Delaware Lemon Law

The Delaware state lemon law can be located at Title 6, Subtitle II, Chapter 50, Sections 5001 – 5009 of the Delaware legal code. Delaware protects automobiles that are “any passenger motor vehicle, except motorcycles, which is leased or bought in Delaware or registered by the Division of Motor Vehicles in the Department of Public Safety except the living facilities” (§5001(5)).

The consumer has Delaware lemon law protection for the duration of the express warranty or 12 months after the delivery of the vehicle, 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. Nonconformity is defined in (§5001(6)) as “a defect or condition which substantially impairs the use, value, or safety of an automobile.” 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 four or more attempts 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 such as natural disasters or war.

If the consumer is still believes the nonconformity exists after a reasonable number of attempts to fix it, the consumer may proceed to file a lemon claim. First, the consumer must notify the manufacturer of the nonconformity and make known he is willing to file a claim. The manufacturer has one final attempt to fix the nonconformity. If the consumer is not satisfied with the final repair attempt or the manufacturer never gave one final repair attempt, then the consumer may move ahead in his lemon filing. If the manufacturer has an informal dispute settlement program, which is certified and approved b the Division of Consumer Protection, the consumer must first go through that program. The consumer may not sue against the dealer, only the manufacturer. The dealer is protected by Delaware law in all lemon claim cases (§5003(e)). If the program rules in favor of the consumer, the consumer is eligible for a refund or replacement. In cases of replacement, the manufacturer must reimburse the consumer for any incidental costs, including dealer preparation fees, fees for transfer of registration, sales taxes or other charges or fees (§5003(b)). Refunds will be also be reimbursed for the same fees and taxes, but a reasonable allowance for miles driven and for damage that goes beyond normal wear and tear. 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 100,000.

The manufacturer may use in his defense that the alleged nonconformity does not substantially impair the use, value, or safety of the new motor vehicle to the consumer or that the nonconformity is result of abuse, neglect, etc that was done to the vehicle by someone besides the manufacturer (§ 5005).

There is no information on the reselling of lemon vehicles in Delaware’s lemon law.