Online Library - General Laws - Lemon Laws

The law protecting the buyer from defective vehicles supplied by the manufacturer in codified in the "New Motor Vehicles Warranty Act" in the state of North Carolina. This Act provides for remedies to the buyer against the manufacturer who has supplied vehicles which do not comply with the standards set by the warranty on the vehicle.

Warranty period and manufacturer's obligation

According to the Act, a warranty on the vehicle will remain effective for at least one year or for 12000 miles, whichever comes first. If a fault occurs in this time frame, then the dealer has to repair it as soon as possible.

If the manufacturer is unable to repair the vehicle even after four attempts or keeping the vehicle unoperational for repairs for twenty days or more, then he will be obliged, at the option of the consumer to either replace the vehicle with a comparable value vehicle or refund the amount to the buyer. If the buyer selects the refund option, then the manufacturer must refund the full contracted price along with all other incidental charges including sales tax, registration fees, etc. as are paid by the buyer in connection to the purchase of his vehicle.

If the consumer is a lessee, then the manufacturer has obligation towards the lessee as well as the lessor. The manufacturer in permitted to deduce a reasonable amount from the refund amount owing to the normal wear and tare of the vehicle during the ownership of the buyer.

In case the manufacturer decided to resell such a returned vehicle, he must make a full and detailed disclosure about the condition of the vehicle to the new buyer.

Defenses available to the manufacturer

The manufacturer is released from his obligation if he can prove that the vehicle's defect is caused out of abuse, neglect, unauthorized modifications, etc. by the buyer.

Civil actions

In case the consumer suffers any injury because of the manufacturer's default regarding the warranty of the vehicle, he can bring a civil action against the manufacturer. He has to however give ten days written notice about the same to the manufacturer before the suit is filed.

However, if there is an informal dispute resolution mechanism of the manufacturer in force, and the consumer is aware of it, then he shall be require to approach it first and then go to the civil court, if necessary.

Dealer's liability

According to the provisions of this Act, there is no cause of action by the consumer against the dealer. Further the manufacturer too cannot hold the dealer liable for any refund or replacement if the dealer has followed all the manufacturer's recommendations.

The US federal law governing lemons is officially called The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, however, most American states each have their own lemon law.


Contact Us \|	You are here: Library > General Laws > Lemon Laws > North Carolina Lemon Laws