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New Jersey Lemon Law: New and Used New Jersey Lemon Law Lawyer, Tinton Falls New Jersey
New Jersey Lemon Law Lawyer and Consumer Lawyer
The New Jersey Lemon Law provides many options for aggrieved consumers. There is a new car lemon law and there is a used car Lemon Law. Both the new car Lemon Law and used car Lemon Law protect consumers to purchase lemons. Most vehicles are covered. If you buy a vehicle from the dealer and was never previously titled war it was only used as a demo you can make a lemon law claim car. A good New Jersey Lemon Law lawyer is helpful here. My office is in Tinton Falls New Jersey.
The New Jersey used car lemon law is somewhat more complicated. It only applies to vehicles that are less than a 8 model years old and contain less than 100,000 miles at the time of purchase.Under the New Jersey used car lemon law the also restrictions on when the dealer must receive certain types of notice from the aggrieved consumers.If your car is a lemon the impact on your life is significant: how will you get to work, shuttle the kids around or leave the house? Mass transit is not an option. You need to take advantage of the New Jersey Lemon Law and fight back and force the manufacturer to repurchase your car. If the use, value or safety of your car has been substantially affected or impaired you can have your car repurchased with attorney fees and the cost reimbursed. You can also get your money back if the dealer has taken too long to fix the car. Yes, that is correct: even if the dealer fixes the car, but it takes too long, you can get your money back.
New Jersey has some of the strongest consumer laws in the country to protect you if your car is defective or is in the shop too long. You have a way to fight back and protect your family. Take advantage. The New Jersey Lemon Law is a very powerful tool for consumers who believe they have been aggrieved as a result of the condition of their vehicles substantially affecting the use, value and safety of that automobile.
The New Jersey Lemon Law has certain threshold requirements. These threshold requirements for the New Jersey Lemon Law are different depending on whether you choose to proceed to Superior Court or to the Administrative Court. The difference between these two courts for New Jersey Lemon Law is that in the Administrative Court you do not receive a jury, but rather a judge alone determines whether or not your vehicle is a lemon under New Jersey Lemon Law. In the Superior Court system, a jury could potentially determine whether or not your alleged lemon is a lemon under the New Jersey Lemon Law.
There are significant time differences between proceeding in Administrative Court for lemon law claim and in Super Court for lemon law claim. In the administrative context, the hearing usually occurs in 30 to 90 days from the filing of the claim. A judge will then hear your case, hear the manufacturer’s case, and make a decision within 30 days unless there are any supplements to the record. In the context of a lemon law claim filed in Superior Court, it takes significantly longer. It is also more expensive. It is $250 to file a lemon law complaint in Superior Court and it takes approximate a year to a year-and-a-half until you have the opportunity to get to a judge or jury. A jury then will determine whether or not your vehicle is a lemon under the New Jersey Lemon Law.
In proceeding with a lemon law claim under the New Jersey Lemon Law, you should be mindful that it is your burden to demonstrate that the vehicle’s use, value and safety have been substantially impaired. If the manufacturer is unable to repair the vehicle in three attempts and a certified letter was sent to the manufacturer, then it is presumed that the vehicle is a lemon and it is the obligation of the manufacturer to rebut this presumption. Even if the manufacturer fixes your vehicle under the demand letter for the New Jersey Lemon Law, if they take too long, you are entitled to a verdict determining that your vehicle is a lemon under New Jersey Lemon Law. The manufacturer is obligated to repair all warranted issues within a reasonable time period. If they do not remedy the defects within a reasonable time, you are entitled to remedies under the New Jersey Lemon Law.
If the manufacturer is required to repurchase the vehicle under the New Jersey Lemon Law, they would be entitled to a mileage credit from the first repair attempt for the alleged defect. This must be done within a certain amount of time and the title must be branded as a lemon under the New Jersey Lemon Law.
