The Lemon Law in West Virginia

West Virginia's lemon law covers new passenger automobiles bought or titled in West Virginia, including Class A pickup trucks and vans, the self-propelled chassis of motor homes, and certain farm vehicles. If a defect is reported during the warranty or within one year of delivery, whichever is longer, the manufacturer must make the needed repairs. If a defect that substantially impairs use or market value cannot be fixed after a reasonable number of attempts, the manufacturer must replace the vehicle with a comparable new one; the consumer may also sue the manufacturer and may be awarded a refund of the purchase price (including sales tax, license and registration fees and other reasonable purchase expenses) or damages for diminished value, repair costs, loss of use and inconvenience, and reasonable attorney fees. A reasonable number of attempts is presumed if, within the warranty or one year (whichever is earlier), the same defect was repaired three or more times and continues, the vehicle was out of service 30 or more calendar days, or a defect likely to cause death or serious injury was repaired at least once and continues; the manufacturer must first receive written notice and a chance to cure. Suit must be filed within one year after the express warranty expires.

1) Report the problem to the manufacturer, its agent or an authorized dealer during the express warranty term or within one year after original delivery, whichever is longer. 2) Written notice: the presumption that the manufacturer had a reasonable number of repair attempts applies only if the manufacturer received prior written notice from or on behalf of the consumer and had at least one opportunity to fix the defect. The manufacturer must give buyers a printed statement at purchase saying they must first notify the manufacturer in writing and give it a chance to repair. 3) Arbitration: the Attorney General sets rules for qualified third-party dispute resolution programs, supervised by the Attorney General's consumer protection division and meeting federal Magnuson-Moss standards. If a qualified program exists and the consumer was told about it in writing in time, with a description of how it works, the consumer must use it first before suing. The consumer may sue if no qualified program exists, if dissatisfied with the decision, or if the manufacturer does not promptly carry it out. The statute does not set a consumer fee. 4) Deadline to sue: a lawsuit in circuit court must be filed within one year after the express warranty term expires. Time limits are paused from the day a complaint is filed with a third-party program until its decision (or the deadline for carrying it out, if later). The court may award reasonable attorney fees.

West Virginia generally bars merchants from excluding or limiting implied warranties (such as merchantability) on consumer goods. A used vehicle may be sold "as is" only if it is inoperable and a total loss, custom built or modified for show or racing, or sold for less than $4,000, driven more than 100,000 miles, or seven years old or older. A buyer of an "as is" vehicle in the last group may cancel the sale by returning it by the end of the dealer's third business day after the sale if it has a significant mechanical problem that reasonably existed at the time of sale. An "as is" sale requires a specific disclaimer on the front page of the sales contract.