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Michigan's Lemon Law Save Email Print
Posted: 7:52 AM Aug 14, 2008
Last Updated: 9:16 PM Aug 14, 2008
Reporter: Emilie Voss
Email Address: EMILIE.VOSS@WILX.COM

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Buying or leasing a car is one of the biggest investments most of us will ever make.
And if it turns out if something is wrong with the vehicle you are actually protected under Michigan's Lemon Law.
In some circumstances, you may be able to obtain a replacement vehicle or a refund of the purchase or lease price.
But first your car has to be subjected to a reasonable number of repair attempts.
What that means is that the same defect or condition continues to exist even though the car has been subjected to repair a total of four or more times within a two year period. Or the vehicle is out of service because of repairs for a total of 30 or more days during the term of the warranty or within one year from the date of delivery to the original consumer, whichever comes first.
If your vehicle still isn't fixed after a reasonable number of repair attempts you must give the manufacturer written notice of one last opportunity to fix the problem.
If it can't be fixed they will likely offer you a replacement vehicle but you do have the right to a refund instead.
The Lemon Law does not apply to motor homes, motorcycles, buses, or off-road vehicles.


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Posted by: shelley Location: lansing on Aug 15, 2008 at 03:40 PM
I have had 2 vehicles bought back under the lemon law. One was a Buick Rendezvous the other a Lexus RX 330. I received about $2600 under the purchase price in each case and drove the vehicles an average of 18 months with 40,000 miles on each. You have to have receipts and records of everything from day one. You have to have the right lawyers and be very patient. Both cases took 6 to 10 months from the first complaint to the final repurchase. It can be done. And Susan, I think you had a lawyer that didn't have enough experience with the lemon law. The only out of pocket I paid was notary fees and mailing info. Everything else was paid out from the settlement. And if you noticed it didn't matter domestic or foreign both had issues. The Buick was $38,000 piece of junk that constantly had things breaking on it. The Lexus was a $47,000 car that wouldn't stay on the road. It had a terrible front end problem that could not be solved. I went through 3 sets of tires in 47000 miles

Posted by: C Location: LANSING on Aug 15, 2008 at 07:17 AM
why not -- didn't the President of our great country have an affair and get away with it -- so did Stabemall's husband --I guess we live in a time where anything goes!

Posted by: Dee Location: MI on Aug 14, 2008 at 10:26 PM
Ive often heard this theory.. Dont buy a vehicle if it was built on a Friday, because everyone is looking forward to the weekend, and supposedly they really dont focus on their work. Dont buy a vehicle that was manufactured on a Monday cuz everyone is hung over from the weekend. Then there was Wednesday, Hump day, everyone is focusing on the Upcoming weekend!! LOL Okay so that gives us comsumers only a few days of that week that are so called GOOD ONES ..LOLOL Tues and THURS! Okay has anyone ever done and research to see what day of the week the vehicle you are looking to purchase was made on?? The only thing Ive noticed is Where it was Made.

Posted by: Tara Location: Charlotte on Aug 14, 2008 at 11:26 AM
The lemon law has a time limit and other limitations that didn't make it applicable to my situation. A new diesel pickup we purchased had 8-10 different mechanical failures w/ out of pocket cost of over $8000. Only two were covered by the manufacturers warranty.

Posted by: Susan on Aug 14, 2008 at 10:03 AM
What a joke! Good Luck getting help. We bought a $45,000 diesel(US Made) new pickup, that had a steering box/gear problem. We were in 2 accidents with it, and the truck's steering even locked up on the tech while he was test driving it!! No help. Then, our brakes and our steering went out at the same time!!!! What a great idea..put the steering and brakes on the same system...Duh! We sent 92 pages of "things fixed" on this vehicle from the dealer...(including 2 accidents-in the shop for 6 months) ...We hired a lawyer, who told us it would cost us $25,000 for this case. We called the National Highway Administration to help get this truck recalled, but no help. The manufacturer was no help, but did admit to a faulty part. They said sometimes that happens. Please tell me one person who has had a vehicle replaced through this law. Next time, I'm buying a foreign vehicle. Do they really wonder why their auto sales are so bad? They're Fired! Sad.

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