by Shalev Amar, Esq. founder of Amar Law Group, PLLC

Many states have enacted Lemon Laws designed to protect buyers of new cars that end up being defective that are not repaired within a reasonable opportunity. Even the federal government has warranty legislation which acts as a type of Lemon Law and upon which many State Lemon Laws including the Arizona Lemon Law are based.

Arizona’s Lemon Law is contained in Arizona Revised Statues Sections 44-1261 to 44-1267. The Arizona Lemon Law provides that if a new motor vehicle does not conform to all applicable express warranties because it has defects, nonconformities, and or/conditions, the manufacturer or its authorized repairing dealership shall make those repairs necessary to conform the vehicle to its express warranties.

The Arizona Lemon Law is violated if your vehicle is not repaired within a reasonable number of repair attempts or time and the problems experienced substantially impair your car’s use and value. In other words, if your car has what the average consumer would consider to be an unreasonable repair history for substantial issues, the Arizona Lemon Law’s protections would come into effect. Here is a video that further explains the Arizona Lemon Law:

To see if your vehicle qualifies for Arizona Lemon Law protection click here for a FREE CASE REVIEW.

What You are Entitled to Receive When the Arizona Lemon Law is Violated

Under the Arizona Lemon Law, protects you when you did not receive the new car value you paid for and deserve. You are entitled to two forms of recovery if you’ve experienced an unreasonable number of repair attempts or repair time without your car while it gets repaired. The Arizona Lemon Law explains that, if, after a reasonable number of attempts (or repair time), the manufacturer, its agents or its authorized dealers do not conform the vehicle to an express warranty by repairing or correcting any defect or condition that substantially impairs the use and value of the motor vehicle to the consumer, under the Arizona Lemon Law the manufacturer must:

  1. Replace the vehicle with a comparable new vehicle; or,
  2. Accept the return of the vehicle from the consumer and refund to the consumer the full purchase price, including all collateral charges, less a reasonable allowance for the consumer’s use of the vehicle.

Additionally, in order to facilitate consumers pursuing their rights with the benefit of legal representation, the Arizona Lemon Law entitles you to recover attorneys’ fees if you prevail in your Lemon Law claim and settlement is considered prevailing under the law. Because of this you don’t have to tolerate dealing with a defective new car that is not worth what you paid for it:

You also have some practical alternatives to immediately filing a lawsuit under the Arizona Lemon Law and engaging in litigation. Going to court to employ the protections of the Arizona Lemon Law is actually rare if you have an experienced Lemon Law attorney who knows how to settle Arizona Lemon Law claims with car companies out of court. With the help of a Lemon Law attorney you can compromise and reach a settlement that will get you out of your Lemon vehicle or get you cash compensation without the need to go to court. The Arizona Lemon Law settlement may involve the repurchase or replacement of your automobile. Moreover, many car companies agree to provide substantial cash compensation for Arizona Lemon Law claims with you keeping your vehicle as an alternative to a repurchase or replacement under the Arizona Lemon Law. Here are some answers to some frequently asked Arizona Lemon Law representation questions:

For additional Arizona Lemon Law information please visit our website for a no obligation FREE CASE REVIEW.

Reasonable Number of Attempts to Repair under the Arizona Lemon Law

There is no minimum number of repair attempts or time out of service that the Arizona Lemon Law sets for there to be a valid Arizona Lemon Law claim. Each determination of what is a reasonable number of repair attempts or time is made independently under the circumstances. Your vehicle has had too many repair attempts or has been out of service for repair too long if the average reasonable consumer would consider the total repair attempts or total days out of service for repairs unreasonable.

However, under the Arizona Lemon Law there are guideposts for when the number of repeat repair attempts or the cumulative days out of service for repair are deemed automatically unreasonable. For these more extreme cases of repeat repair attempts or excessive repair time, the Arizona Lemon Law provides legal presumptions to aid you in proving you have a Lemon. The Law presumes your vehicle’s repair history is unreasonable if your car has been in the repair shop for a cumulative total of 30 days; or, your car was repaired for the same related issue four times, but your car was not fixed within those 4 repair attempts and the issue continued to exist.

According to A.R.S. § 44-1264(A), it is presumed that a reasonable number of attempts have been undertaken to conform a motor vehicle to the applicable express warranties under the Arizona Lemon Law if either:

  1. The same nonconformity has been subject to repair four or more times by the manufacturer or its agents or authorized dealers during the shorter of the express warranty term or the period of two years or twenty-four thousand miles following the date of original delivery of the motor vehicle to the consumer, whichever is earlier, but the nonconformity continues to exist. or;
  2. The motor vehicle is out of service by reason of repair for a cumulative total of thirty or more calendar days during the shorter of the express warranty term or the two year period or twenty-four thousand miles, whichever is earlier.

In order to apply these presumptions a consumer must give written warning to the manufacturer of the vehicle’s defects, non-conformities, or conditions. The Arizona Lemon Law provides that these presumptions do not apply against a car manufacturer unless the manufacturer has been given written notice from or on behalf of the consumer of the alleged defect and has had an opportunity to cure the alleged defect.

