When Do the 4 Repairs or 20 Days Matter Under the NC Lemon Law?
Under the NC Lemon Law, if a manufacturer cannot repair a defect within a “reasonable number of attempts”, it “shall” buy back or replace your vehicle. N.C.G.S. 20-351.3(a). While the statute does not define exactly what “reasonable” actually means (a question of what is or is not reasonable is almost always one that a jury or factfinder has to answer in a legal claim), it gives you a presumption that the manufacturer has been given a reasonable chance to fix your vehicle if it has had four repair attempts or more than 20 days in a one-year period to fix your vehicle but the defect(s) still exist. This legal presumption just shifts the burden of proof to the manufacturer to explain why it wasn’t given a reasonable chance to fix your vehicle.
Here is the catch: that presumption only kicks in if you (or we, on your behalf) have given the manufacturer written notice of the defect and allowed it 15 calendar days to fix it, and the problem continues to exist after that time.
What a Difference a Day Makes
This is where timing matters. It is very easy to wait too long to send the notice (after the fifth, sixth, seventh visit). This wastes valuable time and ends up potentially giving the manufacturer more bites at the apple than they need or are legally entitled to take.
Technically, for the presumption to apply, you would still have to give the manufacturer the same notice after the tenth visit that you do after the third. They could arguably come back and say it “never received proper written notice” and ask for another stab at fixing the problem. Is it the end of the world or your case if that happens? Of course not. As a practical matter, if the problem hasn’t been fixed by the fourth visit, odds are they won’t have a magic fix at any time after that, but time is money, and you are just wasting time by hoping that the problem will eventually get fixed and not enforcing your rights sooner.
Don’t give them more bites at the apple by getting us involved. Just contact us and let us do our thing to help you get out of the vehicle. We will handle it and make sure it is done right the first time.
Why Timing Is Everything
Based on my interpretation of the statute, which I think is correct, once that notice goes out and is received by the manufacturer, they have 15 calendar days to actually correct the problem. Not to call you or schedule something for three weeks from now, but to actually fix your vehicle.
That distinction matters because it’s a hard deadline and the law doesn’t really care about manufacturer excuses for why it did not contact you and fix your vehicle when it should. In my experience, most of the time the manufacturers never even request the repair within that window, let alone complete it. In fact, in more than 18 years of doing this I have never once had a vehicle actually get fixed after the manufacturer received the notice. It’s a formality, but still one that you need to adhere to in order to preserve the legal presumption in your favor and get that edge that helps your case.
Call Us Before That Fourth Visit
Seriously, don’t waste the time. Before you go back to the dealer a fourth time for the same problem, pick up the phone. We get the manufacturer the proper notice that it needs to review your claim, and we handle everything from that point forward. You do not have to deal with the manufacturer directly at any point in the process.
