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Used Cars Lemon
Law
In 1982, California became the first state to
pass an automobile “lemon law” which gave
owners of defective cars the opportunity to
seek a replacement or a refund for a new car
that had a defect that could not be repaired in
a reasonable amount of time. This law proved so
popular that other states soon followed suit.
Less than twenty five years later, all fifty
states have some sort of lemon law on their
books. California may take the lead again in
the protection of auto buyers as the state
Assembly recently passed a “bill of rights”
designed to protect buyers of used cars.
This bill, which has not been signed into law,
would protect buyers of used cars from
deceptive lending practices, sales of lemon-law
buyback vehicles, and vehicles with frame
damage. Buyers would also be allowed three days
in which to cancel the deal if they changed
their mind after the purchase.
This bill may or may not become law, but it
outlines the need for laws that cover sales
of
used cars as well as new ones. While all states
have a lemon law that covers the sale of
defective new vehicles, few states have laws
that protect buyers of used vehicles. As a
result, many buyers have become victims of
deceptive practices such as rolling back a
vehicle’s odometer to show fewer miles,
reselling cars that have previously been bought
back by manufacturers as lemons and selling
wrecked cars that have been repaired without
noting their accident history. In addition,
many used car dealers sell cars using deceptive
financing terms that can add hundreds or
thousands of dollars to the cost of the
vehicle, often without the buyer’s
knowledge.
If this bill does become law in California,
expect other states to follow, just as they did
with lemon laws. Consumer protection benefits
everyone, and laws protecting buyers of used
cars are just around the corner.
©Copyright 2005 by Retro Marketing.
Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro
Marketing. Retro Marketing, established in
1978, is a firm devoted to informational
Websites, including LemonLawHelp.net, a site
devoted to automobile lemon laws and
End-Your-Debt.com, a Website devoted to
information about debt consolidation and credit
counseling.
by Charles Essmeier -
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