The Complete Massachusetts Lemon Law
For all you guys buying in the state of Massachusetts, there's good news. Consumers are given full protection from unscrupulous sellers here. The Massachusetts Lemon Law provides legal remedies even to the buyers of "used" and "leased" vehicles.
Surprised? Well, this is how the lemon laws in this state are different from those in all the other states of America. In most of the other states, with a few exceptions, all used motor vehicles are not covered by their lemon laws. Hence, they have to look for other options if they get stuck up with a lemon used car. It is not so, however, in Massachusetts.
According to the lemon law Massachusetts, any new motor vehicle sold by a dealer or a manufacturer, has to pass a staggered inspection at any inspection center licensed under Section 7W of the Massachusetts Lemon Law. This inspection is generally done within 7 days of the date of sale of the motor vehicle.
If the motor vehicle fails to get a clean chit from the licensed inspectors, then the consumer can within 14 days of such sale notify to the seller in writing about his intention to return the vehicle. The written notice must be accompanied with a written statement signed by an authorized agent of the inspection station. However, such defects or damages to the vehicle should not have been caused by negligent driving or by any accidents or collisions by the consumer. Furthermore, the cost of repairs should be more than 10% of the purchase price of the vehicle to allow the inspectors to issue a certificate of inspection. If all the above conditions are met with, the contract of sale of the said motor vehicle would be considered as void ab initio, i.e. void right from its inception. The dealer in such a case would be either required to refund the money or exchange the vehicle for another one. The buyer and seller may also agree in writing that the seller will cause the necessary repairs at his own expenses and thereby return the vehicle within a reasonable time period. The law has defined a "motor vehicle" as any self-propelled vehicle purchased for personal or household use, and not for resale. The statute typically excludes any home vehicles, vehicles with gross weight of more than 10,000 pounds, those used for business purposes or for off-road uses, those which were vandalized or to which unauthorized repairs were caused by someone other than the manufacturer. Besides these, all other vehicles including motorcycles are covered by the Massachusetts laws. The "used cars" come with express warranties attached to them. The buyer cannot be asked to spend more than US$100 on these repairs, under any circumstances. Even "leased cars" are covered by the lemon law Massachusetts. Therefore, in the state of Massachusetts, the buyer stands to gain from the fair dealings of the seller enforced by the Massachusetts lemon law. The genuine consumers are indeed protected here.
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