The lemon law covers “nonconformities.” A nonconformity is defined as any defect or condition that substantially impairs the use and market value of the vehicle. The law does not cover any problem arising from abuse, neglect, or unauthorized modifications to the vehicle.
Wyoming’s lemon law requires manufacturers to repair any nonconformity reported to them by the consumer within one year of the vehicle’s delivery to the consumer. The manufacturer must repair the issues even if those repairs are made after the one year period.
Wyoming’s lemon law allows manufacturers a “reasonable number of repair attempts” to fix the nonconformity. The lemon law defines a reasonable number as three or more times for the same problem without success. After this, if the nonconformity remains, or if the vehicle is out of service for more than 30 working days, the manufacturer must repurchase or replace the vehicle.
If the manufacturer is unable to repair the nonconformity, the Wyoming lemon law requires them to repurchase or replace the vehicle. The manufacturer must repay the full purchase price, as well as all collateral charges. The manufacturer can withhold a reasonable allowance for use, calculated from the amount of use attributed to the consumer prior to the first report of nonconformity.
When replacing a vehicle under the Wyoming lemon law, the manufacturer must provide a new or comparable vehicle of the same type. The reasonable allowance for use does not apply to a replacement.
If the manufacturer has established an “informal dispute settlement procedure,” i.e. arbitration, the consumer must first resort to it before making a claim for repurchase or replacement.
For more information on arbitration and other frequently asked lemon law questions, click here
By pursuing a claim under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, Wyoming consumers can hire lawyers who will represent them without the vehicle owner having to pay any attorneys’ fees directly out of their pocket. This is because the federal Act provides that the vehicle manufacturer shall pay the claimants’ reasonable attorneys’ fees if the claimant prevails against the manufacturer.
Lemonlawusa.org encourages vehicle owners with a lemon to hire a lemon law attorney. You can bet the car manufacturers have legal counsel at the ready to help defend against lemon law claims both in arbitration and in court.
This information brought to you by Allen Stewart P.C.
