For most people, next to their house, a new car is the biggest purchase they will make. It is nice to know that this purchase is covered by the Ohio lemon law. In the event a vehicle you purchase in Ohio has an inherent weakness that cannot be fixed, the law provides you with recourse; you can either insist that the manufacturer replace the vehicle or refund the purchase price.
How to determine if your vehicle can qualify as a lemon:
To qualify as a lemon in Ohio your passenger car, light truck or motorcycle must have a defect that compromises your safety and cannot be rectified. To qualify, your vehicle must be no older than one year and have no more than 18,000 miles on the odometer.
Before you demand a replacement or refund you have to give the manufacturer an opportunity to fix the problem that is covered by the vehicle warranty. If the manufacturer has tried three times to fix a single fault with no success, tried eight times to fix a number of different faults or your car has been in the shop for 30 days or more, then you have a case.
If the fault is one that could easily cause an accident that possibly would cause serious injury or death the manufacturer is only given one chance to fix the problem.
Filing a complaint:
If your vehicle meets the criteria then you can request a replacement vehicle of equal value or you can ask for a full refund of the purchase price. To do this you must first detail the problems as well as what was done to correct them and provide this information to the manufacturer; it must be sent via certified mail.
One of three things will happen:
* The manufacturer will satisfy your request
* The manufacturer will ask for an additional chance to fix the problem, or
* The manufacturer will not agree to your claim
Obviously there are no issues with the first solution, whether you give the manufacturer a further chance to fix the problem is up to you, if however, the manufacturer simply refuses your claim you can sue or, if a program is available; ask for arbitration.
