Tennessee Lemon Laws
Under Tennessee’s “Lemon Law,” all defects to a new vehicle covered under a warranty shall be corrected by the manufacturer or its authorized dealer at no charge to the consumer. This includes RVs, trucks, cars, motorcycles, and boats.
Sometimes, however, the motor vehicle is simply a lemon and no matter how much work is done, it never works quite right. In this situation, a Tennessee consumer may be entitled to a replacement or a full refund provided certain requirements are met.
First, the motor vehicle has to be a lemon. A car is a lemon in Tennessee jurisprudence when it is “substantially impaired” by a defect. This means that the defect in the vehicle renders it unreliable or unsafe for normal operation, or the defect reduces the vehicle’s resale market value below the average resale value for a comparable motor vehicle.
Next, the consumer must report the defective product and its problem to the manufacturer or the authorized dealer and give them a reasonable amount of time or number of attempts to correct the defect. A reasonable number of attempts is no more than four, and a reasonable amount of time is no more than a cumulative total of 30 days.
As stated, if the vehicle is a lemon, then the consumer is entitled to a replacement or a refund. Sometimes, the manufacturer will dispute the claim on allegation that 1) the nonconformity does not substantially impair the motor vehicle or 2) that the nonconformity is the result of abuse, neglect or unauthorized modifications of the motor vehicle by the consumer.
In the event that the settlement procedure does not render a satisfactory result or there is no provision for a settlement procedure, the consumer may bring his or her dispute before a court. In fact, the Tennessee Legislature has encouraged such practice by allowing the attorney to collect his or her attorney’s fees upon success of the suit and/or permitting suit under the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, which under certain circumstances, allows the consumer to triple its damages award.
Under the Tennessee Lemon Law you don’t have to settle for a clunker. If you’ve paid good money, sought repairs and the vehicle still doesn’t work right, call the top products liability attorneys in Knoxville at Baker Associates. Call 866-853-2888 today for a free consultation.
