As recent as last year, Mazda announced that it has no plans on designing or manufacturing electric or hybrid (alternative) power train vehicles in the foreseeable future. Less than 12 months later, Mazda has changed its position and now says its goal is to increase its vehicles' fuel economy by 30 percent by 2015.
Mazda plans to do this by refining the design of its existing gasoline vehicles to be more fuel efficient. When asked how this will be done, Mazda's chief executive officer, Takashi Yamanouchi, states that consumers should expect to see vehicles that are lighter in weight and with improved aerodynamics. Mr. Yamanouchi also mentions that
it is likely that Mazda's new lineup of hybrid and electric cars will debut on or near 2015.
So, what does this mean in terms of litigation for Mazda lemon electric or hybrid cars? It simply means that we will have to wait until the electric or hybrid cars will actually be manufactured.
Earlier this year, a husband and wife from Lampasas, Texas (Lampasas is 30 miles west of Killeen, Texas) contacted me in regards to a new 2008 Jeep Liberty that they purchased in 2008 that keeps manifesting an abnormal knocking noise near the engine area. Like most lemon law victims, they took the vehicle in numerous times and the problem never went away.
After months of frustration in dealing with the Chrysler service centers, the couple called my office and I took on their case. I am happy to report that the the case settled in favor of my clients and they are now happy with the results of their lemon law claim. This is the link to their testimonial. (Look for this testimonial entry: T. and D. B., Lampasas, Texas, April 13, 2009).
With the downturn of the economy, a lot of people are now purchasing used cars and vehicles in order to save money. Generally speaking, new vehicles depreciate so aggressively that purchasing a pre-owned car makes a lot of financial sense.
A used vehicle may be covered under the Lemon Law. However, the coverage applies if your used vehicle is still covered by the manufacturer's original warranty. Keep in mind that extended service contracts do not apply. Coverage also applies if the problem started while under warranty and it continues to exist, but the remedies are limited to repair assistance of the warranty-related problem,...and not a repurchase or replacement.
Since buying a vehicle is arguably the second most expensive purchase that most consumers make, it is necessary to do your homework and to be observant of potential red flags that indicates that the used car is a lemon. See this blog post for some personal nonlegal tips on how to avoid buying a used lemon car.
Because of this recent growth in purchasing more used cars due to the economy, my lemon law practice also notices an exponential growth in potential clients calling to seek information about their lemon used cars. PLEASE NOTE that my office rarely accepts pre-owned car cases. However, we do accept some Chrysler car cases -- if you have used lemon Chrysler car that is at least a 2005 model, then please call my office.
It was then discovered that my friend relied on the incorrect information provided by TexasDOT's representative (he called (800) 622-8682) and did not send the car manufacturer a notice letter by certified mail. The case was dismissed due to this reason alone.
My friend then asked me about what could be done at that point. Once a case has been referred by the administrative judge to be dismissed, the claimant has the option of appealing the decision, provided that he or she does so in writing and within the specified period of time. Alternatively, the consumer may elect to forgo the appeal process and hire a lemon law attorney to file a lawsuit under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices and Federal MagnussonMoss Act.
My friend elected to hire my office to represent him. As of last week, the case was successfully settled for a monetary cash settlement. The lesson to be learned here is that you do have second chances if you are unsuccessful with your original lemon law hearing with TxDot. Having a lemon law attorney represent you could help you attempt to get a repurchase or replacement the second time around, or help you get a cash settlement in damages.
I recently found some time while working at my law office and stumbled upon a great article written by Ellen Phillips of the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Ms. Phillips wrote briefly about whether one should purchase extended warranty, especially when faced with the dilemma of either not buying one and having an expensive item break, or buying one and wasting money on an item that may not need foreseeable warranty repair work done on it.
Ms. Phillip's answer to this dilemma is to have the consumer evaluate two factors before buying deciding on whether to buy extended warranty or not. First, the consumer should determine the specific services and coverages of the extended warranty terms, and second, the cost and value of the consumer's peace of mind. Ms. Phillips pointed to a recent Consumer Report article that pointed out that the cost of extended warranties may be as much as the actual repair work itself.
Speaking of peace of mind, having extended warranty on a product such as a car does not guarantee that you will be worry-free. For example, if you bought a new car and have taken it in 4 or more times under the Texas lemon law and the service center is unable to properly diagnose the defect and fix it, then having additional extended warranty beyond the standard manufacturer warranty period is virtually useless.
This is a continuation on last week's post, on how to avoid your chances of purchasing a lemon pre-owned/used car. The same disclaimer applies; this is not legal advice, but are mere suggestions. Although I handle Texas lemon law cases, I do not handle pre-owned or used car cases.
