Alabama Lemon Law

The Alabama state lemon law is Title 8 of the Commercial law and Consumer Protection Chapter 20A Motor Vehicle Lemon Law Rights. Alabama protects new motor vehicles driven on public highways that are self propelled. Motor homes and vehicles that have a manufacturer’s gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 10,000 pounds or more are not protected under the law (8-20-A-1(2))

The consumer has Alabama lemon law protection for 12 months or 12,000 miles, whichever comes first. The manufacturer guarantees in the warranty that the car should run as promised and if does not it will take the necessary steps to fix it. If the vehicle is having problems of nonconformity, then the consumer is entitled under law to receive a refund or replacement. However, the manufacturer must have a reasonable number of attempts to repair or fix the nonconformities of the vehicle. A nonconformity condition is defined as “(i) significantly impairs the use, value or safety of the motor vehicle and (ii) occurs or arises solely in the course of the ordinary use of the motor vehicle, and which does not arise or occur as a result of abuse, neglect, modification, or alteration” (8-20-A-1(6)). If shall be presumed that a reasonable number of attempts have been made on the vehicle, if (8-20A-2(c)):

• The manufacturer or its agent has had at least three opportunities to fix a problem of nonconformity.
• The vehicle has been out of service for nonconformity repairs for a cumulative of 30 or more calendar days, unless repair could not be performed due to circumstances beyond the manufacturer’s control.

After either of these two situations has occurred, the consumer may claim his refund or replacement. However, there are many steps he must go through to get there. First, the consumer must given notice of the nonconforming condition to the manufacturer and ask one more time to fix the nonconformity. The manufacturer must then notify the consumer of a reasonably accessible repair facility within seven days of receiving the original notice. The manufacturer has 14 days starting the day the vehicle is delivered to the repair facility to one have last chance to fix the nonconformity. If, after this point, the vehicle still does not work correctly, then the consumer is obligated to go to the manufacturer’s informal dispute settlement program (arbitration). If the manufacturer does not have a program or the program does not follow federal guidelines, then the consumer may proceed directly to civil court. Any civil suit against the manufacturer must commence at least within three years of the original purchase (8-20A-6). In no way throughout this process is the dealer of the vehicle liable for anything (8-20A-5). The disputes are between the consumer and the manufacturer only.

The two defenses the manufacturer may use against the consumer are that the vehicle’s problem does not fall under the category of nonconformity or the consumer has abused, damaged, or neglected the car which has led to the problem. If the consumer wins in arbitration/court, he is entitled to a refund or replacement. The replacement is to be a vehicle of comparable value. The refund is to include full contract price, dealer fees, nonrefundable warranties and contracts, taxes, licensing fees, cost of alternative transportation due to the vehicle being in the shop, etc. A deduction can be made to the refund value by multiplying full purchase price of vehicle by a fraction in which the denominator is 100,000 and the number of miles driven before the first report of the nonconformity.

In order for the lemon motor vehicle to be resold again in the state of Alabama the manufacturer must take two steps (8-20A-4). First, the manufacturer must disclose in writing to the subsequent purchaser that the vehicle was returned because it violated the Alabama state lemon law and describe the nature of the nonconformity. Second, the manufacturer must return the title to the Alabama Department of Revenue. The Revenue Department then brands the title for the manufacturer with the following statement:

THIS VEHICLE WAS RETURNED TO THE MANUFACTURER BECAUSE IT DID NOT CONFORM TO ITS WARRANTY.