Meeting the Arizona Lemon Law’s presumptions is not required to have a valid Arizona Lemon Law claim. You can still have a valid Lemon Law case without meeting either presumption. With that being said, if either of the Arizona Lemon Law’s presumptions is met that is helpful to you because it shifts the burden of proof under the Arizona Lemon Law from the consumer to the car company. This is an additional advantage that the Arizona Lemon Law provides consumers.

For additional Arizona Lemon Law information and a free no obligation case review visit FREE CASE REVIEW.

Applicable Statute of Limitations for the Arizona Lemon Law

The Arizona Lemon Law’s protections apply to the first 2 years or 24,000 that you own your new vehicle (whichever expires first). At that point, you have 6 months to bring an action:

  • For a consumer to exercise his or her rights under the Arizona Lemon Law, the consumer must: (i) report the warranty problem to the manufacturer, its agent or its authorized dealer or issuer of a warranty, AND (ii) begin an Arizona Lemon Law action within six months following the earlier of: (a) expiration of the express warranty term, or (b) two years or 24,000 miles following the date of delivery of the vehicle to the consumer, whichever is earlier.

If you are time out of the Arizona Lemon Law, it may still be possible for you to be compensated using other Arizona laws and the federal Magnuson Moss Warranty Act.

We can let you know either way if you contact us for a FREE CASE REVIEW.

Exclusions to the Arizona Lemon Law

The Arizona Lemon Law does not apply to:

  1. a sale of a vehicle to a purchaser for the purpose of resale for profit, or
  2. a vehicle with a declared gross weight over 10,000 pounds, or
  3. a vehicle that is sold at a public auction.

Again though, if you are excluded from Arizona Lemon Law coverage you can still be protected by other laws and statutes. The rights granted to Arizona consumers under the Arizona Lemon Law are in addition to any contract rights you may have arising from the purchase agreement, any new vehicle warranty or other applicable laws. The Arizona Lemon Law is codified in Arizona Revised Statutes Sections 44-1261 to 44-1267.

The Magnuson – Moss Warranty Act (a federal Lemon Law)

The Magnuson – Moss Warranty Act is a federal law that imposes certain obligations on vehicle manufacturers and grants certain rights to consumers. This federal Lemon Law is what State Lemon Laws including the Arizona Lemon Law are modeled after.

The federal Lemon Law offers protections to purchasers of automobiles sold with warranties. See Understanding the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act for a summary of the Act and 15 U.S.C. § 2301 et seq. The federal Lemon Law allows purchasers to recover cash compensation for breach of warranty and to obtain attorneys’ fees.

If you have a Lemon vehicle, the federal Lemon Law may provide remedies and compensation for your situation, even if you are timed out of the Arizona Lemon Law because the statute of limitations does not begin running on the federal Lemon Law until after the vehicle’s warranty term expires. As such, the federal Lemon Law is a backup when the Arizona Lemon Law does not apply.

About Shalev Amar, Esq.

Shalev Amar is the founder of Amar Law Group, PLLC. Mr. Amar has an outstanding academic background having graduated Cum Laude from both the University of Arizona (where he majored in Political Science) and the Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Mr. Amar leads the largest Arizona based Lemon Law attorney team that litigates in the area of consumer protection focusing on Lemon Law and Breach of Warranty cases. The phone number of his law firm is (866) 904-2627 and the Firm’s website address is arizonalemonlawadvocates.com.

Mr. Amar is an Arizona Lemon Law attorney whose Lemon Law attorney team at Amar Law Group, PLLC along with predecessor firms has resolved over 5,229 Lemon Law cases with motor vehicle manufacturers with a 99.1% Success Rate. Mr. Amar has amicable professional relationships with the representatives of motor vehicles manufacturers developed over nearly 18 years of dealing with those companies on behalf of consumers. These constructive relationships benefit consumers represented by Amar Law Group, PLLC as it aids in resolving Arizona Lemon Law and federal Lemon Law claims quickly and amicably per the Firm’s quick, easy, and free 3-Step Out-of-Court Lemonaid Resolution Process. In fact, 95% of Amar Law Group’s Lemon Law and breach of warranty cases are resolved out of court with this process so most Lemon Law clients never need to step foot in a courtroom to resolve their Arizona Lemon Law or breach of warranty matter.

Mr. Amar has also pioneered an accessible client centered approach to consumer representation with a Firm policy to update clients on major developments in their cases by phone, to take calls whenever possible and to return calls immediately.

Call for Arizona Lemon Law advocacy at (866) 904-AMAR.

Remember, if your car’s not up to par, call Amar!

For more information on Arizona’s Lemon Law and the federal Lemon Law visit arizonalemonlawadvocates.com. Amar Law Group, PLLC provides not only information about the Arizona Lemon Law but also a FREE CASE REVIEW for consumers.