In Indiana, state law provides legal protection in the form of lemon laws to help you if you purchase a used car that turns out to have serious defects. The Indiana lemon law sets standards that sellers must follow if the vehicles sold by them are found to have defects.
The Indiana Legislature established the Indiana lemon law or the Motor Vehicle Protection Act, in 1988.
The Indiana lemon law protects buyers of new and used vehicles in Indiana
The Indiana lemon law protects anyone who leases a vehicle under a written agreement
The lemon law protects consumers by providing them with safeguards against anyone selling a car that has serious defects
The Indiana lemon law applies to warrantied vehicles that
Weigh less than 10,000 pounds
Registered in Indiana
Used on public highways and other roads
Require registration or licensing before use
The Indiana lemon law does not cover conversion vans, motor homes, farm tractors, snowmobiles, motorcycles or ATVs.
The Indiana lemon law requires:
The manufacturers to repair, replace or repurchase a vehicle sold to the consumer if it has defects that substantially impair the use, market value or safety
Consumers to take their vehicles to the dealer or seller to report the problem and request repairs as soon as possible
The Indiana lemon law allows a buyer a limited amount of time to make a lemon law claim on a vehicle that is within 18,000 miles or 18 months from the date of the delivery of the vehicle.
The Indiana lemon law allows the seller or the manufacturer another chance of repairing the vehicle which means that the Indiana lemon law provides for 'a reasonable number of repair attempts'. According to the Indiana lemon law, the 'reasonable number' is four. The Indiana lemon law allows 30 business days for repairs. The Indiana lemon law requires the seller or manufacturer to provide the buyer with an alternative vehicle while the vehicle is subjected to repairs.
According to the Indiana lemon law, if the issue persists even after the reasonable number of repairs, the seller or manufacturer must buy back the vehicle or provide a replacement within 30 days.
The repurchase price must be equal to the total contract price at the time of sale
The repurchase price must include all sales tax
The repurchase price must include the registration fee and excise tax paid by the buyer at the time the vehicle was purchased
The repurchase price must include incidental expenses incurred by the consumer for towing and rental car caused by the nonconformity
The Indiana Lemon Law