The Lemon Law in Virginia

Virginia's Motor Vehicle Warranty Enforcement Act covers new passenger cars, pickup and panel trucks, motorcycles, autocycles, mopeds and the self-propelled chassis of motor homes, including demonstrators and leased vehicles. The "lemon law rights period" is 18 months after delivery. If a defect that significantly impairs the vehicle's use, market value or safety (even one that does not affect driveability) is not fixed after a reasonable number of attempts during that period, the manufacturer must replace the vehicle with a comparable one acceptable to the consumer or take it back and refund the full contract price, collateral charges and incidental damages, minus a use allowance up to the first notice of the defect; the consumer has an unconditional right to choose a refund. A reasonable number of attempts is presumed if, during the rights period, the same defect was repaired three or more times and continues, a serious safety defect was repaired once or more and continues, or the vehicle was out of service 30 calendar days. The consumer must give the manufacturer written notice, and the manufacturer gets one more chance (up to 15 days) if it had not been notified. Using a manufacturer's dispute program is the consumer's choice. A successful consumer recovers attorney's fees, expert fees and court costs. Suit must be filed within the 18-month rights period, with an extension if a timely dispute-program claim was not resolved.

1) Report the problem to the manufacturer, its agents or an authorized dealer during the lemon law rights period (18 months after original delivery). 2) Written notice and final repair chance: before using the lemon law, the consumer must notify the manufacturer of the need for repair, unless the manufacturer already counts as notified (for example, a written complaint was mailed to it, it responded in writing, or a factory representative inspected the vehicle or met with the consumer or dealer). The manufacturer must disclose this written-notice requirement, and the address to use, in the warranty or owner's manual. If the repair presumption has already been met when the manufacturer is first notified, it gets one more chance of no more than 15 days to fix the defect. 3) Arbitration: if the manufacturer offers an informal dispute settlement procedure, using it is the consumer's choice; it is not required before suing. If the program awards a refund or replacement, the manufacturer has 40 days after receiving the consumer's acceptance to comply. Virginia's lemon law does not create a state-run arbitration program or set a consumer fee. 4) Deadline to sue: a lawsuit must be filed within the lemon law rights period. If the consumer used the manufacturer's program within that period without a satisfactory result, the consumer has 12 months from the program's final action or the original rights period, whichever is longer. The rights period is extended if the manufacturer was notified but the defect was not fixed by the end of the period. A consumer who wins recovers reasonable attorney's fees, expert witness fees and court costs.