Tip #4: Get a mechanic's inspection. Purchasing a vehicle is arguably the second most costliest item that most consumers buy in their lifetime. As a consumer, you do not purchase vegetables at your local grocery with blindfolds on,...the same logic applies in purchasing lemon cars. Without a mechanic's expert opinion, it is difficult to determine the condition of the vehicle underneath the hood. My lemon law office gets at least one call a day of unsuspecting car owners who subsequently learn that their 2007 Dodge Caravan has a 2005 engine or component on it.
Tip #5: Bring a friend during your visit to the dealership. During my pre-lasik surgery days, my friends always advise that four eyes are usually better than two. Buying a vehicle can be stressful and it is a good idea to have your friend look for potential red flags and defect cover-ups while you talk to the used car salesman.
Last month, right before the inauguration, I helped a friend move from Texas to Maryland (yes, I did temporarily closed my lemon law office for a couple of days,...but, I stayed in touched with all of my clients via my laptop and cell phone,...hence, clients are happy). Once we arrived in Maryland, my friend needed to purchase a vehicle and we began shopping for a pre-owned car over that weekend.
From that experience, I proffer some tips that I've learned on ways to avoid a potentially problematic vehicle, aka, the lemon car. Please keep in mind that these tips are merely my personal bias opinion and not legal advice, by any means. Also, please DO NOT call my office if you are a victim of a pre-owned or used lemon car, as my office only handles new lemon cars.
Tip #1: If you have an Iphone, G1, or any smartphone with data or internet capabilities, then bring it along (make sure you enroll in autocheck.com before you go car shopping).
* We did so and I was able to pull up the vehicle's history report while my friend was test driving the vehicle. All I had to do was enter the car's VIN number into my Iphone and was able to determine if the vehicle was a lemon-designated or previously auctioned vehicle. Why do I recommend autocheck?...well, because most used car dealers will probably offer to provide you with a free carfax.com report, you'll need to cross reference the information on both reports to get a more complete picture of the car's history. Some information not found on carfax.com may be discovered on autocheck.com, as these companies obtain their information from different sources.
Tip #2: I don't care what the car salesperson say, if the vehicle has been purchased from an auction, then it may potentially have more problems than meets the eye. Cars that have been subjected to auctions may have been a pre-litigation lemon car buyback (where the manufacturer settles or voluntarily repurchases the car before the final adjudication of a state's lemon law decision). Auctioned cars are generally bad news, as the disclosure requirements found in the process of an auction are minimal, if not non-existent.
* We found a car that checked out clean on carfax.com, but showed "auction" on the autocheck.com report. We asked the salesperson about it, and he changed his story about this vehicle being traded in last week by a senior citizen to "oh yeah, it may have been purchased at an auction of retired rental cars." We left that dealership quickly.
Tip #3: Check for mildew or signs of previous water damage inside and underneath the vehicle. Pull the front and back seat belts out all the way and see if there are stains on it. It is very difficult to stain the ends of a seat belt and if there are stains there, then it could have resulted from a vehicle that was trying to swim underwater during a flood. Check the rims and behind the wheels, does it seem corroded?
Near this time last year, my law clerk wrote a short article comparing the differences between Georgia and Texas Lemon Law. At that time, Georgia's Lemon Law was arguably weaker than in Texas, because the time and mileage eligibility was twice as short in Georgia.
For example, in Texas, a consumer can file a claim with the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDot) so long as it has been within 24,000 miles or 24 months from the date of ownership, whichever occurs first. Georgia at that time, only protects a consumer when the vehicle is within 12,000 miles or 12 months from ownership (whichever occurs first).
As of January 1, 2009, cars and most other vehicles purchased in the state of Georgia will be protected for 24,000 miles/24 month. Further, the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs of Georgia promises that its state lemon law process will be more "stream-lined" and consumer friendly (I guess they weren't very consumer friendly previously).
Under this new revision of Georgia Lemon Law, vehicles intended for use in small businesses are also covered, along with larger cars or trucks that are heavier (up to 12,000 pounds, ie: the gas guzzler Ford 350).
Four months ago, a friend of mine called my office four days before his scheduled administrative hearing with the Texas Department of Transportation regarding his lemon vehicle. I asked him to forward the documents to my office before I agreed to attend the hearing with him.
Upon receiving the documents, I noticed that my friend's file did not include a copy of the notice letter to the car manufacturer. I asked my friend about this and he told me that when he called the 1 800 lemon law number to the Texas Department of Transportation, he spoke with a representative from the department and the person on the phone told him that he did not need to mail the manufacturer any.
I ended up attending the hearing with my friend anyways. At the hearing, the administrative judge focused on the fact my friend failed to provide written notice to the manufacturer. Further, the administrative judge stated that because of the failure to provide the manufacturer with a 30 day notice, that my friend also did not provide the manufacturer with a final opportunity to cure.
