Most states provide protections for purchasers of new vehicles that seem to have continual problems, despite being a "new car." Typically, these protections are known as "lemon laws." The federal government has created similar lemon law protections regarding warranties in the Manguson-Moss Warranty Act (see Wikipedia’s summary here).
Section 901 of Title 15 is Oklahoma’s lemon law statute. The Oklahoma Statutes provide contractual remedies for purchasers of vehicles that turn out to be "lemons." There are some caveats to using the Statute, but generally, the Statute can be an effective tool to remedy problems with your vehicle.
The Statute has three main requirements clauses that set out the remedies available to consumers (Subsection A(1) defines a consumer).
Subsection B provides a 1 year time frame from vehicle purchase for a consumer to report vehicle troubles to a manufacturer or dealer.
Subsection C is the "return clause," which requires a dealer or manufacturer to give the consumer a new replacement vehicle or refund the purchase price, plus taxes and other fees. The only restrictions are reasonable consumer use, and the defenses that, "(1) that an alleged nonconformity does not substantially impair such use and value or (2) that a nonconformity is the result of abuse, neglect or unauthorized modifications or alterations of a motor vehicle."
Finally, Subsection D is "repair clause." If your vehicle is in the shop 4 or more times during the year following purchase, or the vehicle is out-of-service for more than 45 days following purchase, you’re entitled to the "return clause" remedies. Notice that the 45-day requirement is not a specific "in the shop" requirement, but rather written in general term. Presumably, and I know of no Oklahoma cases stating otherwise, the time-period includes time sitting in your garage.
Unfortunately for Oklahoma’s consumers, the Statute limits these benefits to vehicles with express warranties. Express warranties, as the name implies, are a manufacturer’s express promises regarding repair of the vehicle. So is it a good idea to purchase the dealer’s warranty, in this case, YES (but there are also other considerations you should make).
Secondly, many will also debate whether the Statute applies to used cars. My argument has always been yes, provided an express warranty exists. Warranties are valuable tools to use when trying to recover lost, damaged, or defective goods. In the case of cars, warranties will protect you.
In the next post, I’ll discuss warranties and the Manguson-Moss Warranty Act.
