If you’re an Alabama resident and you’ve recently purchased a new or previously untitled motor vehicle, you may be entitled to certain legal protections under the state’s lemon law. This law is designed to provide recourse for consumers who have purchased a vehicle that turns out to be a “lemon,” meaning it has a significant defect that impairs its use, value, or safety. In this article, we’ll provide a comprehensive summary of the AL Lemon Law, including what it covers, how it works, and what you need to do if you believe you may have a claim.
AL lemon law eligibility and Time Periods
Under the Alabama Lemon Law, you may be eligible for relief if you are a purchaser of a new or previously untitled motor vehicle that is used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. The law does not cover vehicles that are used primarily for commercial purposes or that weigh at least 10,000 pounds G.V.W.R. Additionally, the law only applies to nonconforming conditions that arise within the first year after original delivery or the first 12,000 miles of operation, whichever comes first. The time period for filing a claim is three years following the original delivery to the consumer.
Nonconforming Conditions and Warranty Obligations
The Alabama Lemon Law defines a “nonconforming condition” as any condition of a motor vehicle that is not in conformity with the terms of any express warranty issued by the manufacturer to a consumer, significantly impairs the use, value, or safety of the motor vehicle, occurs or arises solely in the course of the ordinary use of the motor vehicle, and does not arise or occur as a result of abuse, neglect, modification, or alteration of the motor vehicle not authorized by the manufacturer or from any accident or other damage to the motor vehicle that occurs or arises after the motor vehicle was delivered by an authorized dealer to the consumer.
If you deliver your vehicle to the manufacturer, its agent, or authorized dealer and provide notice of a nonconforming condition during the lemon law rights period, the manufacturer is obligated to make the necessary repairs to remedy the nonconforming condition. This obligation extends for a period of two years following delivery or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first. If notice of the nonconforming condition was first given during the lemon law rights period, repairs are required even after the expiration of that period.
Manufacturer’s Obligation to Repurchase or Replace
If the manufacturer, its agent, or authorized dealer is unable to conform the motor vehicle to any express warranty after reasonable attempts by repairing or correcting a nonconforming condition that first occurred during the lemon law rights period, then the manufacturer must replace or repurchase the motor vehicle, at the option of the consumer.
Calculating Refunds and Reasonable Allowance
If you choose a refund, it consists of the full contract price, including charges for undercoating, dealer preparation and transportation charges, and installed options, plus the nonrefundable portions of extended warranties and service contracts, all collateral charges, including but not limited to sales tax, license and registration fees, and similar government charges, all finance charges incurred by the consumer after the first report of the nonconforming condition to the manufacturer, its agent, or authorized dealer, and any incidental damages, including the reasonable cost of alternative transportation during the period that the consumer is without the use of the motor vehicle because of the nonconforming condition. However, the refund is offset by a reasonable allowance for the consumer’s use of the vehicle. This allowance is calculated as the number of miles that the vehicle traveled attributable to use by the consumer before the first report of the nonconforming condition to the manufacturer, agent, or authorized dealer divided by 100,000
Manufacturer-Sponsored Arbitration and Statute of Limitations
If the manufacturer has established an informal dispute settlement procedure that complies with 16 C.F.R. Part 703, then the consumer must first exhaust any remedy afforded by the procedure before instituting a cause of action under the lemon law. An action must be brought within three years following the date of original delivery of the motor vehicle to the consumer.
Dealer Liability and Restrictions on Resale of Returned Vehicles
The Alabama Lemon Law provides a cause of action against the manufacturer only. Nothing in the lemon law imposes any liability upon a dealer or creates a cause of action by a consumer against a dealer. A dealer may not be made a party defendant in any action involving or relating to the lemon law. The manufacturer must not charge back or require reimbursement by a dealer for any costs, including but not limited to any refunds or replacements incurred by the manufacturer arising out of the lemon law.
A motor vehicle returned to the manufacturer under the provisions of the lemon law or any other state’s lemon law, whether as the result of legal action or an informal dispute settlement proceeding, may not be resold in Alabama unless the manufacturer discloses in writing to the subsequent purchaser that the motor vehicle was returned under the lemon law and the nature of the nonconformity to the motor vehicle, and the manufacturer returns the title of the motor vehicle to the Alabama Department of Revenue advising of the motor vehicle’s return under the lemon law with an application for title in the name of the manufacturer. The Department of Revenue must brand the title issued to the manufacturer and all subsequent titles with the following statement: “THIS VEHICLE WAS RETURNED TO THE MANUFACTURER BECAUSE IT DID NOT CONFORM TO ITS WARRANTY.”
Limitations on Waiver and Enhanced Damages
Not specified.
AL lemon law Attorney’s Fees
If the court determines that the manufacturer breached its obligations under the lemon law, then the consumer is entitled to recover an additional award for attorney’s fees.