New York Lemon Law: Does Your New Car Qualify for a Refund?

Yes, if you reported the defect within the first 18,000 miles or two years after delivery, whichever came first, and the car was bought, leased or transferred in New York or is registered here. Four repairs of the same defect that leave it unfixed, or 30 days in the shop in total, count as the manufacturer's fair chance, and then you choose a full refund or a comparable replacement. Start today by pulling every repair order and counting the attempts and the shop days. The state's arbitration program costs $250, its decision is binding, and every manufacturer must take part when you file.

Who the New York lemon law covers

• The car. A car or motorcycle that came with the manufacturer's written warranty at original delivery and was bought, leased or transferred in New York in its first 18,000 miles or two years, or is registered here now. Off-road vehicles such as ATVs and snowmobiles are excluded.
• The use. Mostly personal, family or household driving. A business-owned car qualifies when it is driven for personal use more than half the time. The rights pass to later owners, and a contract clause waiving them is void.
• The reporting window. Report the defect to the manufacturer, its agent or an authorized dealer inside that window. Repairs stay free even when the work runs past it, and a dealer that takes your report must notify the manufacturer by certified mail within seven days.

When your car counts as a lemon

New York presumes the manufacturer had enough tries when either of these happened inside the window:

• Four repairs, still broken. The same defect went in for repair four or more times and is still there. If the fifth visit finally fixes it, the four failed attempts still count.
• 30 days out of service. Repairs of one or more defects kept the car in the shop for a cumulative 30 or more calendar days, and those days still count after a later repair works.

The defect has to substantially impair the car's value to you: an engine problem that keeps you from driving is the classic case, and in some cases several smaller defects add up to it. The manufacturer's other defense is that abuse, neglect or unauthorized modifications caused the problem. You can report a condition before anyone names the failed part; difficulty starting, repeated stalling and a malfunctioning transmission all count.

What the refund covers

Check any buyback offer against this list, and see the manufacturer buyback guide for the paperwork.

A comparable replacement is the same year and model with about the same mileage as your car, so pick the refund if you want out of the model.

What to do today

1. Find your clock dates. Take the delivery date and delivery mileage from your bill of sale or lease, then mark where two years and 18,000 miles of driving end.
2. Collect every repair order. The arbitration form asks for the date, mileage and work order number of each repair, and dealers must give you a written work order for every visit, including free warranty work. If a dealer will not hand one over, call the DMV at 518-474-8943.
3. Count. List the attempts on the same defect and add up the calendar days out of service inside the window.
4. Write the manufacturer. Your report to the dealer counts under the law; your own letter puts the claim on record with the company that pays. Send the letter below by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the customer relations address in your warranty booklet.
5. Keep paying the loan or lease, and keep the car. Falling behind risks repossession, and trading the car in ends the claim: you must still have the car and its title at the hearing.
6. Fill in the arbitration form. Use the Attorney General's New Car Lemon Law Request for Arbitration Form. Choose refund or replacement and pick a hearing: in person, virtual or documents only. The manufacturer can object to the last two, and then the hearing is in person. Email it to NYAG.LemonLaw@ag.ny.gov, or mail it to the New York State Attorney General's Office, Attention: Lemon Law Arbitration Unit, 28 Liberty Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10005. Hold the fee and your documents until the program administrator asks for them.

What happens after you file

1. The Attorney General's office accepts or rejects the form in writing; a fixable error comes back with the reason so you can resubmit.
2. The New York State Dispute Resolution Association (NYSDRA), which runs the program, asks for the $250 fee. The day it receives the fee is Day 1. Unpaid at 60 days, the case closes.
3. The manufacturer answers by Day 15 and you can reply by Day 25. The rules set the hearing by Day 35 and the mailed decision by Day 45; in practice hearings are usually scheduled about 45 days after you pay, and the arbitrator usually rules within five days of the hearing. A late hearing or decision is still valid.
4. Hearings usually last one to two hours, and the arbitrator can inspect, ride in or drive the car. The decision binds both sides, a win includes your $250 back, and the manufacturer has 30 days to comply after you accept.

