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Wisconsin Lemon Law

If your new vehicle, that is less than an year old and still under warranty, has a serious defect that the dealer can not fix in four repeated attempts or has one or more defects that prevents you from using it for 30 calendar days, you probably have a lemon in your hands. And the Wisconsin Lemon Law requires the manufacturer to replace your vehicle for free or refund the price of your vehicle.
Any defect that severely affects the use, value or safety of the vehicle, covered by the warranty, is enclosed within the lemon law. And any new car bought in Wisconsin is covered.
Although there is no deadline for filing a lemon law suit, the court usually decides if the case is too old. In order to qualify for a lemon suit you vehicle needs to be 1. Bought as new in Wisconsin. 2. Vehicle should be a motorcycle, car, motor home or truck. 3. Vehicle develops a problem during the warranty period or the first year of its purchase. 4. The problem harms the vehicle's value, use or safety. 5. The dealer failed to fix the problem within four attempts or the vehicle was out of service for 30 calendar days.
If you have a lemon in your hands you should 1. Get repair orders of each of your visits that detail the problems you reported and the dates. 2. Have the purchase contract, warranty statement and repair orders to prove to court that you possess a lemon. 3. Provide the manufacturer a notice, to the address available in the owner's manual, stating the problem of the car and that you would like a replacement or refund, preferably using a Wisconsin Department of Transportation's 'Motor Vehicle Lemon Law Notice'. The notice give the manufacturer 30 days to respond. 4. If the manufacturer has a certified arbitration program you are required to use it before you can serve your right to the court. However, under no condition are you obligated to accept the decision of the program. If the decision is not to your liking you can reject it and serve your right to the court.
The manufacturer arbitration program is an informal program to settle your disputes without going to the court. Arbitrators, usually volunteers from the community, decide the case based on information provided by the consumer and the manufacturer. Participation in the program is obligatory only if it is certified under the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. However, if the program is not certified by Wisconsin Department of Transportation, you are not obligated to use it. In any case, arbitration program is free and does not require lawyer representation. 5. If you decide to serve your right to the court, consult a Lemon Law attorney for help. If you win in court the manufacturer will have to pay you the vehicle purchase price plus your attorney fee.
Your success in using the state lemon law to your favor will depend on 1. How efficiently you can maintain records. 2. Provide the right notice. 3. Use the arbitration program when required.