Several days ago, my friend told me that he received the proposed decision from the administrative judge in the mail. It looks like the proposed decision is to dismiss the case simply due to my friend's failure to send a written notice demand letter. At the end of the day, the lesson to be learned by this is that all consumers who plan on filing a case with the DOT should send a written notice letter to the manufacturer as soon as possible. I recommend making a copy of the notice letter and sending is USPS certified mail with return receipt requested (RRR).
Most consumers who find themselves stuck with a lemon car that was purchased new find themselves paralyzed when trying to figure out what to do with a car that routinely has problems.
When the consumer brings the vehicle into the service center, the service representative is always cooperative and cordial, but at the end of the day, the car still has problems after the 3rd or 4th visit. When the consumer contacts the car manufacturer, they are assigned a case manager who provides no solution to the consumer -- a lot of times, the consumer is led to run around in circles.
This is the situation that my recent client from Alpine, Texas found himself in. At first when I spoke with this client, he was very frustrated with the predicament that Chrysler put him through. I started working on this client's case after he submitted documents to my office, after we discussed his options, and after he signed the representation agreement with my office in early May 2008.
When I first accepted this client's case, I was confident that he had a lemon and I was focused on helping him get out of his lemon truck. After jumping through various hurdles with the opposing side, we were able to get this client a repurchase on his vehicle. All in all, a success in my book... here is the client's testimonial.
At my lemon law office in Dallas, it is frustrating to learn about the pre-owned auction car market, where a defective lemon vehicle is transported from one state to another and then resold back to uninformed consumers who are not aware of the faulty vehicle's history. I get calls from potential clients about this issue on a daily basis and it is often referred to as lemon laundering.
Typically, lemon cars get transported into states with weak lemon law disclosure requirements. Why?...because car manufacturers know that they can do so and because it is legal.
For example, prior to August 1, many car manufacturers may have potentially targeted Minnesota as a state where it can dump many of its lemon inventory because Minnesota Lemon Law, in the past, did not require a lemon "stamp" on the vehicle's title. An unsuspecting car buyer in Minnesota, prior to August 1st, may never know that his or her used vehicle that was purchased at a local car lot has been subject to repeated repair attempts or may have serious safety defects....until the vehicle manifests a defect several days or weeks after owning the vehicle.
Now, similar to the Texas Lemon Law disclosure requirement, all vehicles that has been repurchased or replaced via Minnesota's lemon law will now have a "Lemon Law Vehicle" stamp on its title, similar to a flood damaged, prior salvage, or rebuilt stamps. This new provision of the law is aimed at providing consumer awareness and disclosure. However, just because a pre-owned vehicle doesn't have this lemon law stamp does not mean that it is lemon-free. For example, if a vehicle was repurchased or replaced prior to an official adjudication of the lemon law program, then it may still be a lemon and will not have any stamps attached to its title.
Please keep in mind that although my office handles lemon law related claims in Texas, we DO NOT handle pre-own are cases. For more information about Minnesota's lemon law stamp requirements, go here.
Two new car buyers purchased the same year, make, and model vehicle from Chrysler. The main difference between these two buyers is that one purchased their vehicle in Texas, while the other purchased it in California.
Quiz: in the event that both vehicles are defective lemon cars, which consumer is better off and more likely to get a repurchase or replacement?
Answer: the California car owner is more likely to win their lemon law case. Why, you ask?
The reasoning is because each state has its own version of the "lemon law." The California Lemon Law has provisions that are much more consumer friendly than Texas Lemon Law. As to why California law is better than Texas law?...my suspicion is that car manufacturers have been more successful in effectuating lemon law legislation by utilizing lobbyists and special interest groups in Texas than in California.
Here are some significant differences between Texas and California lemon law:
1) California lemon law has an automatic attorney fee shifting provision that forces the car manufacturer to pay the consumer's attorney fee if the consumer wins. Texas only allows consumer attorneys to become involved only if the car manufacturer is represented by an attorney first (otherwise, the consumer will have to pay for their own attorney fee).
2) The mileage deduction for a vehicle repurchase or replacement in Texas assumes that the average lifespan of a vehicle is 120,000, which is an extremely heavy deduction against the consumer, as compared to California.
3) California law covers small business vehicles, while Texas law focuses on personal consumer use.
4) Texas has a "30 day" repair presumption similar to California, but the only way the rebuttable presumption is triggered is only if the dealer or manufacturer failed to provide the consumer with a comparable loaner vehicle.
Please note that this is not an exhaustive list. For further comparisons, please contact your state's lemon law lawyer. For more information about the California Lemon Law, go here.
