Oklahoma Lemon Laws for Used Cars: What To Know
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There is so much natural beauty to explore in Oklahoma. If you’re hoping to take it all in, you’re going to need a car to traverse the state from Black Mesa to Broken Bow.
And if you buy a new car, you can rest a little easier knowing that if it came with a factory defect, you won’t be hung out to dry for it. Hopefully you never need to know this information, but in case you do, CoPilot is here to tell you what you need to know about lemon laws in Oklahoma.
Which vehicles are eligible?
All motor vehicles under 10,000 pounds that must be registered are eligible for protection under lemon laws in Oklahoma. This includes cars, trucks, vans, motorcycles, RVs, and even boats. The vehicle is eligible for lemon laws during the first year after the car is sold and while it is under warranty, whichever one ends first.
And whatever the vehicle is, it must have been bought in Oklahoma. If you bought it in any other state, you will have to go through that state’s process if you believe you are entitled to compensation for a lemon.
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What is a Lemon?
A lemon in Oklahoma is a car that develops a serious defect in the first year of operation that is a result of poor manufacturing, not the mistreatment of the car by its owner. If you notice a problem with your new car that seems that serious, immediately notify the manufacturer, then take the car into the dealership for repair.
The problem must be serious enough to substantially hinder the safety, usability, or market value of the car, and it must be unfixable in a reasonable number of attempts. That means that before you can file for compensation for a lemon car, you must give the dealership 4 chances to fix the problem. If, after 4 attempts to fix the same problem, the car is still unsafe or unusable, your car is a lemon and you should be entitled to a refund or replacement.
A car is also deemed a lemon if it has been out of service due to repairs for 30 days over the first year of ownership. Any time your car goes into the dealerships service center for repairs, take notes about it. Write down what problem it’s going in for, the date when it goes in, and how many miles it has on the odometer, then write down when you get it back and how many miles are on the odometer after the repairs.
Ask for a detailed report from the mechanic of what was done to fix the problem and keep it in your personal records. It will be up to you to prove to the manufacturer that you gave the dealership ample opportunity to remedy the problem without replacing or refunding it.
What’s next
If your car meets the requirements above and is a lemon, you must notify the manufacturer or dealer that you believe you are intitled to compensation. The easiest way to do this, in most cases, is to go directly to the dealership where you bought the car. They can help you through the process of returning the car to the manufacturer and securing you your refund or replacement.
If you cannot reach an agreement on the spot to get compensated for your car, your next step is to turn to independent arbitration. For details on this process and who to contact, look to your warranty agreement or owner’s manual, or speak to someone at the dealership who would be knowledgeable.
If this informal dispute settlement decides that your car is evidently unsafe and unusable due to manufacturing errors and reasonable attempts to fix the issues have failed, then you will be owed the refund or replacement.
However, if the informal dispute resolution sides against you but you feel your lemon law rights are being violated, your last recourse is to take the manufacturer to court in a civil suit. From there, it is up to the legal system to see if you have been properly protected under lemon laws.
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Your refund or replacement
When the manufacturer agrees that your car is irreparably defective through no fault of your own, they must accept the return of your car and its title, and either compensate you in the form of a refund or a replacement car.
If you opt for a refund, the manufacturer must refund you the full purchase price of the car, the sales tax, and the registration fees. You are not, however, owed any interest paid on your car financing, and your refund will be deducted by a reasonable amount for the number of miles the car has been driven.
To calculate this amount, subtract 15,000 miles from the actual mileage on the car (M), multiply the result of that subtraction times the purchase price of the car (P), then divide that resulting number by 120,000. The formula ends up looking like this:
If your car has less than 15,000 miles on the odometer, then you owe nothing for the mileage.
If you decide that you want a replacement car, you must come to an agreement with the manufacturer to find an appropriate car with a similar enough value to the original vehicle that both sides can accept.
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