At Norris Emery, PLLC, we provide North Carolina lemon law relief for all North Carolina residents.  We represent North Carolina consumers in warranty disputes with motor vehicle dealers and manufacturers for:

• NC Lemon Law for New Vehicles

• NC Used Vehicle Lemon Law

Has your new vehicle been in the shop repeatedly (three or more times for the same problem) to undergo dealer warranty repairs, or has it been in the shop for repairs for more than twenty days within twelve months of the warranty period?  If so, you may have an NC Lemon Law claim that may entitle you to return the vehicle under the NC Lemon Law statute to get a replacement or a complete buyback, including a refund of all payments you have made and a payoff of any loan or lease balance.

In some cases, if you wish to keep your vehicle and be compensated for the aggravation and headache caused by the defects and lost time for repair visits, as well as the lost value of the vehicle caused by the problems, we can negotiate with the manufacturer to allow you to keep your vehicle and receive a cash settlement for the inconvenience caused by the vehicle’s problems.

The North Carolina Lemon Law (New Motor Vehicles Warranties Act, N.C. Gen. Stat. 20-351 et seq) protects North Carolina consumers from having to deal with a vehicle that is so chronically defective that the warranty is worthless, and from being subjected to repeated and fruitless factory warranty repair attempts.  It is sometimes confusing, oftentimes frustrating, and always inadvisable to attempt to go it alone against a manufacturer of a lemon vehicle, and so we are here to help. We dedicate the time and resources needed to develop each client’s case.  We offer:

• a free initial telephone consultation
• flexible office hours
• telephone conference updates in the evenings or on weekends to meet your schedule
• access to your attorney’s direct phone line
• our promise to do everything we can to meet our clients’ legal needs

Think You Have a Lemon?

If you think you may have purchased a lemon, you have rights. If you have purchased a new or used car, motorcycle, truck, or other vehicle and it later experiences mechanical or other issues requiring frequent or long lasting repairs, it may be a lemon.  State and federal laws exist that protect consumers from being stuck with such vehicles, and our firm is dedicated to using such laws to protect our clients to the fullest.

At Norris Emery, PLLC, we assist consumers who purchased a lemon vehicle, whether new or used.  There are two primary laws that are designed to protect buyers of lemon vehicles.  The North Carolina New Motor Vehicles Warranties Act (aka “Lemon Law”) requires a manufacturer to repurchase or replace a defective new motor vehicle that meets the requirements outlined below.  Additionally, under certain circumstances a federal law, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, exists to protect consumers of used motor vehicles that are purchased with a pre-existing warranty  or who buy a separate extended warranty or service contract.

Please use this website as a resource to learn more about your rights under the North Carolina Lemon Law, discover whether it applies to you and your vehicle, and how we might help.  Answering a few simple questions will let you quickly and easily see if you might have a lemon under the North Carolina Lemon Law!

We have also provided a list of Frequently Asked Questions that will help you understand your rights and how we can help.  Also, for your convenience we have included the North Carolina Lemon Law Statute on this site for your review.

North Carolina Lemon Law for New Vehicles

The NC Lemon Law provides compensation for consumers whose new vehicleturned out to be a lemon.  If you bought a new car, truck, or motorcycle that, within the first 24 months or 24,000 miles experiences mechanical defects that require it to be taken for repairs more than four times or or that last for more than 20 cumulative business days within a 12-month period of the warranty, it may be a lemon.  Read the North Carolina Lemon Law statute for more details.

Under the North Carolina Lemon Law, you can demand that the manufacturer either repurchase your lemon from you or replace it with a comparable new vehicle.  Alternatively, you may decide to keep the vehicle and negotiate a reasonable cash settlement as a partial refund to compensate you for the headaches and aggravation caused by the constant repairs and the vehicle’s diminished value.

Used Vehicle Lemon Laws

Although North Carolina does not currently have an official “used vehicle lemon law”, used vehicles that are purchased with a written warranty or certain service contracts are covered by a federal consumer protection statute, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.  This law provides recourse to consumers who purchase any good with a written warranty or service contract and allows remedies that are similar to that of the North Carolina Lemon Law.  Used vehicles with pre-existing manufacturer warranties, dealer or other third party warranties or service contracts, may qualify under this used car lemon law.

Our firm can provide more information about your rights and how to set up a lemon law claim.

