When passing the state’s Lemon Law, the Mississippi Legislature recognized that purchasing a car is something momentous in your life, and you will bear serious consequences if the car is defective. The law’s intention is that the dealer resolves warranty complaints within a certain period of time, or else the consumer is entitled to legal relief.
Dealers often provide great service right up until the time of the sale. Once some dealers are paid, they do not want to provide you with any service after the sale. Oftentimes, their refusal to provide service extends to situations where they are legally obligated to do something. No matter what you do or say, the dealer may give you the runaround, if they even respond to you at all.
Your Protections When You Buy a Vehicle
Whenever you buy a new car, you get an express warranty on the material or workmanship and affirmations or promises that such material or workmanship is defect-free or will meet a specified level of performance over a specified period of time.
It does not matter that the dealer was not the one that made the car. The dealer must answer for what the manufacturer does because they sell the cars. It is up to the dealer and manufacturer to figure out who owes what to who.
Mississippi and Federal Lemon Laws
Mississippi’s Lemon Law protects you for 18 months from the date of purchase or delivery. During this time, if you report to the dealer that the car does not conform to all applicable express warranties, the dealer must make all necessary repairs to bring it into compliance with these warranties.
The dealer is not allowed to keep trying to fix the car to run out of the clock. If they make three unsuccessful attempts to repair the car or the vehicle is out of service for 15 or more days, the dealer must then replace the car or buy it back from you.
Your Remedies Under Lemon Laws
If the dealer does not repair the car and the defect affects the vehicle’s value, safety, or your use of the car, you have two primary legal options:
- The dealer must give you a comparable car that is acceptable to you.
- The dealer must buy the car back from you for the price that you paid for it minus some adjustments to reflect your ownership of the car.
In addition, you may also be paid your consequential damages from the defective car. For example, if you had to rent a car or take an Uber when your car was not working, the dealer may need to pay you for it.
You can also sue under a federal law that applies to automobile warranties. The Magnuson-Moss Act covers much of the same ground as the state Lemon Law and allows for the award of attorney’s fees.
Mississippi’s lemon laws clearly apply to new cars sold in the state. They may also apply to used cars, depending on whether they come with an express written warranty.