Lemon Law Tips - 6 recommendations from Top Lemon Law experts |
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Paul Fleming
October 25, 2007
Lemon Law Lawyers like it when everything is in place before taking on the automotive dealers. It's important to make sure your documentation is in place from the very beginning. Following these six tips may help you when your vehicle is in the shop:
1. NEVER LEAVE THE REPAIR FACILITY without a copy of the work orders. A complete record of the vehicle history is very important, especially with repeated problems. Although not absolutely necessary to prove your claim at a later date, copies of the records prevent the dealer from writing several repair visits as one, a common practice.
2.GET AS MUCH INFORMATION as you can. Comprehensive work repair orders are especially valuable. Try to get it as detailed as possible and make sure they include the dates. Accurate reporting is very important.
3. ASK ABOUT TSBs - TSB (Technical Service Bulletins) are instructions from the manufacturer that alert dealerships about defects or repairs in certain models. However, dealerships do not generally tell the customer about TSBs unless asked. So speak up. Ask the dealership to write your TSB request on the repair order even if told no TSBs exist for the concerns you are experiencing.
4. DEMAND RESPECT - You paid a lot for your vehicle...so don't be afraid to go over anyone's head if your vehicle isn't repaired properly. Part of the price of the car is the warranty service for which repairs are being made. You paid for it, you should get your moneys worth.
5. ARBITRATION - At present, the Federal Trade Commission has determined that no manufacturer has in place an "arbitration program" which complies with Federal minimum standards. What this means is that the FTC finds these programs to be unfair to consumers.
6. DON'T BE MISLED - In some situations, the dealership may claim that the consumer is causing the problem. This is a common tactic when the dealership cannot fix the problem or the manufacturer has no repair to correct the condition. Ask about the TSBs as stated above and stick to your guns. Your situation is not as unique as the dealership represents.
HELPFUL WEBSITE LINKS:
To obtain a vehicle history on your car, check http://www.carfax.com
To obtain the value of your car for sale, go to http://www.kbb.com.
To find out if technical repair bulletins or recall have been issued for your vehicle, choose http://www.nhtsa.gov.
Naturally, we feel it is important to get in touch with a Lemon Law Attorney as soon as possible but the most important thing is to do your homework and have everything in place so that you don't jeopardize your claim.
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Paul Fleming represents Kimmel & Silverman who have been providing cost-free, quality legal representation to distressed consumers of “lemon” cars since 1991. Contact them at http://www.lemonlaw.com/mail.html or visit their website at http://www.lemonlaw.com .