolved?

[m j b]

Lemon laws vary from state to state. Be careful of advice off of the Internet.

Lemon law buybacks are from the manufacturer, not the dealer.

You do not need a lawyer.

I've done it with BMW. I'm in NC. Here, if I sue the manufacturer under the law and I lose, I am responsible for their attorney fees. For that reason, I was able to negotiate a buyback (not lemon) if I bought another car, which worked out OK for me.

[saturdayAMswingers]

I did it in California with BMW. It was pleasantly straightforward. Documented the service issues, attempted remedies, and IIRC there was a percentage of “out of service” where I contacted their legal department and they handled it from there.

Met their representative at a notary, signed various paperwork, handed him the keys and took an Uber home.

[stockae92]

Thanks. I am in California. Seems like in case it comes down to this, I will have to contact the manufacturer with evidence of unresolved issue.

[saturdayAMswingers]

Feel free to PM for contact info of the people I dealt with. Mind you this was 2018

[Carguy87]

Can try to help; what brand? You can PM me too if you’d prefer.

[ltmgeller]

I've used this firm in the past and they did right by me. https://www.lemonlaw.com/

[Boopie]

Yes, in California, with Porsche, without a lawyer.

[prnceofpersia23]

I had a lemon with Mercedes. Brand new and in the shop immediately after purchase.

Did not have a lawyer. Went to Mercedes corporate directly and also dealt with the GM of the dealership. After about 6 weeks and no resolution, I struck a deal with them to trade me into another car on the lot. This was in the middle of COVID when supply was low, but they significantly discounted the new one.

[stockae92]

thanks for the info everyone

[samson66]

Wow German cars not looking too good. BMW, Porsche, Mercedes...

[m j b]

Originally Posted by samson66

Wow German cars not looking too good. BMW, Porsche, Mercedes...

They're good cars, but when they go wrong, they really go wrong.

More likely though is the people that buy them have high expectations (especially considering what they pay for them) and are more likely to pursue satisfaction than your typical Camry buyer.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by m j b

Lemon laws vary from state to state. Be careful of advice off of the Internet.

Lemon law buybacks are from the manufacturer, not the dealer.

You do not need a lawyer.

I've done it with BMW. I'm in NC. Here, if I sue the manufacturer under the law and I lose, I am responsible for their attorney fees. For that reason, I was able to negotiate a buyback (not lemon) if I bought another car, which worked out OK for me.

Interesting to know

[Carguy87]

10 years in automotive retail I can tell you negotiating a buy back is always more favorable than threatening the manufacturer with a lawsuit. If there are real problems with the vehicle between a good dealer contacting their factory reps and a halfway decent human being in the resolutions department I’ve personally never seen a buy back turned away and told to go file suit instead.

[fozzyf18]

Originally Posted by Carguy87

10 years in automotive retail I can tell you negotiating a buy back is always more favorable than threatening the manufacturer with a lawsuit. If there are real problems with the vehicle between a good dealer contacting their factory reps and a halfway decent human being in the resolutions department I’ve personally never seen a buy back turned away and told to go file suit instead.

Excellent advice. I bought my first car 30 years ago and that purchase was a mistake. This particular experience was so bad that I will never go to Hackensack, NJ ever again. I will drive 60 miles out of the way to ensure that town doesn't get another dollar from me. My mistake completely, but I digress.

I expressed my displeasure with the transaction and the fact that this vehicle could not pass Maryland inspection with the salesperson that sold me this particular vehicle and his manager. When I didn't receive what I deemed to be a satisfactory response, I threatened legal action and they all shut down and passed me off to their legal department. Any hope of reasonable conversation, negotiation, or restitution ended right then and there.

Certainly not the same situation of a lemon law or attempting resolution with a reasonable manufacturer (in this case it was a dealer which is different), but I'm simply relaying my experience with threatening legal action against any entity. I will never threaten legal action again unless I'm willing to throw down and go the distance.

[dkg1616]

Currently dealing with this with an Infiniti….its not going well