Alaska Lemon Laws Details Nobody wakes up declaring, "This is the day I'm going to buy a
useless car." The truth remains that only a very small amount of cars
are ever deemed a total lemon write off. That doesn't mean they can't
occur.
The Alaska Lemon Law (AS 45.45.300) was written to give consumers an
extra level of protection when it comes to a new car that does not live
up to the manufacturers promise of a properly working vehicle. This law
does not cover "buyer's remorse" where you get the car home and decide
you don't like the color or wish you have bought another model. The
Alaska Lemon Law is for a major defect that renders that car useless.
Because of this law and other like it, car makers have actually stepped
up their game in terms of delivering solid built autos. And if a lemon
does crop up, they know it's in their best interest to make sure to
resolve the matter as quickly as possible.
Alaska Lemon Law Qualifications First of all know that this particular law doesn't apply to
boats or ATV's. They have their own lemon law! The cars covered under
this are those same cars sold at every dealership across the state
except for used cars or cars where the original manufacturer's warranty
has already expired.
For your car to be considered a lemon in Alaska there has to be a
defect which has forced you into at the dealership's garage for at
least three repair attempts without a solution. If this same defect
kept you from driving your car for a total or 30 days then it would
also qualify. This defect also needs to lower the market value of the
car and not just a normal depreciation kind of devalue.
Once you embrace the concept that you might be stuck with a lemon, you
need to notify the car maker of what is going on and how this
particular situation is not being fixed. You should be keeping a copy
of all the repair reports associated with this defect. Even if you have
the car towed or are forced to rent a car, keep those receipts. This is
how you will be building your defense.
If for some reason you can't find all the copies of your bills and
repair estimates the Alaska Auto Repair Act is there to help. This
states that dealers have to keep these records for at least two years.
Alaska Lemon Law Remedies At that moment when the car maker or dealer is forced to admit
they can't fix the problem, you will have the option to get a new car
or get a refund. For the new car this means a replacement of the exact
make and model of the original vehicle.
If you go for the refund, then the car maker has to pay you back all
the costs associated with you buying this car. This means all the
registration fees, taxes or any other costs. If repairs were attempted
that required special shipping freight of parts, the car maker will
have to pick up that tab as well.