Virginia Lemon Laws

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What vehicles are covered under Virginia lemon law?
Virginia lemon law covers cars designed to carry no more than ten people, pickup trucks and vans with a gross vehicle weight under 7,500 pounds, motorcycles, mopeds, and the vehicular portions of motor homes, and demonstrator vehicles that come with a manufacturer's warranty. New and used vehicles are both covered by the Virginia lemon law.

What protections do I have under Virginia lemon law?
Virginia lemon law defines a lemon rights period as 18 months of vehicle possession. If a consumer reports a serious defect that prevents a vehicle from conforming to its warranty to the manufacturer within the lemon rights period, the manufacturer must repair the nonconformity. A serious nonconformity is one that negatively affects the vehicle's use, safety, or value. The manufacturer is not responsible for nonconformities that were caused by abuse or modification by the consumer.

If the manufacturer has had a reasonable chance to repair the vehicle but the nonconformity still exists, then the vehicle must be replaced or repurchased.

What steps must occur before seeking settlement under the Virginia lemon law?
Virginia lemon law presumes that the manufacturer has had a reasonable chance to repair the vehicle if, during the lemon rights period, there have been three unsuccessful attempts to repair the same nonconformity or one unsuccessful attempt to repair a life-threatening nonconformity, or after the vehicle has spent at least 30 calendar days out of commission for repairs.

According to Virginia lemon law, the consumer must give the manufacturer notice of the nonconformity, which includes a written description of the problem, a written response from the manufacturer, and a meeting or examination with a factory representative. If the presumption, as described above, has already taken place before this notice is given, then the manufacturer must be allowed a final chance to repair the vehicle. This final attempt must not take more than 15 days.

Filing a claim under Virginia lemon law
If the manufacturer has an informal settlement process in place to deal with Virginia lemon law cases, then the consumer may choose to use that process or to bring the case to court. Claims must be filed within the lemon rights period, unless the consumer attempted to resolve the dispute through the manufacturer's settlement board. In this case, complaints may be extended to one year beyond the final action taken by the manufacturer.

What are the settlement details under Virginia lemon law?
If a vehicle is repurchased under Virginia lemon law, the manufacturer must pay a sum which includes the vehicle's purchase price, collateral charges like tax, tags, and registration, dealer charges such as preparation and rust proofing, and delivery. Leased vehicles also receive credit for trade-ins, costs to receive the lease, and charges paid by the lessor for the lessee. Furthermore, incidental charges incurred because of the nonconformity, such as towing and alternate transportation, are also included, as is an amount for loss of use while the vehicle was being repaired. An offset for the consumer's use of the vehicle is subtracted from this amount. This offset cannot be more than half the amount allowed by the IRS for business use of a personal vehicle plus damages to the vehicle beyond normal wear and tear.

If a vehicle is replaced under Virginia lemon law, the new vehicle must be similar to the old and must be acceptable to the consumer. The manufacturer must also pay the consumer a sum for loss of use of the vehicle while it was being repaired, and the consumer must pay a reasonable amount for usage as described above.