When you purchase a NEW vehicle, sometimes it may feel like you bought a high mileage used car because the new car has constant problems that should not be happening with a brand new car.
What is Covered Under the Lemon Law in Nevada?
When you buy a NEW car, you are usually covered under what is commonly known as the “bumper to bumper” warranty. This is a limited warranty that the manufacturer gives on all new cars. There are two lemon laws that apply to your new car purchase, the Nevada Lemon Law and the Federal Lemon Law, known as the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act. Many consumers believe that the lemon law is applicable as long as you are still within the original manufacturer’s warranty period when you purchase a NEW car, which is very often at least three years or 36,000 miles, which ever occurs first. This is NOT the case in Nevada under Nevada’s Lemon Law.
TIME IS NOT ON YOUR SIDE! You only have ONE YEAR or at the expiration of the original “bumper to bumper” limited warranty, WHICH EVER OCCURS FIRST, to put the manufacturer on written notice. So what does this usually mean? Since most manufacturer’s offer a “three year/36,000 mile, bumper to bumper warranty, the ONE YEAR limitation will almost always apply as the deadline in which to timely notify the manufacturer in writing of the defect. PUTTING THE DEALERSHIP ON NOTICE IS NOT SUFFICIENT NOTICE. If you don’t put the manufacturer on proper written notice, then your rights under the Nevada Lemon law will be lost !
When purchasing a NEW car, the time one the one year begins to run when the buyer takes DELIVERY of the vehicle. Don’t be fooled into believing that your lemon law claim under Nevada’s lemon law applies through out the entire duration of your limited “bumper to bumper warranty.” It does not in almost every circumstance. THE TIME BEGINS TO RUN WHEN YOU TAKE DELIVERY OF THE VEHICLE!!
Given the very technical notice requirements necessary to a valid claim under either state or federal lemon laws, trying to file without professional guidance can run out the clock and leave you stuck with a car that has created a safety issue or has substantially impaired the vehicle’s value.
DO NOT TRY AND DO IT ALONE.