North Carolina Lemon Law – In Detail

The North Carolina Lemon Law is a powerful consumer protection law that provides specific requirements for manufacturers of new motor vehicles.  The North Carolina Lemon Law applies to all new motor vehicles, including motorcycles, that are sold or leased in North Carolina.  Although the North Carolina Lemon Law does not cover used vehicles, mopeds, house trailers (those that are towed by another vehicle), or any motor vehicle weighing more than 10,000 pounds, if such vehicles are purchased with a written warranty then they covered by the more generic federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

You are covered by the North Carolina Lemon Law if you are a:

1.  “purchaser, other than for purposes of resale…,of a motor vehicle…” (in other words, the end user, not a middleman or wholesaler);

2. “lessee from a commercial lender, lessor, or manufacturer or dealer, of a motor vehicle”;

3. “[a]ny other person entitled by the terms of an express warranty to enforce the obligations of that warranty.”

What Defects or Problems are Covered?

The North Carolina Lemon Law applies to any “defect or condition or series of defects or conditions which substantially impair the value of the motor vehicle to the consumer.”  This means that a problem with your vehicle need not be a “defect” necessarily, but can also be a “condition” with that particular vehicle or with an entire line of vehicles of an identical make, model, and year.  These defects or conditions are also called “nonconformities” because the vehicle does not “conform” to the terms of the express warranty.  In other words, the warranty says “we warrant that this is a defect-free vehicle or we will make it one if there is a problem.”  If there is a defect or condition that can’t be fixed, then the vehicle doesn’t “conform” to the warranty.

The other important thing to note here is that the defect only has to impair the value of the vehicle to the consumer, which is subjective from the consumer’s point of view.  If it important to you, then that is what matters.  Don’t get carried away here though.  If a radio knob keeps falling off in your $30,000 new vehicle, it is doubtful that saying this “substantially impairs” the vehicle’s value to you will fly.

Finally, the defect or condition must occur “no later than 24 months or 24,000 miles following original delivery of the vehicle….”  Even though a defect may occur within the warranty period, it will not be covered by the North Carolina Lemon Law unless it occurs within the first 24 months or 24,000 miles.  The statute doesn’t indicate that one of these events must occur before the other.  In other words, if a vehicle’s defect arises on month 26 but when the vehicle only has 18,000 miles on it, is it still covered?

Defect can’t be your own doing – the law allows the manufacturer an “affirmative defense” if the “defect or nonconformity…[is] the result of abuse, neglect, odometer tampering by the consumer or unauthorized modifications or alterations to the motor vehicle.”  If you are thinking about putting on oversized tires, rims, souping up the engine, etc., you may want to hold off until after the warranty has expired.

Manufacturers Have to Repair Your Vehicle

The North Carolina Lemon Law requires that express warranties for new motor vehicles sold in North Carolina have to last for at least one year or 12,000 miles.  Most warranties, however, last significantly longer, such as 3 years/36,000 miles.  The law then says that a manufacturer has to make, or at least try to make, whatever repairs are necessary to conform the vehicle to the written warranty.  One important provision here is that the manufacturer must take these steps even if the warranty period has expired, so long as the defects began within the period.  This takes away the manufacturer’s incentive to ‘punt’ the problem down the road until the warranty has expired.

When does the Mileage Begin to Run? – The mileage limits start running from the date of “original delivery to the consumer.”

Manufacturer Obligations under the North Carolina Lemon Law

Replacement or Repurchase – If you meet all of the requirements above, the law states what the manufacturer must do if the vehicle suffers from a defect or condition that cannot be repaired.  “[I]f the manufacturer is unable, after a reasonable number of attempts, to conform the motor vehicle to any express warranty by repairing or correcting, or arranging for the repair or correction of, any defect or condition or series of defects or conditions, which substantially impair the value of the motor vehicle to the consumer…the manufacturer shall, at the option of the consumer, replace the vehicle with a comparable new motor vehicle or” repurchase the vehicle.

Reasonable Number of Attempts – So, assuming all of the initial prerequisites have been met, you have to give the manufacturer a “reasonable number of attempts” to repair the vehicle.  So, what is reasonable?  The North Carolina Lemon Law answers that as well, providing a two-part test that allows the consumer and the manufacturer to know when “enough is enough”.

