Under the Wisconsin lemon law, a vehicle is considered to be a ‘lemon’ if:
* The vehicle is less than a year old and is still under warranty
* The vehicle has a serious defect that can’t be fixed by the dealer in 4 attempts
* The vehicle has been in the shop for 30 days or more (non-consecutive or consecutive)
To meet the criteria under the Lemon Law, the defects of your vehicle must seriously affect its use, safety or value; and those defects must be covered under warranty.
What is not covered
There are certain conditions that are not covered under the Lemon Law. These include:
* Abuse or neglect of the vehicle by the consumer which causes a defect or condition
* Unauthorized modification of the vehicle which causes a defect or condition
Vehicles that are covered under the law
* Any new car, truck, motor home or motorcycle is typically covered. The vehicle can have been purchased, leased or transferred to another owner within the state. They can include executive driven or demonstrator vehicles.
Vehicles that are not covered under the law
* Vehicles that were purchased in another state
* Semi-trailers
* Mopeds
* Vehicles that were purchased online and transferred out of the state
* Trailers that are designed to be used with a truck or truck tractor
If you need to make a claim
The first thing you need to do if you have a problem with your vehicle is to make sure there hasn’t been a manufacturer’s recall. If there hasn’t been a recall, then you’ll need to talk to your dealer and take the vehicle in for repair.
It’s extremely important to be very clear about what the problem is; also, make sure you get a written repair order with the date and the work done clearly outlined. Talk to Krohn & Moss, Ltd. Consumer Law Center for more information about your rights and responsibilities under the law.
