In the United States of America, when someone makes a reference to their vehicle being a lemon, they normally colloquially mean that their vehicle is a bad car. However, while it might be true that it is a bad and defective vehicle, a vehicle being deemed a lemon really is a legal designation.

Certain things have to have occurred and exist for a vehicle to be deemed a lemon, such as it being out of service for repair in excess of a certain amount of days, or it not being able to be repaired after it having been brought in to the dealership for repair at least a specific number of times within the warranty period for the vehicle that is outlined for the vehicle under state law.

Generally, the problem with the vehicle, normally called a “defect”, must be something that affects the safety and/or use of the vehicle in order for the vehicle to be deemed a lemon.  Depending on the state’s lemon law that would apply, there are other things that must be true in order for a vehicle to be deemed a lemon.  If a vehicle is deemed a lemon, the consumer is often entitled to either a repurchase of the vehicle, or a replacement vehicle, from the manufacturer or dealer, depending on if the vehicle is a new or leased vehicle, or if it is a used vehicle.

Some states do not have lemon laws, other states only have lemon laws that apply to new and leased vehicles, and some states have lemon laws that apply to new, leased, and used vehicles. Every state is generally different.

The New Hampshire New Motor Vehicle Arbitration Law, RSA 357-D, commonly known as the New Hampshire Lemon Law, is a state law that provides legal protection for consumers who acquire vehicles that have unfixable defects. These defects are also called “nonconformities”. Any motor vehicle sold in New Hampshire must conform to the applicable manufacturer’s warranty. In New Hampshire, motor vehicle manufacturers must provide consumers with a notice of their arbitration rights and dealerships must display a notice of these rights in their showrooms for new or low mileage vehicles. The New Hampshire Lemon Law only applies to vehicles that are purchased or leased from in-state dealerships. In order for a vehicle to qualify, the defects must have occurred before the expiration of the manufacturer’s express warranty period. Consumers must then file the claim within a year of the expiration of said warranty period.

The New Hampshire Lemon Law generally only applies to new vehicles but in some cases, low mileage used vehicles may qualify as well if the defect occurred when the vehicle was still under the original manufacturer’s warranty. For example, if a consumer purchased a used vehicle with a mileage of 25,000 miles and the manufacturer’s warranty covered up to 50,000 miles, the consumer’s vehicle would then be covered under the manufacturer’s warranty, and it would have that element that is necessary for it to potentially eventually qualify as a lemon vehicle. The types of vehicles that are covered under the New Hampshire Lemon Law include cars, motorcycles, and off-highway recreational vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 11,000 pounds or below. A vehicle can potentially be considered to be a lemon under the New Hampshire Lemon Law if it also has a defect that substantially impairs its use, value or safety. This defect must be one that is covered by the manufacturer’s warranty and one that has not been repaired by the manufacturer or an authorized representative.

Consumers should bring their vehicle to the manufacturer or an authorized representative (oftentimes a dealership) for repair if they find that their vehicle has a defect. Consumers must allow the manufacturer or the manufacturer authorized dealer to have a reasonable number of repair attempts to try to fix the defect. In New Hampshire, a reasonable number of repair attempts is considered to be three repair attempts for the same defect. For each repair attempt, consumers are entitled to receive a written repair order from the dealer. This work order should contain information like a description of the defect and an itemized statement listing out the work that was been done to the vehicle.

After three unsuccessful repair attempts during the manufacturer’s warranty period, or after the vehicle has been out of service because of a defect for at least 30 cumulative business days during the manufacturer’s warranty period, the consumer would be able to qualify for arbitration. In some cases, if a vehicle has a very serious or dangerous defect, a consumer’s vehicle may be able to qualify to potentially be a lemon vehicle with a lesser number of repair attempts or fewer days out of service. After a consumer files for arbitration, the manufacturer is provided with a final repair attempt to fix the vehicle’s defect. This repair must be done before the arbitration hearing occurs. If the manufacturer still cannot fix the defect, then per the order of the New Hampshire Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board they would have to either repurchase the vehicle from the consumer or provide them with a replacement vehicle.