The Lemon Law in Maine

Maine's lemon law covers motor vehicles sold or leased in Maine, except vehicles used primarily for commercial purposes with a gross vehicle weight of 8,500 pounds or more; governments and businesses that register three or more vehicles are not "consumers." The consumer must report the defect during the express warranty, within 3 years after original delivery, or within the first 18,000 miles, whichever comes first. A reasonable number of repair attempts is presumed if, within that period, the same defect was subject to repair 3 or more times and still exists; a defect causing a serious failure of the brakes or steering was subject to repair once; or the vehicle was out of service for repairs for a total of 15 or more business days. The consumer must then notify the manufacturer or dealer in writing that the consumer wants a refund or replacement, and the manufacturer gets a final 7-business-day opportunity to repair. If the defect still substantially impairs the vehicle's use, safety or value, the manufacturer must replace the vehicle or take it back and refund the purchase price (or lease payments), finance charges, sales tax and registration fees, and reasonable towing, storage and alternative-transportation costs, minus a reasonable allowance for use; the consumer may reject a replacement and take a refund instead. The Department of the Attorney General administers a state-certified arbitration program for lemon law disputes.

1) Written notice and final repair attempt: if the defect has not been fixed, the consumer must notify the manufacturer or the authorized dealer in writing that the consumer wants a refund or replacement. (This can be done after one repair attempt if the defect caused a serious failure of the brakes or steering.) For 7 business days after the notice is received, the manufacturer has a final opportunity to repair the vehicle at a facility reasonably accessible to the consumer; this does not delay the arbitration timeline. A consumer can be required to notify the manufacturer only if the warranty or owner's manual clearly says written notice is required and gives the address; written notice to the authorized dealer also satisfies it. 2) Arbitration: the Department of the Attorney General runs state-certified lemon law arbitration. Manufacturers must take part if the consumer asks within 3 years after original delivery or within the express warranty term, whichever comes first, and the State accepts the application. A written finding is due within 45 days after the Attorney General's office receives a properly completed request. If the manufacturer has a federally compliant (16 C.F.R. Part 703) dispute program, the consumer must first use that program or state-certified arbitration before the refund/replacement remedy applies; that requirement is met 40 days after notifying the manufacturer's program, or sooner when it completes its duties. 3) After a finding: a manufacturer ordered to refund or replace must do so within 21 days or appeal. Either side may appeal to Superior Court in the county of sale within 21 days of the finding; a consumer who is dissatisfied may instead apply to the manufacturer's program if not already used. 4) Deadline: the lemon law chapter does not state a separate deadline to sue beyond the arbitration and appeal time limits above.

A dealer who sells a used motor vehicle to anyone other than another dealer warrants that the vehicle has been inspected and meets Maine's state inspection standards (or, for a vehicle sold as "reconstructable," that it is in the condition stated in the required "unsafe motor vehicle" disclosure). This warranty and the buyer's remedies cannot be excluded, limited or waived. The dealer must give the buyer a written statement of the warranty, including where repairs will be done and a notice that the buyer must give the dealer written notice of any failure to perform before going to court. A dealer fails its warranty duty if, for example, it does not complete required repairs within five business days after the buyer delivers the car (35 calendar days if parts are unavailable) without providing a free operating loaner vehicle.