Where your case splits

• If the manufacturer steers you to its own arbitration program, you can file with the state program instead. Its decisions are binding and enforceable in court, and a nonbinding manufacturer program you tried first keeps you eligible. If you sue in court instead, the manufacturer can make you go through its own program first.
• If the dealer refuses to start repairs within seven days of your report, send the manufacturer the refusal version of the letter below by certified mail, return receipt requested. The manufacturer then has 20 days from receiving it to begin repairs, or it owes the refund or replacement without the four-attempt count.
• If the defect first showed up after 18,000 miles or two years, your claim runs on the factory warranty and the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.
• If you bought the car used from a New York dealer after it passed 18,000 miles or two years, for $1,500 or more and with no more than 100,000 miles on it, New York's used car lemon law (General Business Law 198-b) applies: the dealer owes a warranty on the engine, transmission and other listed parts for 30 to 90 days (1,000 to 4,000 miles), set by the mileage at sale, and three failed repairs or 15 days out of service set up a refund claim. See the New York used car lemon law guide.

What you can get and your leverage

• Attorney fees. A court can order the manufacturer to pay your reasonable attorney's fees when you win in court, and when you need a lawyer to collect an award.
• A late penalty. A manufacturer that misses the 30-day compliance deadline owes you $25 for each business day late, up to $500.
• Court enforcement. If the manufacturer still refuses to comply, ask a court within one year of the decision to confirm it as an enforceable judgment.
• The Attorney General. Call the consumer help line at 1-800-771-7755 with lemon law questions, or file a complaint online.
• A lawyer is worth a call when you would rather sue than arbitrate, when the four-year lawsuit deadline from original delivery is close, or when you want to challenge a lost arbitration within the 90-day court deadline.

Letter to the manufacturer

[Your name, address, phone, email]

[Date]

Sent by certified mail, return receipt requested

To: [Manufacturer] Customer Relations, [address from the warranty booklet]

Re: [Year, make, model], VIN [number], delivered [date] at [mileage] miles by [dealer name]

My vehicle has a defect covered by your warranty: [describe the problem]. I first reported it to [dealer name] on [date] at [mileage] miles.

Your authorized dealers have tried to repair it [number] times, and the vehicle has been out of service for repairs for [number] days in total:

1. [Date in] to [date out], [mileage] miles, work order [number]: [what was done]
2. [Add a line for each visit]

[Or, if the dealer refused repairs, write this instead of the repair paragraph and list: The dealer refused to begin repairs within seven days of my report. Under section 198-a(b)(2), you have 20 days from receiving this notice to begin repairs. If repairs have not started 20 days after you receive this letter, I will file for arbitration.]

The defect continues: [what still happens]. It substantially impairs the vehicle's value to me because [it stalls in traffic / describe the impact].

Under New York General Business Law section 198-a, I request [a full refund of the purchase price, including my trade-in allowance and license and registration fees / a comparable replacement vehicle].

Please respond in writing by [date, 14 days from today; in the refused-repairs version, 21 days after the receipt date on your return receipt]. If I have no written offer by then, I will file for arbitration through the New York State Attorney General's Lemon Law Arbitration Program.

[Signature]

Enclosures: repair orders, bill of sale or lease, registration

Today

1. Pull your repair orders and write down the attempt count and total shop days inside your window.
2. Mail the letter by certified mail and put the response date on your calendar.
3. Fill in the arbitration form now and email it the day after your reply date passes without an offer; if the dealer refused repairs, that is day 21 after the manufacturer receives your letter.

What comes back first is the manufacturer's reply or silence, then the Attorney General's acceptance letter and NYSDRA's fee request. Pay the $250, and the next letter sets your hearing date.