There are certain misconceptions that consumers have about the New Jersey law. The lemon Law unit and the New Jersey statutes state that if a vehicle is out of service 3 more times for the same problem or out of service 20 days the vehicle is PRESUMED a lemon. If a vehicle is out of service for 20 days or has been repaired for 3 or more times for the same or substantially similar problem, there is a presumption that the vehicle is a lemon. This means that in a court of law it is the obligation of the defendant, the manufacturer, to prove that the vehicle is not a lemon. Most people think that the vehicle should automatically be repurchased if these requirements are met. This is not the case under the New Jersey Lemon Law. By way of example: You take your vehicle in for repairs for a broken taillight. The taillight is fixed in 21 days. Under New Jersey lemon Law this vehicle is presumed a lemon. However, this does not mean that you automatically have your vehicle repurchase.
This means that the burden of proof has changed to the manufacturer having to prove that the vehicle is not a lemon. After this would occur the manufacturer would bring in an expert witness, engineers or other individuals to explain how the vehicle was working perfectly fine. They are stating the car is not a lemon. They are trying to prove the car is not a lemon.
The manufacturer is permitted to make this argument before a jury. The law does not provide that the manufacture must repurchase the vehicle automatically. The law sets a framework and burdens of proof and burdens of persuasion for a courtroom. Many people interpret the law and of the regulations to mean that they automatically get a vehicle repurchase. This is not the case.
The lemon Law claims can be litigated either in the Administrative Courts or Superior Court. This was addressed above however in Administrative Court there were other various requirements including, but not limited to sending a certified letter with appropriate language to the manufacture giving them an opportunity to fixed the problem. In Superior Court this certified letter is not required. You must only demonstrate that the use/value/safety of the vehicle has been substantially impaired. This is what makes a vehicle a lemon. The number repairs are almost irrelevant impracticality. You must prove that the use/value/safety of the vehicle have been impaired and the vehicle will be repurchased by the manufacturer.
Even with all these technicalities the New Jersey law and was one of the best Lemon Law in the entire country. It pays for costs and attorney’s fees for successful litigants. It encourages competent counsel to take these cases and litigate them on behalf of consumers what been damaged until the end of the road/settlement/jury verdict.
REFUNDS FOR NEW JERSEY LEMON LAW
The New Jersey law has a set formula for a refund. When a lemon Law cases tried the jury determines that the vehicle was a lemon. If the vehicle is a lemon, then there is a statutory formula to determine the amount of the refund. The statutory formula takes into account the purchase price, the number of miles on the vehicle to determine the refund. The mileage credit is determined from the first time the vehicle was taken in for repairs to an authorized dealer. The law does not provide for free use of the vehicle. The law provides for appropriate credits to the manufacturer when a vehicle is repurchased.
Total Purchase Price x Mileage at First Repair Attempt divided by 100,000= Use Deduction
The law has provided this formula. The judge will apply this formula based on the facts presented at the time of trial. The court will enter a verdict in this amount, taking into consideration the amount of the use deduction for the manufacturer. A successful lemon Law claimant can obtain recovery of other miscellaneous costs like rental cars, towing costs and miscellaneous costs associated with the loss of use. However, these items would be presented to a jury and the jury would make a determination if valid costs with use of the lemon.
Generally, manufacturers are very tough on Lemon Law Claims. The manufacturing process has gotten better and for major defects in the manufacture issues a recall and takes care of the defective vehicles. By taking care of the vehicles under a recall they avoid the potential of lemon law claims for which they would have to pay attorney’s fees and costs. Obviously, manufacturers are obligated to make vehicle safety and advise customers about any defects and fix them.
This must be the main concern. And with the many recalls in the recent years it is apparent that the manufacturers are extremely concerned in issuing recalls. However, there is a cost savings in these as they avoid numerous potential lemon law claims and breach of warranty claims attempting to have these vehicles repurchase.
New Jersey Lemon Law and Bankruptcy
National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA)
New Jersey State publication on Lemon Law rights.
Lemon Law checklist
The Law Offices of Jonathan Rudnick LLC can help you for Lemon Law cases
