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Call (480) 237-2744 Today for FREE Lemon Law Help!
How Do I Banish My "Lemon" Car or Motorcycle With Arizona's Lemon Law?
You might mistakenly believe that when your brand new vehicle has had repairs made under warranty for “free,” there is no violation of Arizona's Lemon Law no matter how inconvenient, troubling, or severe your defective vehicle experience is.
You're stuck wondering:
"What's going to go wrong next?"
"Will I have to get this problem repaired over-and-over again?"
or,
"How long will I be without my vehicle this time?"
You feel trapped with a "Lemon" and the embarrassment of driving a vehicle that keeps breaking down despite being new!
You think that you have to just grit your teeth and bear the hassle and frustration of dealing with an unreliable vehicle as long as you're not being directly charged out-of-pocket for the repairs.
But that is ridiculous and unfair!
You shouldn't be stuck with a new motor vehicle that runs like a used piece-of-junk!
Even if you weren't charged out-of-pocket for repairs when they happened (and by the way, you did pay for the warranty repairs up-front by buying a new motor vehicle with a new vehicle price that included a manufacturer's warranty, it wasn't free at all) what about the cost to you of:
- lost time that you'll never get back,
- massive inconvenience, and...
- stress that you paid to avoid by buying new?!
You clearly did not get the "New" Car or Motorcycle Value you Paid For and Deserve.
Fortunately, the Arizona Lemon Law (called The Arizona Motor Vehicle Warranties Act) gives you the ability to get RID OF and BANISH your "Lemon" vehicle once and for all!
The Arizona Lemon Law also entitles you to have your Attorneys' Fees Paid by the company that built your defective motor vehicle so you don't have to go up against the car or motorcycle company alone or be penalized by having to pay a Lemon Law Attorney out-of-pocket to assist you despite being saddled with a "Lemon" through no fault of your own, just really, really, bad luck.
You're eligible for Arizona's Lemon Law protection when you've experienced an unreasonable repair history and have been substantially impaired by your motor vehicle's defects.
The first part of the Arizona Lemon Law is met when the number of repeat repairs for the same problem (a defect, nonconformity, or condition) in your vehicle is unreasonable or if the total time your vehicle is in the repair shop for warranty repair(s) is unreasonable.
Keep in mind, you don't need both too many repairs and too much time without your car or motorcycle for Arizona's Lemon Law to apply, only one or the other.
Even if your motor vehicle has been repaired too many times or for too long, the second part of the Arizona Lemon Law then requires that your vehicle's use and value are substantially impaired (negatively impacted) to you by its defects, conditions, or nonconformities.
When both parts of Arizona's Lemon Law are met, you're eligible for a Lemon Law Buyback, or a New Replacement Vehicle and to get your attorneys' fees paid (see more below about how that works).
Arizona's Legislature wrote the new car Lemon Law and added the requirement that manufacturers have to pay attorneys' fees so owners of new motor vehicles wouldn't be stuck with vehicles that kept having the same problem repaired and would have the help of attorneys to protect their rights.
This makes sense because like most people, you bought a "new" car or motorcycle with a new motor vehicle price so you would have peace-of-mind and wouldn't have to deal with the uncertainty, aggravation, and inconvenience of "used" car or motorcycle problems.
What Are Lemon Law Presumptions?
Arizona's Lemon Law presumptions are legal standards for repair attempts and days out-of-service written into the law as a "guidepost" of what is the enough is enough point when seeking to repair your motor vehicle.
Beyond that point, it is legally presumed (or assumed) that there's been an unreasonable repair history experienced by you.
So, what is the enough is enough point of the Arizona Lemon Law presumptions for motor vehicle repairs?
It is presumed under the Lemon Law that your (2022 or newer) model year vehicle's manufacturer has had a reasonable opportunity to repair your vehicle through its authorized repairing dealer(s) when there have been four or more repairs for the same problem, or if your vehicle has been out-of-service for 30 or more days in the repair shop as a result of repairs (regardless of whether the problem is the same) within the first two years or 24,000 miles of ownership, whichever comes first.
Arizona's new car Lemon Law presumptions apply in two separate ways:
1) If there are four or more repairs for the same problem in your 2021 or newer model year vehicle, a Lemon Law presumption applies to the product even if there are only four days in the repair shop.
2) If you have a repair that takes 30 or more days, then it doesn't matter if there has only been one repair to your motor vehicle. You still get the benefit of Arizona's Lemon Law presumption.
