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The Rhode Island New Car Lemon Law Statutes can be found in chapter 31-5.2 of Rhode Island Code. New vehicles in the United States come with a manufacture warranty term. If the buyer experiences any difficulty or defects in the vehicle during the express manufacture warranty term then, the fault in the car has to be repaired by the manufacturer free of charge.

A new vehicle is termed as a lemon if:

Any particular defect has been repaired 4 or more times during the warranty term but still the defect exists or reoccurs during the warranty term.

The new vehicle is out of use by reason of repair for more than a period of 30 days. The manufacturer is given 7 grace days as a last opportunity to repair the defect vehicle after the expiration of 30 days also or even after the expiration of the warranty term.

The last opportunity to repair the defect given to the manufacturer may begin as soon as the provisions in point number 1&2 are exhausted. This term is usually for 7 days but may exceed due to occurrences which are beyond the manufacturer’s control for e.g. declaration of war, floods, strikes and lockouts etc.

If the defects in the vehicle cannot be repaired within the stipulated time or number of attempts as specified the express contract then the manufacturer would have to provide the purchaser a new vehicle which is acceptable to the consumer or refund him the full purchase price -which shall be inclusive of all collateral charges- after deducting a nominal allowance for the consumer's private use of such vehicle. The manufacturer is given a period of 30 days to either replace the vehicle with a comparable one or to refund the amount to the buyer keeping in mind the above mentioned deductions.

The consumer need not go for out of court settlement with the manufacturer. Even if he does, and is not contended with the outcome, he may still bring in a suit against the manufacturer in court. Moreover, the manufacturer's arbitration process must be in accordance with Federal Trade Commission regulations. However, if the manufacturer’s informal dispute program is in accordance with the federal regulations and approved by the Attorney General’s office then, it is mandatory for the customer to go through the procedure first before suing the manufacturer in court for refund or replacements. The decision so arrived at is a binding on the manufacturer if the consumer opts to adhere to the decision. The manufacturer will have a maximum of 30 days to comply with the decision such program.

Another out of court settlement procedure is through consumers' council. A director and with a panel shall be appointed to provide an independent arbitration procedure or for the settlement of disputes between consumer and manufacturer with respect to motor vehicles which do not conform to implied warranties.

The panel shall grant relief available under the applicable warranties or the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act, to the consumer if a reasonable number of attempts have been undertaken to correct one or more nonconformities.

The panel shall investigate, gather, and organize all information necessary for a fair and timely decision in each dispute. The decision shall not exceed a period of 90 days and would be based on the information gathered by the panel. The panel shall, based on its facts and findings give reasons for the decision to the parties involved. If the consumer accepts the panel’s decision the manufacturer has a period of 30 days to comply with decision. If the consumer rejects the decision he must intimate the panel within five (5) days of its filing.

If both the informal dispute settlement program fails then the dispute has to be settled in court. The court empowers any one party who wins the decision to recover all legitimate litigation expenses, court and attorney fees from the other party.

Rhode Island Used Car Lemon Laws

Chapter 31 of the Rhode Island Code contains the lemon law applicable for used vehicles sold in the state by a dealer of used vehicles.

Dealer’s obligations

The dealer should not sell any used vehicle without a warranty to the buyer. The terms of the warranty may differ according to the total number of miles the vehicle has run.

This warranty should cover the repair or replacement of specified components. The warranty should give the benefit of reasonable rates on repair of these components.

The dealer however will be excused from his obligations if the vehicle’s defect is caused due to some unnatural use by the consumer of due to the consumer’s neglect.

In case the dealer is unable to rectify the defect even after repeated attempts, he may, at the option of the buyer repurchase the vehicle and refund the full price paid earlier by the buyer. The dealer may however deduct a reasonable sum for the refund amount owing to normal depreciation on the vehicle.

To rectify the defect the dealer would be given at least three attempts, or will be permitted to keep the vehicle non-operational for a period of fifteen days or more during the warranty period.

The dealer may weaver any of the conditions of warranty in this statute, but he must inform the buyer explicitly about it before any agreement is entered into between them.

Dispute settlement

If the dealer has the facility of an informal arbitration mechanism in place, then the buyer will have to seek remedy from this mechanism first. Only then will he be entitled to all the protections of this statute.

This statute does not put a bar on the rights of the consumer from seeking remedy under any other applicable law for the time being in force in the State.

If successful in his action, the buyer will be entitled to damages as well as costs.

The limitation period is four years from the date of delivery of the vehicle.

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


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