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Lemon Law Experiences

Are you happy that you tried a lemon law case on your 1500?

  • Regret trying

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    4

Granite2WD

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Who has gone through this process? Did you end up with a positive outcome or do you regret trying?

The highway vibration/shimmy is causing me to consider lemon law. The dealership has not been able to fix the issue. I fear the premature and uneven tire wear will be a safety concern for the life of the vehicle. I have less than 5,000 miles on my new truck.

Please pm me with additional details if you have the time and don't feel comfortable sharing publicly. Thank you!
 

RamLink83

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I went through this process on my previous vehicle in Pennsylvania. Process was pretty much painless. Contacted a lemon law firm, gave them the information about my vehicle and the problem. They asked for me to send over all my records from when it went to the dealer for service. They said the attorney would review the case and decide if they would take me as a client. They only take cases they think they can win since there is no cost or risk from the consumer. Win, lose, no costs from me. They ended up settling with the manufacturer for full buyback, which included tax, fees, interest paid on loan. My experience was really good. Overall it took about 2-3 months from the time i started until I returned the vehicle.

Important thing with any new vehicle. Make sure if you have a problem with the vehicle, take it to the dealer and make sure they record everything on their end when they print the service receipt. Having detailed service records will make or break your case. Dont lose them. Save them in a safe place. In Pa, the first problem has to occur and be on record during the first year of ownership.
 

FastBlackRam

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Who has gone through this process? Did you end up with a positive outcome or do you regret trying?

The highway vibration/shimmy is causing me to consider lemon law. The dealership has not been able to fix the issue. I fear the premature and uneven tire wear will be a safety concern for the life of the vehicle. I have less than 5,000 miles on my new truck.

Please pm me with additional details if you have the time and don't feel comfortable sharing publicly. Thank you!
You may not like me asking this, but can you reference a thread where you discuss your issues and what the dealer has tried to fix it? Because I had a highway vibration/shimmy that was resolved. If you don't want to re-live this I understand. I can imagine if you are at the lemon law level, you have exhausted everything imaginable.
 

Aseras

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Every state is different. Follow the rules to the letter. Send the notice of defect to the address in the manual. Wait for them schedule to attempt the last repair. If it seems ok, ask for extended warranties, coverage for payments for lost time in shop etc. This is the last shot before you legally stop dealing and start demanding.

Keep copies of everything.
You don't need to retain a lawyer. Just pay for consults and document reviews.

Once you decide to lemon, park the car and get a rental of a similar vehicle. You can attempt to deal with a Service Manager to work a deal and do a buyback internally, but don't let them make it into a trade, or pull ahead or whatever. The two was it goes is you swap for a new vehicle with the same or higher MSRP, with the mileage charge, or no cost to you if you negotiate it or the it is a full unwind of the deal, you never bought the car. you get everything back. taxes, warranties plus expenses, legal consults, rentals. you pay a fee for usage it's piddly. make sure you deduct all your mileage to and from every service visit.

If you do arbitration go to every single one. Don't let them cancel or offer a settlement. Show up, cost them several hundred and hour and play on your phone. It's non binding. Do not take any offers without a lawyer looking it over and you being 100% satisfied. Don't be afraid to wait, it will take months, you will get paid. they will drag it out. it will cost them. Only when you are before the state arbitration board does it count and by then you will definitely get a settlement that matches state law. make sure it includes all your expenses, has deadlines and penalties. If you are unsure, reject it and go to state arbitration and get the court order so you can slap them with contempt.

Once you are done with the state, if you want to can now file federally with the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act as they broke both laws ( state and federal are seperate and it's not double jeopardy ) and now you have proof with the state ordered buyback. There you can get trebled damages and here you will need a lawyer and very good itemization of how much tome and expense this has cost you.

n70a1Fj.jpg
 

Granite2WD

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You may not like me asking this, but can you reference a thread where you discuss your issues and what the dealer has tried to fix it? Because I had a highway vibration/shimmy that was resolved. If you don't want to re-live this I understand. I can imagine if you are at the lemon law level, you have exhausted everything imaginable.
No problem with your question. I've been following the big thread about "slight vibration" with around 900 or 1,000 posts. My story is not unique and very similar to most in that thread.

I'm glad to hear your vibration was resolved! What was the fix for your truck?
 

chrisfuss

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I had been complaining with fca about various issues over the two years we have had our truck and I was actually considering going the lemon route. However I came to a different agreement with fca over purchasing another truck since I wanted to upgrade to a 3/4 ton Diesel anyways... I know sounds mad but we are quite happy with our other fca products and in general with the ram... plus the wife wanted to get a ram because she’s on the board of a major supplier for RAMs hd trucks... so we will stick with fca...
if you are considering swapping for a newer ram it might be worth speaking to customer retention department...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

aimlowrobin

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Had a dodge car that was bought back as a lemon. My dealer did all the work for me. Certainly was no need for a lawyer. When I sat down to "trade in" the lemon on a a new car (I insisted on a different model), they first tried to charge me for the miles I had put on. I simply told them there was no F'n way...and that was that. Chrysler took the car back as if I had never owned it...I lost zero dollars on it.
 

