Connecticut Lemon Laws for Used Vehicles
The Connecticut Lemon Laws make an effort to protect consumers of used vehicles by placing requirements on the used car dealer. The Automobile Dispute Program was established to receive consumer complaints and, if necessary, act as a third party negotiator or arbiter in a difficult to navigate lemon law dispute.
Requirements
The Connecticut Lemon Laws for Used Vehicles protects used cars by requiring a used car dealer to offer a warranty to the consumer based on the age of the vehicle and the price it is being sold for. A used car that is less than seven years old and costs at least three thousand dollars must have a warranty (otherwise it will be considered to be sold as is and not protected by the Connecticut Lemon Laws for Used Vehicles).
A vehicle with a sales price of less than five thousand dollars must have a warranty protection period of thirty days or fifteen hundred miles. Once either of these limits (time or mileage) expire the Connecticut Lemon Laws protection period will terminate. If the vehicle costs more than five thousand dollars the protection period remains in effect for sixty days or three thousand miles. This, too, mandates that once either of these limits is reached, the protection period shall end.
The Connecticut Lemon Laws for Used Vehicles will protect passenger vehicles designed for passenger transport in personal use and personal/commercial use (personal vehicle, taxi, etc.).
Malfunctions
The Connecticut Lemon Laws for Used Vehicles only applies to vehicles with a serious warranty malfunction. That is, it must prevent the vehicle from functioning, impair the safety the vehicle and/or significantly devalue the market value of the vehicle.
Dealers are required to repair such defects however consumers will only need to tolerate a warranty malfunction repair attempt on four separate occasions (four repair attempts is considered a fair amount of tries to permanently effect a repair). There is an additional stipulation that if a vehicle is in a state of repair and thus unavailable to a consumer for thirty or more days during the warranty period, then it may be considered susceptible to a Connecticut Lemon Laws remedy.
Party at Fault
The Connecticut Lemon Laws for Used Vehicles hold the dealer responsible for the vehicle unless the warranty malfunction is the direct result of any of the consumer’s actions or lack of actions.
Compensation
Consumers will be entitled to either a comparable replacement vehicle or a refund. In both cases, an arbitration board may allow for certain adjustments in favor of the consumer, dealer or both.
How To File
Step 1. The Connecticut Lemon Laws require that a consumer be able to prove everything from ownership to repair attempts in a concrete manner. This means that all the paper documents generated by the vehicle should be kept in an organized file with a spare copy for ready dispersal.
Step 2. Consumers would be wise to keep track of such intangible events as a transmission slipping or verbal conversation with a mechanic. Starting and maintaining a written log of such events will help establish a timeline for a court or arbitration board. Each entry should be dated and concise.
Step 3. Initial contact should be made promptly with a used vehicle dealer if there is the potential of a serious warranty nonconformity. The Connecticut Lemon Laws for Used Vehicles is very time sensitive and it would be in a consumers best interests to be able to prove when this contact occurred. First contact should occur in the form of a written complaint that is sent via registered mail.
Step 4. When it becomes obvious the warranty nonconformity is irreparable, vehicle owners should issue a Final Notice to Repair, Replace, or Repurchase the used vehicle. This will give the dealer one final repair attempt with the understanding that a Connecticut Lemon Laws remedy must occur if unsuccessful. This should be done in writing and sent by registered mail with a return receipt request.
Step 5. Vehicle owners need to consult their warranty before taking any action. If the warranty lists a 16 C.R.F. 703 compliant arbitration program that is approved by the attorney general, they must enroll in this.
Step 6. The consumer may be faced with a difficult dealer (after all this is a substantial amount of money). If so, and a vehicle owner wishes to avoid court action they may file a complaint with the Automobile Dispute Program.
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