Resource of Record

Rosemary Shahan
Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety
Sacramento, CA
autosafety@earthlink.net
carconsumers.com

How can I tell if my vehicle is a laundered lemon?
And if it is, what can I do about it?

Since 1995, Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety (CARS) has been leading national efforts to expose and curb auto manufacturers' illegal, deceptive sales of their lemon cars to the public.  Now, in cooperation with Safetyforum.com, we are working together to raise greater public awareness of this dangerous fraud. We have been inundated with requests for information about how to detect a laundered lemon.

Telltale signs you MAY have a laundered lemon:
Here are some tips that other folks have used to get the truth--despite misrepresentations by the manufacturer and/or dealer.

• Low mileage, late model (but not necessarily a reduced price--some dealers actually charge extra for lemons!)
• Lemons are often disguised as an "executive" car, "demonstrator," "brass hat" vehicle, or "program" car.  Some consumers are told the lemon was a lease return or that the first owner could not make the payments or traded up to another vehicle.
• Persistent problems that are common design defects 
• Prior sale through an auction
• Title branded "Lemon law buyback," "warranty return," "manufacturer buyback," or some other euphemism for lemon 
• Sticker on the driver door jamb with the words "lemon law buyback" or "warranty return," "manufacturer buyback"--some states require stickers, but they tend to disappear when the car changes hands 
• Manufacturer's refusal to provide you with the entire warranty repair history--this is different from providing the former owner's name, which raises privacy issues 

The best source of reliable information is the original owner.  Usually lemon owners are more than happy to tell the whole world about their ordeal.  Look for any documents in the vehicle that would reveal the original owner's contact information, such as repair orders, receipts for towing or repairs, etc.  Some lemon owners have even left little notes hidden away under carpeting or in ash trays, to alert subsequent owners the vehicle is a lemon.

Ask the seller and the manufacturer for the ENTIRE warranty repair history and any information about whether and why the auto was repurchased.  Chances are they won't cooperate if it is a lemon (another telltale sign).   Send your demand letter to the manufacturer, keeping a copy for your records, and mailing it Return Receipt Requested, so you have proof it was received.  Write to the manufacturer's address in the owner's manual (if you did not get one with the vehicle, they are available via sites like carmanuals.com, bumperbooks.com or tocmp.com).

Check out the "lemon check" at carfax.com.  But keep in mind their database has a lot of holes in it, so even if your car's VIN does not reveal a lemon history, it could still be a lemon.

Contact a lemon law attorney who will do a search for you for free. You can find lemon attorneys through SafetyForum's resources page. Some state laws prohibit individuals from getting contact information about prior owners for privacy reasons, but allow attorneys who are assisting clients to obtain that information.

If you find out you have a laundered lemon, be sure to let consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety know.  We need your help to make sure the powerful, corrupt auto interests do not succeed in their behind-the-scenes lobbying to outlaw class actions on behalf of lemon laundering victims.  In some cases, we have publicized lemon laundering and generated news reports seen by millions of viewers--pressuring auto manufacturers to clean up their acts.  We also bring lemon laundering to the attention of key law enforcement agencies and law makers, helping preserve victims' rights.

Contact information for CARS:

Rosemary Shahan
President
Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety
926 J Street, Suite 523
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 530-759-9440
Email: autosafety@earthlink.net