Presumption - the North Carolina Lemon Law presumes that the manufacturer has been given a “reasonable number of attempts” to repair the vehicle if:

• the same nonconformity has been presented for repair to the manufacturer, its agent, or its authorized dealer four or more times but the same nonconformity continues to exist; or
• the vehicle was out of service to the consumer during or while awaiting repair for a cumulative total of 20 or more business days during any 12-month period of the warranty,

Written Notice Required – to be entitled to rely on the presumption, the North Carolina Lemon Law requires that the consumer do two things:

1. Notice of Defect – the consumer must notify the manufacturer directly in writing of the existence of defect; and

2. Final Repair Attempt – the consumer must allow the manufacturer a reasonable period, not to exceed 15 calendar days, in which to correct the nonconformity or series of nonconformities.

However, these forms are not necessary if the manufacturer fails to inform the consumer that they are required for vehicle refund or replacement. Here’s the language of the Disclosure of Notice Requirement by Manufacturer: “the manufacturer must clearly and conspicuously disclose to the consumer in the warranty or owner’s manual that written notification of a nonconformity is required before a consumer may be eligible for a refund or replacement of the vehicle and the manufacturer shall include in the warranty or owner’s manual the name and address where the written notification may be sent.”

Can the Vehicle still be a Lemon if Notice isn’t given? Assuming that notice isn’t given, the North Carolina Lemon Law allows other proof that the vehicle is a Lemon.  ”The consumer may prove that a defect or condition substantially impairs the value of the motor vehicle to the consumer in a manner other than” the presumption described above.  Such other proof can be, perhaps, a defect that can be proven to present a significant safety risk.

Extension of the Warranty and Time Periods under the Law – “The term of an express warranty, the one-year period, and the 20-day period shall be extended by any period of time during which repair services are not available to the consumer because of war, strike, or natural disaster.”  This only makes sense, as it is not the consumer’s fault if he or she cannot get repair services during such events.

Legal Remedies

If you have a Lemon, the North Carolina Lemon Law may entitle you to:

• Reimbursement of expenses associated with the defective vehicle;
• Refund of the purchase price, including all options, warranty costs, sales tax, dealer prep charges and finance charges;
• Replacement with a comparable new vehicle;
• If the manufacturer unreasonably refuses to comply with the lemon law and forces you to take your case to trial, then you may be entitled to treble damages and attorney fees.

Read more about the lemon law and other consumer protection statutes on our NC lemon law blog.

Learn How Our North Carolina Lemon Law Firm Can Assist You

While we cannot claim to be the oldest lemon law firm in the State, at Norris Emery, PLLC we strive to be the best lemon law firm in North Carolina, providing an unparalleled level of client service and attention to detail.  Doing so allows our clients to rest assured that they are receiving the highest caliber legal representation possible for their lemon law claim.  You will not be relegated to talking with a paralegal or secretary every time you call.  In fact, we welcome inquiries and calls about your case and keep an open line of communication through all aspects of your North Carolina Lemon Law claim.  We pride ourselves on our flexible office hours, making ourselves available  on the weekends or evenings if need be to satisfy your , our telephone conference updates, and our commitment to to customizing our services for your needs!

We live, were founded, and are based here in North Carolina.  Unlike other multi-state lemon “mill” law firms that establish small satellite offices in one state and therefore have no real connection to North Carolina consumers, we  represent only North Carolina consumers, and are not affiliated with any out-of-state law firm.  Accordingly, you will always receive the kind of quality, customized, and personalized service that is necessary to meet your needs.

No risk to you!

he North Carolina Lemon Law allows consumers who have had the misfortune to purchase a lemon to to rid themselves of their problem. All of our North Carolina Lemon Law cases are taken on contingency, meaning you pay no attorneys’ fees for our representation. We negotiate the payment of attorneys fees from the manufacturer, dealer, or service contract provider for your lemon vehicle.  There is no risk to you to call us and see how we can help. Do not try to go up against the manufacturer of your lemon without first calling us to see if we can help!  Often we can achieve a faster and more equitable resolution than you could do on your own, and you don’t have to worry about the headache that comes with having to deal with both your defective vehicle and the manufacturer.

To discuss your situation and learn how we can help you, contact Norris Emery, PLLC today.  Call 919-981-4475 for a free initial telephone consultation.