Please keep-in-mind that the presumptions are written in Arizona's Lemon Law to help you prove you have a "Lemon", they are not an obstacle to you getting Lemon Law compensation.
You may still have a valid Lemon Law case and Lemon Law protection even if your vehicle doesn't have this number of repairs or time out of service if the overall repair history is "unreasonable" under the circumstances.
In our view (based on over 20 years of handling Lemon Law matters), if your vehicle has 3 warranty repairs for the same substantial problem or 25 days in the repair shop in less than 2 years or 24,000 miles it would likely qualify as a "Lemon" despite the presumptions not applying because either that many repairs or time without it would still be unreasonable for a brand new vehicle.
What Am I Entitled to Under the Arizona Lemon Law?
When your 2022 or newer model year car or motorcycle is covered by the Arizona Lemon Law you're entitled to a Refund (minus a reasonable usage fee) or a comparable New Replacement Vehicle for your "Lemon" and to recover your attorneys' fees as part of settlement.
The Arizona Revised Statutes state: “if a consumer prevails in an action under this article, the court shall award the consumer reasonable costs and attorney fees.”
With our help, getting either a Lemon Law Buyback or New Vehicle Replacement is possible for you without ever stepping foot in a courtroom because over 95% OF OUR CASES ARE SUCCESSFULLY RESOLVED OUT-OF-COURT in 2-4 months without any lawsuit.
The way an Arizona Lemon Law Refund or "Buyback" works is that you get all of the money you paid towards your vehicle (including tax, title, license, and financing) so far minus a deduction for mileage and also have any outstanding loan balance paid off. You're also entitled to attorneys' fees.
What is the mileage fee/usage offset deduction?
Under Arizona's Lemon Law, the mileage fee or usage offset is based on total miles put on the vehicle by you. Only miles put on by the repairing dealer don't count.
Unfortunately, the deduction cannot be zero because it is written into the law. However, we do our best to negotiate the cents per mile for usage as low as we can for you.
Are there any other items that could be deducted from the Lemon Law Refund or Buyback?
Yes, depending on whether any of these items apply to your vehicle:
If you have a prior loan balance rolled into the loan of your vehicle that would be deducted as would any extended warranty, maintenance warranty and GAP coverage (you can get a prorated refund for those through those companies).
Also if there are any aftermarket items (aftermarket means not produced by the vehicle's manufacturer) on your vehicle they would need to be removed (like e.g., an aftermarket alarm or rims) and the cost of those is not included in a Lemon Law Buyback.
The second option under Arizona's Lemon Law is a New Vehicle Replacement. The way that works is you get MSRP value to MSRP value (Sticker Price to Sticker Price) for a comparable new vehicle made by your vehicle's manufacturer.
Although the make (such as Ford, Chevy, Kia, Toyota, VW, Audi, etc.) needs to be the same for the new replacement, the model does not.
So you're free to change from a truck to an SUV or from a sedan to a coupe.
If the MSRP/Sticker Price is the same or lower on the replacement vehicle you choose at a local dealer, there is no charge to you.
If the price is higher, you can still do that but you would have to pay that difference.
Once the replacement is chosen there is a swap of collateral (we assist on getting lenders to approve that and it is to their benefit to have a used defective vehicle with a brand new non-defective one) and you keep the same loan and financing terms. If there is no loan involved then there's just a swap of vehicles and titles. As always, we also seek attorneys’ fees from the company on your behalf.
Overall, Replacement Settlements are less common than Repurchase Settlements under Arizona's Lemon Law because they are the most work administratively for companies and because manufacturers need local dealer cooperation on making replacement vehicles available from their inventory. Otherwise, the replacement vehicle would need to be ordered and built from scratch.
It is also possible for our Firm to negotiate a substantial Cash Compensation settlement for you with you keeping your vehicle that also includes payment of attorneys' fees in the total amount.
This type of settlement is called "Cash and Keep."
This Cash Compensation is for having overpaid for your car or motorcycle given the problems you've experienced and for your inconvenience.
Even though Cash and Keep with keeping your vehicle is not specifically listed as an option under the AZ Lemon Law (the Arizona Motor Vehicle Warranties Act), the law promotes compromises and agreed upon settlements of disputes.
That's why appeals courts in Arizona have ruled that a Cash and Keep settlement is considered prevailing in a Lemon Law claim that's been brought.
