The Lemon Law in Alabama

Alabama's lemon law covers new or previously untitled motor vehicles bought mainly for personal, family or household use; it does not cover motor homes or vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or more. The "lemon law rights period" is the first year after delivery or 12,000 miles, whichever comes first. A defect that significantly impairs use, value or safety and is reported in that period must be repaired. The manufacturer is presumed to have had reasonable repair attempts if, within 24 months or 24,000 miles, the same defect was subject to repair three or more times plus a final repair attempt, or the vehicle was out of service for repairs a total of 30 calendar days. If the defect is not fixed, the consumer can choose a comparable new vehicle or a refund of the contract price and collateral charges, minus a reasonable allowance for use.

1) Written notice: before suing, the consumer must send the manufacturer notice of the defect by certified U.S. mail and demand that it be corrected or repaired. The notice is a written statement describing the vehicle, the defect and all previous attempts to fix it. 2) Final repair attempt: if, when the notice is given, the presumption of reasonable repair attempts has already arisen, the manufacturer gets a final opportunity to fix the vehicle. Within 7 calendar days of receiving the notice it must tell the consumer of a reasonably accessible repair facility, and after the consumer delivers the vehicle there it has no more than 14 calendar days to fix it. 3) Arbitration: Alabama has no state-run lemon law arbitration program. If the manufacturer has an informal dispute program that complies with federal rules, the consumer must first use up any remedy under that program before suing. 4) Deadline: any action against the manufacturer must be started within three years after the vehicle was originally delivered to the consumer. A consumer who shows the manufacturer breached its obligations can also recover reasonable attorney's fees.

Alabama's lemon law applies only to new or previously untitled vehicles. Alabama has no separate used-car lemon law. Under Alabama's version of the Uniform Commercial Code, a seller can exclude implied warranties with conspicuous language, and expressions like "as is" or "with all faults" generally exclude all implied warranties.