Sour Taste Over Lemon Laws For Non-Traditional Motor Vehicle Owners
Do you have a motor home, all-terrain vehicle, tractor, motorcycle or any other motorized transportation with less than four wheels? Did you buy it brand new only to find out it is a dud, something like a car lemon? Your rights as a consumer when it comes to the lemon law and its interpretation depends on which state you live in. Nope, it is not the state of denial, which is what you would like to live in after spending all that money, only to get a dud vehicle!
Let’s look at the lemon law Florida has passed through legislature. Their lemon law only covers new vehicles bought or leased. The vehicle use must be for private or personal use and does not include any vehicles ridden off road or any vehicles less than four wheels. And the lemon law California has does not take into account the off-road vehicles and other modes of transportation other than a new vehicle with four wheels. However, motor home chassis are covered, but not the body.
If you live in Texas, however, you can enjoy one of the most liberal lemon laws in the United States. Recreational modes of transportation like three or four wheelers, motorcycles, motor homes, cars, trucks and vans are all covered as long as they are new vehicles. No used car lemons or the like are considered. Other states are a bit more liberal in their interpretation of these laws. New Hampshire is one of them as is New Mexico and North Carolina.
Other states typically cover new cars, small trucks and vans in their car lemon law. Some are conditional when it comes to recreational vehicles, motorcycles and motor homes. For instance, the state of Illinois covers recreational vehicles under their lemon law but not motorcycles. In New Jersey however, they do cover motorcycles and even motor homes. Ohio covers motorcycles as does Washington.
Depending on where you live, you will probably want to consult with one or two lemon law attorneys to interpret the law for you. Because some states just mention any motorized mode of transportation that you use for family or personal use that leaves the field wide open to speculation. What is interpreted as a motorized vehicle? Each state will probably have a different answer. Virginia, Wyoming, Oregon, Maine and Minnesota have more general interpretations than most.
You could be a retiree with a brand new motor home, ready to hit the open roads of the United States. Or you could be a farmer or rancher that used tractors and recreational vehicles like a four-wheeler for farm work. Maybe you are a motorcycle rider trying to save on gas or you ride a moped around your college town. No matter what the circumstance, brush up on the lemon laws your state has or consult with lemon law lawyers if you are having difficulties with your new mode of transportation. Remember your rights will vary depending on where you reside.