Was wondering If the lemon laws apply to heavy duty used trucks bought from a dealer?
no, in order to qualify for "lemon Laws" you must be the original buyer of a NEW vehicle. On the other hand, if you purchased a used vehicle that is still under factory warranty, you should be able to have any warranty issues resolved that way. If the local dealer is unwilling to help you, get the contact information for the "regional service representative" for that auto manufacturer in your area, and contact them. Hopefully they should be able to help you. What HD truck did you buy, and what is wrong with it?
This is for NY state and I think they might differ state to state. If you buy a used car in this state there is a lemon law that applys if you continue to have reacurring problems with it . Was just wondering if it where the same for heavy trucks. Not having a problem ...YET
I don't know of any state that applies lemon laws to commercial vehicles. As far as I know it only applies to personal use cars and light trucks. Check your state's web site on insurance. The answer should be there. Good Luck!
Ok thanks for your help.
Dan, you may have some legal room if you can prove that the dealer you bought the used truck from knew about the problem(s), and didn't disclose them to you up front before the sale. That would count as fraud. It's still buyer beware, but courts have been known to come down hard on those crooks that sell damaged goods to unsuspecting buyers. Good Luck!
I havn't bought anything yet but I am having a hard time getting any info from the sales man. IE axle ratings,GVW....:beatsme. Going hire up today to see if I can get anywhere. Was just wondering what my rights where after the fact. Thanks..:usa
Hey big Dan, sounds like they dont want your money to me. Did you remind them who the customer was.??
I agree with Mascas, if your having a hard time buying from them, can you imagine what the after sales service will be like?
:Banghead I talked to the owner last time and made some headway but I think they allready lost the sale...:ban
nope not in il anything over 10000lb gvrw
According to DOT rules and regs, ALL COMM vehicles must be able to pass DOT inspection. Vehicles MUST have DOT inspection form for resale. Like any other branch of the Government, Used Comm Motor vehicles must be road worthy; no bald or bad tires exhaust, air system leaks, excessive oil leaks, smoke! Cooling system must not leak, slack adjusters within the 1" rule with no cam overs. No cracked or broken mirrors or glass; all dash gauges in the truck for essential op must work; Clutch must be working and properly adjusted; Heater/Defroster must work; All lights must be operational; Windows must roll down and back up by window crank/switch; Basically for the truck can't pass inspection, it can't legally be sold as a road worthy truck. It must be stated in the sales agreement that this is a parts truck, or the service needed before said truck is road worthy! If XYZ Truck Sales sold me a truck they declaired "road worthy/work ready" and I crashed due to brakes that were malfunctioning, I could sue the dealer, and the dealer owner, salesman, the mechanic, and the previous owner civilly as well as the company criminally for negligence for failure to disclose that the brakes need work!
Hmmmm, even if sold as is ? With no warantees ?
YES! Even though there are NO warentees implied DOT rules and reg's superceed the old "used car salesman little old lady only dorve it to church on Sunday" disclaimer! Even if there is a disclaimer attached, unless ir speficly states don't do this because a high proability of that happening is stated, the dealer is liable. They are under the DOT rules and regs as well as any company. Most judges had an over and under while in law school! They remember having to walk because the trany fell out, or the engine overheated, or just couldn't stop because there were no brakes! They remember going back to the dealer and trying to get something done. After all they paid good money for a functioning car, and got the worst junk on the lot! They have since made it illeagel to sell ANY vehicle that is NOT road worthy! Some states call it the Lemon Law, others call it Consumer Protection! No matter what you call it, the vehicle has to either be road worthy, or have a disclaimer that speciffically deal with the problems of that vehicle! My ex bought a car form a dealer that the insruance company clipped together! It was NEVER disclosed that the car as clipped together, and I had a couple of body men sign a affidavitt stating the car was a clip car, and not a very good job at that. The welds were stressing, and the car was pulling itself apart! 5 years after the sale we went to court, the dealer thinking that time was on their side. Due to the fact that in 5 years there were only 20K miles added to the car, and all the time lost on replacement parts, that would NOT stay on because the car was stressing, and the affidavitts, the dealer lost, and had to either replace the car, or refund the purchase price and all the parts and labor that went into the car, or replace the car with one that was 2 years old or less! Boy when that lawyer went to the dealer, and told him what happened, you could hear tha man yelling for 12 miles!!!
rino, can you show us the link to those rules? I'd like to implement it for a bunch of auction trucks.
