Lemon laws are United States state laws that remedies to consumers for cars that repeatedly fail to meet certain standards of quality and performance. These niche market cars are called lemons. The federal lemon law (the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act) protects citizens of all states. State lemon laws vary by state and may not necessarily cover used or leased cars. The rights afforded to consumers by lemon laws may exceed the warranties expressed in purchase contracts. Lemon law is the common nickname for these laws, but each state has different names for the laws and acts.

In California, lemon laws cover anything mechanical, as do the federal lemon laws. The federal lemon law also provides that the warranter may be obligated to pay your attorney fees if you prevail in a lemon law suit, as do most state lemon laws.

Technical service bulletins are instructions from the manufacturer that alert dealerships of specific defects or necessary repairs in certain models. If you don't ask your dealer might not present you with this information, so speak up and ask your technician to write your request on the repair order. Technical Service Bulletins do not necessarily mean the vehicle has a recall or mean the repair will be payed for by the manufacturer.

When No Manufacturer's Warranty Exists If you do not have a manufacturer's warranty of any kind you may be entitled to compensation for violations of consumer protection laws that fall outside of the lemon laws. The following is a list of some of the problems and/or issues which may be present in your vehicle. Your vehicle may be/have a:

Laundered Lemon (or prior history of mechanical problems known to the seller);
Previously salvaged or wrecked;
Fraudulently rolled back odometer;
Rental car, police car, taxi, etc.;
Stolen, stripped and rebuilt; and/or
Involved in a flood.
Lemon Laws vary from state to state, so accurate information on the scope and restrictions of Lemon Laws in a particular state should be obtained from an attorney practicing in that state.