We practice several areas of law at Yunker & Park plc, including consumer protection law on the side of consumers. Over the course of a year, we receive many phone calls from consumers who are involved in disputes with car dealerships, debt collection companies, lenders, etc., and we have found that there are some misconceptions about certain consumer protection laws enacted to help the consumer. One of the more misunderstood consumer protection laws is “the lemon law.”
The commonwealth of Kentucky has a lemon law that protects consumers who buy or lease new motor vehicles. The Kentucky lemon law statute is codified as KRS 367.841 to .844, and the Kentucky Attorney General’s website describes the statute as follows:
“In Kentucky, manufacturers are required to repurchase an automobile if it is determined to be a ‘lemon.’ You can file a suit [against the manufacturer] in a circuit court but you must first go through the manufacturer's arbitration system. [For a new motor vehicle to qualify as a lemon, the following criteria must be met]:
· The automobile must have been purchased new in Kentucky by a Kentucky resident and not have more than two (2) axles and cannot be a motorcycle, motor home, conversion van, or farm equipment.
· The consumer must report the failure to repair the non-conformity to the manufacturer within the first 12 months or 12,000 miles, whichever is first.
· The problem must substantially impair the use, value, or safety of the automobile.
· The automobile has been out of service for the same problem for a cumulative total of 30 days or more or the problem was not corrected within a reasonable number of attempts. Four (4) attempts to repair the same problems is presumed to be reasonable.”
While the Kentucky lemon law does apply to the purchase of new motor vehicles, it does not apply to the purchase of used cars. There are protections for purchasers of used cars, but the lemon law is not one of them.
