Lemon Law

What Vehicles Are Covered Under The Lemon Law?

Last updated July 2, 2024

Any new or used car, motorcycle, van, truck, or recreational vehicle (RV) bought or leased by a consumer in Maine from a dealer and which is still within the Lemon Law`s term of protection.

This Lemon protection period is the length of the manufacturer`s express warranty, or two years from the date of delivery to the original consumer buyer, or 18,000 miles of use, whichever comes first./1 You must notify the manufacturer or the dealer about your vehicle`s defect before this protection period ends.

The Lemon Law also covers vehicles that are resold during this term of protection. The only new vehicles not covered are those purchased for a governmental agency, a business which registers three or more vehicles, commercial vehicles weighing 8,500 pounds or more, or vehicles purchased in order to resell them.

The following table summarizes what is covered, how many times the vehicle has to be repaired for the same defect and the warranty period.

Vehicles Covered

Repair Interval and Coverage Period

Any vehicle purchased or leased. Excludes commercial vehicles over 8,000 pounds.

3 repair attempts or 15 business days out of service

2 years or 18,000 miles.

Note:

Generally, the term Repair Attempts, as it relates to Lemon Law, refers to one or more attempts to fix the same defect although some states consider a vehicle to be a lemon if it required the specified number of repairs within the coverage period.

A car is out of service while being repaired or waiting for parts.

Warranty Period refers to the Manufacturer`s Express Warranty. Where the Coverage Period lists more than 1 option, the period applies to that option which occurs first.

This is only a summary, to get the complete Lemon Law Statute select your state from the combo box menu on the right side of this page, and click Get Statute.