Arkansas Lemon Law

The Arkansas state lemon law is cited as the “Arkansas New Motor Vehicle Quality Assurance Act” which is Title 4, Chapter 90, Sections 401-417 of the Arkansas legal code.

Arkansas protects motor vehicles that are “self-propelled vehicle licensed, purchased, or leased in this state and primarily designed for the transportation of persons or property over public streets and highways.” Mopeds, motorcycles, the living facilities of a motor home, or vehicles over that weigh over 10,000 gross pounds are not protected by the Arkansas lemon law.

The consumer has Arkansas lemon law protection for 24 months or 24,000 miles, whichever comes last. 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, according to §4-90-403-13, is “any specific or generic defect or condition or any concurrent combinations of defects or conditions that:

A. Substantially impairs the use, market value, or safety of a motor vehicle; or
B. Renders the motor vehicle nonconforming to the terms of an applicable manufacturer’s express warranty or implied warranty of merchantability”

If shall be presumed that a reasonable number of attempts have been made on the vehicle, if:

• The manufacturer, its agent, or authorized dealer has had at least three attempts to fix a problem of nonconformity.
• The manufacturer, its agent, or authorized dealer has had at least one attempt to fix a problem of nonconformity that is likely to cause death or serious injury.
• 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 such as natural disasters or war.
• The manufacturer, its agent, or authorized dealer has had five attempts, on separate occasions, to repair any nonconformities.

Manufacturers must provide the consumers written notice of the Arkansas lemon law at the time of the purchase or lease of the vehicle. The Consumer Protection Division of the Office of the Attorney General prepares the written notice. The manufacturer shall also make clear that in order for a consumer to go about his refund he must first provide written notice to the manufacturer of the nonconformity.

Before consumers are allowed to file a claim of a lemon, he must give the manufacturer one last chance to fix the defect. The consumer has to send a certified mail notice to the manufacturer giving one last notice of the nonconformity. The manufacturer has 10 calendar days to schedule one final repair attempt. If the defect still stands, or the manufacturer never scheduled a repair date, then the consumer is eligible for a refund or replacement. If the manufacturer denies the lemon claim, then the consumer may head to the informal dispute settlement program. The informal dispute program must be certified by the Consumer Protection Division of the Office of the Attorney General and must comply with all Federal Trade Commission standards (§4-90-414-b). If the consumer is denied his claim in the informal dispute, he may proceed to civil court, but be aware that the arbitration decision can be applicable in the next court. If a consumer heads directly to civil court and the manufacturer has an arbitration program setup, then the consumer may not be eligible to receive a refund or replacement. The only exception to this rule is if the manufacturer allows the consumer to head directly to court (§4-90-414-a). If the consumer is rewarded a refund, he may be entitled to receive more money than the actual original purchase. According to the Arkansas Lemon Law Guide, these costs include:

• Credits and allowances for any trade-in vehicle,
• Costs of any options and other modifications added by the manufacturer or its authorized dealer,
• Costs of sales tax, license and registration fees, and finance charges,
• Chargers of renting a similar vehicle while the original vehicle was out of service because of the defect,
• Expert fees,
• Charges for extended warranty coverages provided by the manufacturer, its subsidiary or agent.

A “reasonable allowance” must also be subtracted off the refund value. The reasonable allowance equals the purchase price multiplied by the mileage at the time the vehicle was brought in for its first repair divided by 120,000.

Manufacturers in Arkansas are allowed to put the lemon car back on the market. However, the dealer or leasing company of the manufacturer must provide to the first buyer of the lemon car a written notice stating that the vehicle was “returned to the manufacturer because of a nonconformity not cured within a reasonable time.” The manufacturer in the first sale provides the same express warranty of the original purchase, except the protection term only lasts 12,000 miles or 12 months after the resale purchase, whichever occurs first (4-90-412). Consumer should also beware some manufacturer will take back the car before the lemon decision is actually made. Therefore, the manufacturer is not required to let future consumers know that the vehicle was involved in a lemon dispute.