The Lemon Law in New Mexico

New Mexico's Motor Vehicle Quality Assurance Act covers passenger vehicles—including cars, pickup trucks, motorcycles and vans—with a gross vehicle weight under 10,000 pounds, normally used for personal, family or household purposes, and sold and registered in New Mexico. The protection period is the express warranty term or one year from original delivery, whichever ends first. A reasonable number of repair attempts is presumed if the same defect has been repaired four or more times and still exists, or the vehicle has been in repair for a total of 30 or more business days during that period. The presumption applies only if the consumer has given the manufacturer prior direct written notice and a chance to fix the defect. If a defect that substantially impairs the vehicle cannot be fixed, the manufacturer must replace it with a comparable vehicle or refund the full purchase price, including collateral charges, minus a reasonable allowance for the consumer's use.

1) Report the problem: the consumer must report the defect to the manufacturer, its agent or an authorized dealer during the express warranty term or within one year after original delivery, whichever ends first. 2) Written notice: the presumption that the manufacturer had a reasonable number of repair attempts does not apply unless the manufacturer first received direct written notice from or on behalf of the consumer and had a chance to fix the defect. The manufacturer must tell the consumer about this written-notice requirement in the warranty or a separate notice. 3) Arbitration: if the manufacturer has or takes part in a fair and impartial informal dispute settlement procedure that substantially complies with federal rules (16 C.F.R. part 703), the consumer must use it first before the refund-or-replacement remedy applies. The state Attorney General may investigate and decide whether such a procedure qualifies. The law does not create a state-run arbitration program or set a consumer fee. 4) Deadline to sue: a lawsuit under the Motor Vehicle Quality Assurance Act must be filed within 18 months after original delivery, or, if the consumer used the manufacturer's informal dispute procedure, within 90 days after the panel's final action, whichever is later.

A used car dealer may not exclude, modify or disclaim the implied warranty of merchantability. The vehicle must work substantially free of a defect that significantly limits its use for ordinary highway transportation until midnight of the 15th calendar day after delivery or for 500 miles, whichever comes first. The buyer must notify the seller within 30 days of the problem and give a reasonable chance to repair; the buyer pays half the cost of the first two repairs, up to $25 per repair. The dealer's sales agreement must include a boldface statement of this warranty or it is voidable by the buyer. A buyer may waive the warranty only for a specific defect that the dealer fully discloses, by signing a boldface waiver on the first page of the sales agreement. Damage from off-road use, racing, towing, abuse, neglect or lack of maintenance after the sale is not covered.