Updated "lemon law" in effect, increases protections for vehicle owners

Starting Wednesday, there is an updated Colorado law designed to offer better protections to vehicle owners. The "lemon law" is designed to help consumers if they purchase a vehicle that turns out to be defective.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser Weiser issued a public advisory to help consumers understand their rights while providing guidance to car dealers to better understand their responsibilities.

The updated law went into effect on Wednesday. According to the Colorado Attorney General's Office, it expands which vehicles are covered by the law, increases the duration of lemon law protections, lowers the requirement for a vehicle to be considered a lemon, extends the amount of time for consumers to file a lemon claim, and clarifies the amount consumers can receive in a refund.

"There is a report that looked at the lemon laws of the 50 states and they graded Colorado quite poorly compared to other states," said Weiser. "That got our attention, we got to work and improved our law."

The updated law:

• Expands the vehicles included under the lemon law to include motor vehicles used by small businesses for both business and personal purposes.
• Extends the duration of lemon law protections to two years after purchase or within the first 24,000 miles of the vehicle's operation, whichever is earlier.
• Lowers the requirements for a vehicle to be presumed a lemon from four to three failed repair attempts of the same defect or after the vehicle has been out of service for repair for 24 or more business days. Also, if a defect significantly impacts the safety of a vehicle, it will be presumed a lemon after two failed repair attempts of the defect.
• Extends the amount of time for consumers to file a lemon law claim to 30 months following the date the vehicle was delivered to the consumer, and any time that a vehicle is under repair and unusable does not count towards this limit. Prior law limited this to six months following the expiration date of the manufacturer's warranty or within one year of delivery to the consumer.
• Clarifies the amount that may be deducted from a consumer's refund by providing a formula that the manufacturer can use to calculate an allowance for any use of the vehicle by the consumer, thereby ensuring a fair and predictable refund process.
• Gives consumers more information when buying used "lemon buyback" vehicles by requiring that a decal be affixed to them indicating "Lemon Law Buyback," as well as a notation in the vehicle's title.

The Colorado Attorney General's Office said that although defective new motor vehicles are uncommon, purchasing one can be costly for consumers. Those defects are typically covered under a vehicle's warranty, the law protects consumers from being stuck with a defective vehicle.

Weiser said that Coloradans who believe they have purchased a defective vehicle, or who have any consumer issues with vehicle purchases, should file a complaint with the attorney general at StopFraudColorado.gov .