Every state has enacted their version of a lemon law that pertains to vehicles that have a serious defect, to qualify for the Wisconsin Lemon law the vehicle must be:
- No older than 12 months and still under warranty
- Have a serious defect that cannot be rectified in four attempts, and
- The defects must be such that you are prevented from driving the vehicle for 30 days or more
There have been changes in the Wisconsin Lemon Law:
If you purchased your vehicle before March 1, 2014 there were no limits on filing a claim, the court were given the authority to decide if the case was too old to pursue. The length of time that is usually used is six years from when you took possession of the vehicle. This being the case all cases will be mute after March 1, 2020.
If you purchased your vehicle after March 1, 2014 the law provides a maximum window of tree years from date of delivery to claim against the law.
Coverage:
Regardless of when you bought the vehicle the defects must be covered under the warranty and must be such that they:
- Affect the use of the vehicle
- Affect the value of the vehicle
- Affect the safety of the vehicle
If the defects were the result of abuse, modification, alteration or neglect, the Wisconsin lemon law does not apply.
Vehicles covered under the law:
Any new passenger car, truck, motorcycle or RV that was purchased or leased or the title was transferred to a Wisconsin resident is covered under the Wisconsin lemon law. The vehicles do not have to be new, demonstrators and dealer executive driven vehicles also qualify.
Vehicles that were purchased outside of Wisconsin as well as mopeds, semitrailers and trailers used in combination with a truck are not covered under the law.
The Wisconsin lemon law is quite complex, anyone that has a lemon and hoping to get relief should contact a knowledgeable lemon law lawyer. You are invited to visit us for details.