Billy James

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Had a dodge car that was bought back as a lemon. My dealer did all the work for me. Certainly was no need for a lawyer. When I sat down to "trade in" the lemon on a a new car (I insisted on a different model), they first tried to charge me for the miles I had put on. I simply told them there was no F'n way...and that was that. Chrysler took the car back as if I had never owned it...I lost zero dollars on it.
So they also pay you back for the sales tax that you paid when you bought it new?
 

Aseras

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So they also pay you back for the sales tax that you paid when you bought it new?
Stuff ike this is where you have to pay attention and have a lawyer go over, They may offer you a straight swap no charge. But it should be only a vin transfer on your current loan, not a new agreement or anything the only thing you do is sign over the car/registrations. Some manufacturers will weasel here and you will leave a lot of money on the table. You can also get roped into a new loan, or they don't brand the car as a lemon. GM tried to not brand my car as it was over 36,000 miles and their policy is not to brand the title over 36k, this is actually illegal and forarding this to the State AG got them into a heap of trouble in FL.
 

Aseras

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So they also pay you back for the sales tax that you paid when you bought it new?
If it's a full lemon case, its a deal unwind. Literally you never bought the car, you only pay a very small usage fee. it's usualy the price you paid for the car dividied by 120,000, times the mileage. You get ll warranties, taxes, interest, everything refunded if you choose a refund.

Normal wear and tear is ok too. Heck excessive wear and tear is ok as long as it didn't contribute to the fault. My dealer bashed one of my doors in ( while ir was parked there for 6 months ) and it had a 6 inch gouge. Didn't bat an eye at it.

If you choose a replacement ( and this is up to you and your state ) you get any car they make with the same MSRP or higher with their approval. they may or may not charge the mileage fee. Depending on lender it can be a vin swap on the loan and title & registration swap. you can negotiate a LOT. you also get any other incidental fees covered like rentals and non owner milage and legal consults and such.

The goal is for you to be happy, to get a good vehicle. You will be fighting a 800lb gorilla. so ask nice once, then hardball and make it as expensive for them as you can. Arbitrations which most states require before state arbitration or court cost them 200+ an hour with a 4 hour minimum, more if you are in a big city. Do every single one, and bury them in enough stuff it will take all day to go through and also demo the vehicle for the arbitrator. Insist on it. Like I said, cost them money. If they don't have the right tools, ( code reader whatever ) suggest a trip to the nearest dealer. Get the car on a lift, have a tech show codes, whatever. If you don;t feel safe tow the car there and back and you bill them for that too. some of my tow bills for one arbitration were over $1000.
 

aimlowrobin

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So they also pay you back for the sales tax that you paid when you bought it new?
I was given credit of the full purchase price towards the new vehicle purchase price. Just like a trade in. So only paid sales tax on the difference (new car was more expensive).
 

aimlowrobin

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keep in mind, my example above was a series of electronic failures that left the car undrivable 4 times. There was no way for anyone to deny or argue that the problem repeated itself, that they couldn't fix it, or the seriousness. Pretty cut and dried case of a true lemon.
 

FastBlackRam

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No problem with your question. I've been following the big thread about "slight vibration" with around 900 or 1,000 posts. My story is not unique and very similar to most in that thread.

I'm glad to hear your vibration was resolved! What was the fix for your truck?
So my symptom was a vibration/shimmy that presented itself like a good old fashioned wheel balance issue. At about 60 or 61 mph I could feel a vibration or shake in the steering wheel and when I looked over at the passenger seat back, it was vibrating/shaking around pretty good.

So I brought it in and the dealer easily recreated it because it happened all the time. They have one of these high tech road force balancers and decided to road force balance all of my tires. They were unable to successfully get the 2 fronts to balance despite multiple tries. So they moved the good rears to the front and the bad fronts to the rear because they didn't have any replacements in stock and ordered me two new tires. They felt the good ones would be better on the front temporarily while we waited for the new ones.

Well the new tires came in, I took it back, they took off the rears and road force balanced the new ones successfully and my truck is solid up to 100 mph which is as fast as I have gone. They took it up to 90 when they tested it and called it a success.

Now I am sure you have tried the road force balance, but that is my story. I sure hope everything turns out well for you.
 