This means you're entitled to recover Lemon Law attorneys' fees from your new motor vehicle's manufacturer as part of overall settlement even when settling for a compromise of Cash Compensation with keeping your vehicle.
Cash and Keep can be attractive to you depending on the amount of money offered (obviously the more the money offered the more this type of settlement is actually attractive) and on whether your vehicle is finally properly repaired.
Even if through some miracle your vehicle does get properly repaired (that is rare for Lemon vehicles), shouldn't you at least get compensated for your lost time and inconvenience in dealing with it?
After all, the one thing we can never get back is our time.
If you're concerned about your vehicle being labeled a Lemon if you reach a Cash and Keep settlement rest assured. If your Arizona Lemon Law claim is settled for Cash and Keep, the settlement will be completely confidential and your vehicle will not be labeled a Lemon so you don't have to worry about losing money when you go to sell or trade out caused by a Lemon brand showing up online.
All of these types of ways of getting rid of or compensated for your "Lemon" vehicle under Arizona's Lemon Law are available to you regardless of whether the repairs you sought were “free” under your vehicle's warranty.
At the end of the day you have two choices:
1) Your first option is to do nothing and not be helped with our 100% risk and cost FREE 3-Step Out-of-Court Lemonaid Process and to just keep being blown around like a leaf in the wind by your defective vehicle situation. To be a victim of this unfairly saddled with a "Lemon."
And doing nothing doesn't mean you Lemon vehicle nightmare will suddenly end. It means either trading out of your "Lemon" vehicle for a major financial loss that could keep you upside down on a loan for years or having to keep dealing for many months or years with the frustration and inconvenience of your defective vehicle caused by:
- Missed appointments
- Wasted time driving back-and-forth for repairs
- Being late to work or school
- Worrying about breakdowns
- Being aggravated by the same or new problems every time you drive
- Being embarrassed by how your vehicle operates
- Stressing about just getting from A to B
or,
2) Your second option is to take control of this situation by making a 30 minute max out-of-court time investment to have a really good shot of getting rid of or at least substantially compensated for your "Lemon" vehicle and all the hassle it has caused you.
This second option has happened out-of-court 95% of the time for 1000s of our past clients.
Even if our 3 Step Out-of-Court Lemonaid Process doesn't work (which rarely happens), you're out no money and less time than one episode of your favorite show.
As long as you allow us to complete the out-of-court negotiation process from start-to-finish with the company that manufactured the defective motor vehicle, there's absolutely no financial risk to you.
You have nothing to lose but the stress and headaches of a faulty "Lemon" vehicle that's improperly repaired over-and-over again or is stuck in the repair shop a ridiculous amount of time.
You don't have to keep dealing with an unreliable vehicle and an unreasonable repair history.
With that being said, we must warn you that the most common reason the Arizona Motor Vehicle Warranties Act would not apply to your vehicle is if the Lemon Law claim is timed out so please do not lose out on your Lemon Law rights to a Refund or brand New Replacement Vehicle and FREE Legal Help by waiting. Contact us today!
Even if your motor vehicle is older than 2022, as long as it is a 2018 or newer model year vehicle we may still be able to assist you under the Federal Lemon Law as long as you've had manufacturer's warranty repairs too many times or for too long.
So...
- If you feel like you've been inconvenienced and suffered way too much because of your "Lemon" vehicle.
- If you want to enforce your Arizona Lemon Law rights because you deserve better.
- If enough is finally enough!
Our AZ Lemon Law Attorney team is here to help you.
Please either call us at (480) 237-2744 for an immediate Lemon Law Evaluation Monday through Friday 9am-5pm or submit the information requested in our FREE Lemon Law Evaluation page and we will get back in touch with you regarding your vehicle situation within one business day at the latest.
Sources:
A.R.S. § 44-1261, A.R.S. § 44-1262, A.R.S. § 44-1263, A.R.S. § 44-1264
About the Author:
By: Shalev Amar, Esq.
Lemon Law Attorney Shalev Amar is the Founder and Manager of Amar Law Group. Prior to founding Amar Law Group, Mr. Amar was a Managing Partner (and an AZ Lemon Law Lawyer) for twelve years of a consumer law firm that exclusively handled motor vehicle claims on behalf of consumers.
Last Updated: 06/22/2025
Amar Law Group - Your Arizona Lemon Law Advocates
7001 N Scottsdale Rd Suite 2060, Scottsdale, Arizona 85253