The Lemon Law in Missouri awards consumers who have purchased defective vehicles with refunds or replacements. However, you can’t simply demand a new car at the first sign of a problem.
If your new vehicle has an issue, the first step is to notify the manufacturer and bring it in for repair. To qualify for compensation under the Missouri Lemon Law you must notify the manufacturer of the issue within a year of the purchase date. Defects that aren’t reported during the first year of ownership are still protected under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.
Before your vehicle can be considered a lemon, you must provide the manufacturer with a “reasonable number of repair attempts.” Typically, that means four (4) repair attempts for the same defect. Alternatively, vehicles can qualify as lemons in Missouri if they remain out of service for repairs for a total of thirty (30) business days.
In some cases, vehicles can be classified as lemons after fewer than (4) four repair attempts. In fact, we’ve handled cases under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act where vehicles were deemed lemons after just one (1) repair attempt.
So as soon as you think you have a lemon, reach out to a Missouri Lemon Law attorney. Both state and federal laws require manufacturers to pay your legal fees if you win your case. And at Krohn & Moss, Ltd. Consumer Law Center®, we only charge for our services if we secure your compensation. So, there is no reason to deal with your lemon without an attorney to advise you.
An attorney can also help by sending written notice to the manufacturer of the defect before one (1) final repair attempt, which is required before pursuing claims. Once the manufacturer receives this written notice, they’ll direct you to a repair facility. After you bring the car to the facility, they’ll have ten (10) days to repair the defect. And if the defect is still present after this attempt, you have a lemon.
At this point, you or your attorney must present your case to an arbitration board. The board will review the relevant documents (sales paperwork, repair records, receipts for incidental expenses, etc.) and issue a ruling. The ruling may award you with a full or partial refund or even a replacement vehicle. But if you aren’t satisfied with the decision, you can file a lawsuit.
Even if you need to file suit, with an experienced attorney in your corner it’s unlikely your case will make it to trial. In fact, fewer than 1% of our cases do. So if you even think you have a lemon, reach out to us today for a free case review to let us help you get the compensation you deserve.