Adrianp89

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Took almost a year for me between trying their dispute service first and then going through the state and then actually getting the new truck. A few days before the hearing, I did a test drive with an FCA contractor, then a day or two before the hearing they offered me the replacement vehicle. I ended up ordering a replacement to have the exact items I want, that took about 4 weeks. When it came in, everything was pretty smooth. I ended up spending a little more but did end up positive with credits > usage fee. FL also allows you to get up to 105% of previous MSRP. I ended up getting a truck that was about 11k more MSRP for 3k out of pocket. In the end I was happy, I ended up with a year newer truck with 0 miles, a refreshed warranty, more options for only 3,000 and got to keep the loan I previously had.
 

Willwork4truck

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Every state is different. Follow the rules to the letter. Send the notice of defect to the address in the manual. Wait for them schedule to attempt the last repair. If it seems ok, ask for extended warranties, coverage for payments for lost time in shop etc. This is the last shot before you legally stop dealing and start demanding.

Keep copies of everything.
You don't need to retain a lawyer. Just pay for consults and document reviews.

Once you decide to lemon, park the car and get a rental of a similar vehicle. You can attempt to deal with a Service Manager to work a deal and do a buyback internally, but don't let them make it into a trade, or pull ahead or whatever. The two was it goes is you swap for a new vehicle with the same or higher MSRP, with the mileage charge, or no cost to you if you negotiate it or the it is a full unwind of the deal, you never bought the car. you get everything back. taxes, warranties plus expenses, legal consults, rentals. you pay a fee for usage it's piddly. make sure you deduct all your mileage to and from every service visit.

If you do arbitration go to every single one. Don't let them cancel or offer a settlement. Show up, cost them several hundred and hour and play on your phone. It's non binding. Do not take any offers without a lawyer looking it over and you being 100% satisfied. Don't be afraid to wait, it will take months, you will get paid. they will drag it out. it will cost them. Only when you are before the state arbitration board does it count and by then you will definitely get a settlement that matches state law. make sure it includes all your expenses, has deadlines and penalties. If you are unsure, reject it and go to state arbitration and get the court order so you can slap them with contempt.

Once you are done with the state, if you want to can now file federally with the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act as they broke both laws ( state and federal are seperate and it's not double jeopardy ) and now you have proof with the state ordered buyback. There you can get trebled damages and here you will need a lawyer and very good itemization of how much tome and expense this has cost you.

n70a1Fj.jpg
Was that GM check for the last part you wrote about? Damages/?
You gave excellent step by step advice. People just need a lot of patience and attention to detail. I suppose if that’s not your strong suit then the attorney route might be better?
 
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RVTRKN

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I wasn't the owner, but it was my 2014 CTD service truck. Rear diff scrambled, which was repaired, then a charging issue with several alternators toasted within 10 miles, which was never resolved. Owner wanted all money back, including the money back for the service bed, then loss of revenue while truck was in shop. They won all of what he asked for. But it took over 12 months to get it resolved. To add insult to injury, I gave him a two week notice while it was in the shop. Needless to say he was pissed.
 

Willwork4truck

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I wasn't the owner, but it was my 2014 CTD service truck. Rear diff scrambled, which was repaired, then a charging issue with several alternators toasted within 10 miles, which was never resolved. Owner wanted all money back, including the money back for the service bed, then loss of revenue while truck was in shop. They won all of what he asked for. But it took over 12 months to get it resolved. To add insult to injury, I gave him a two week notice while it was in the shop. Needless to say he was pissed.
At least he stood his ground and got the lemon CTD gone. Wonder who ended up with it, or do you think they part them out? If it’s lemon branded they sure can’t sell for much...
 

WK21

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Lot of good info in here.. wanted to add my in progress story to see if I can get any advice.

I traded in and bought a brand new 2022 ram rebel November 1st in Florida. Sticker price 64k. After trade in and 1k cash down my total loan (not through the dealer) was 54k.

Ive had two issues so far in one month of ownership.
1. Vehicle shut off while driving.
-Took it to the dealer they said It was the start stop battery generator and basically the problem would fix itself. I took the truck back same day.
2. Uconnect screen blacked out, weird display message on the instrument cluster. I took it in and they have no idea what’s wrong with it. There’s a staircase open and they’re supposedly troubleshooting with Chrysler on how to fix it. Today is 15 consecutive

customer service with the service department, has been absolute trash. I’ve been told we will call you right back about 10 times and never received a call. Only way I find out anything about my truck is by going in and surprising them. To me it seems, 90% of the time the truck has just sat in the lot, but currently my whole dash is ripped apart.

since I am at 15 days in the shop, I am going to be sending the final repair notice to the manufacturer. Before doing that I tried to see if they would just one for one swap me a similar truck. No dice. They went against their word saying they’d repurchase my truck full price, and showed me paperwork on the other truck with my truck factored in as a trade in for 6k less than what I bought it for.

my questions:
Will letting the manager know I’m about to start the lemon law help me in anyway?
-ive been refraning from this in order to avoid burning bridges

Does it matter to the dealership if the truck is lemoned or does that only affect the manufacturer?

sorry for the long post
Thanks gents
 

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