Lemon cars are an accepted albeit rarely talked about reality. In the United States, a guide called Lemon Aid has been selling like hotcakes for the past 29 years, giving buyers an insider’s look on vehicles’ problems in a straight-forward, no-holds-barred manner.
Lemon Aid publisher Louie Philip Edmonston says lemons constitute a big 10 percent of all vehicles that a carmaker’s plant manufactures. In his website, he quoted the president of a major American car company as saying that of 100 vehicles they make, 10 are "as good as those made by the Japanese", 80 are "okay" and 10 "cause repeated problems." And Edmonston says this is true to all manufacturers despite the strict quality control they normally brag to their customers.
Edmonston’s efforts to uncover lemon cars have earned him countless friends and enemies. He has been slapped numerous times with million-dollar lawsuits by carmakers but up to this day he has remained undaunted.
It is sad to say, however, that in the Philippines, car buyers do not have someone like Edmonston to take up their cause. They are left to fend for themselves and fight carmakers before the courts.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is the only agency car buyers can go to. The DTI has set up consumer welfare centers in different regions and provinces but these are too few and their duties too many to be completely effective.
The Philippines enacted the Consumer Act in 1992 to protect consumers from fraudulent products or services. Under the law, a consumer can file a written complaint and seek redress. However, unlike US laws, the Consumer Act does not have specific provisions for lemon cars.
In the US, the Magnuson-Moss federal law gives consumers substantial rights in dealings with carmakers when it comes to lemon cars. It allows them to file legal suits and get refunds or replacements and even payment for damages and attorneys fees.
Each state of the US even has its own lemon laws that define what lemons are. According to them those cars which despite several repair attempts still continue to have defects that substanstially impair their use, value or safety should be classified as lemons.
The US laws say that if a car’s defect involves the brakes or the steering, a carmaker only has one chance to repair it. If the defect recurs, then a refund or replacement is required.
For other defects, a carmaker is given three chances under the so-called Three-Strike Rule. If the problem recurs after the third attempt to fix it, then the carmaker has no choice but to replace the car or refund the buyer’s payment.
• Car buyers should inspect their new vehicle before they sign the delivery receipt. If they detect any problems, they should refuse the delivery until the problems are corrected.
• Car buyers should review and keep copies of the manufacturer’s literature about their car, including advertisements, brochures and warranty agreements. Any statements the carmaker makes about performance could help anyone get a refund for a lemon.
• Car buyers should read the guidelines in their owner’s manual for routine maintenance. They should keep thorough records of all service done and any problems that crop up.
• Whenever one takes a car in for repairs, he should give the service adviser a dated note that describes all of the conditions he is concerned about. He should keep a copy of the note in his files.
• Car buyers should get a detailed repair order every time they take their car in for repairs, even if the shop isn’t able to diagnose or fix the problem. They should make sure that all repair orders indicate how many days the vehicle was in the shop.
• And car buyers should make sure to keep copies of all their documents somewhere other than their car where they could get lost
(To be continued. For comments e-mail starmotoring@yahoo.com)