Here is the link http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regu...guidedetails.asp?rule_toc=762§ion_toc=762 All apply except for Subpart I
Employee would be the salesperson, and employer would be the dealership! Therefore they also fall under the DOT rules and regs! The auction should have a disclaimer that states the vehicle sold is either certified, or not! If certified, there will be a DOT Inspection certificate stating that vehicle is in safe operating condition! However just like we don't have to haul legal, they don't have to sell legal! Until something happens, nothing will happen! When someone get hurt because an unsafe truck was sold at auction, and driven on the street, and hurts someone then the manure spreader will be shifted into high gear. REMEMBER, I said "LEGALLY"; it is illegal to pay a driver from job to job, but many do it instead of key to key to save money! Try to get someone to do a wage audit! The state says its the Fed's job, and the Feds say it's the states job, so nothing gets done! A lawyer once told me "Law is not logical, logical tell you that if you smoke cigarettes, your risking your health, yet the states won big money because tobacco is unhealthy! Where is the logic in that?
Rino, You are talking about a different set of laws. The Lemon Law usually states a number of flaws on a new vehicle within a certain period of time. All lemon laws are generated by individual states. So if say a new car has a problem that can't be fixed in three visits to the dealer within one year, the lemon law can be claimed by the owner who can proceed against the dealer and manufacturer. Here in Washington it only applies to cars and small trucks for personal use. Commercial vehicles are specifically excluded. You are speaking of the condition of the commercial vehicle at the time of sale only. Yes the unit has to meet all applicable laws for operation on the highway. But for how long and what about items that have nothing to do with safety. Say an engine, transmission or differential fails 1,500 miles after purchase. Unless there is a written statement of warranty it is doubtful there would be any grounds to claim against the selling dealer, especially if the unit is sold "AS IS". Auctions get more protection in that the units only have to have clear title in order to make the sale. The auction statements specifically state there is no liability and the purchaser is responsible for removal from the site. If the purchaser gets in an accident after removal from the site he will probably be found responsible. No matter what though the driver is always ultimately responsible for the truck. He has to do a precheck and must not operate the vehicle if it is unsafe to drive. If he does so anyway he can be found criminaly and civily liable as can the owner for damages.
The “lemon law” varies from state to state. As well as the company he/she represents. There is no set of clear cut rules because we are talking about a bunch of old men that have never worked a day in their lives. If they have done physical labor, it was so long ago for them, they can’t remember doing it. Don't forget the CDL and Commercial vehicles are under Federal mandate, using the state as an issuing agent. State Law does not apply to Commercial Motor Vehicles, as all rules and regulations are Federal. The State does NOT inspect planes, the FAA does! When buying or selling a plane, there are tons of paper work involved, including hours of use, flight log, FAA repair log, and an FAA Certification. These laws should also apply to commercial motor vehicles, as they are mandated by Federal Law! Again we are talking Law, not Logic!
rino, You sent a link to the rules for operational equipment of a commercial vehicle. Since I'm lazy I'll ask you to show me which one says that a truck has to pass inspection in order to be sold . Especially if it's sold "As is, Where is" as most used units are. I don't even know where to begin on this one... I guess that the next time a state trooper pulls you over you're gonna give him the finger and tell him to send a U.S. Marshall? Some states do regulate aspects of aircraft ownership. I've bought and sold aircraft. There isn't "tons of paper work involved". There's basically 1 document that changes the registration to the new owner that goes to the FAA. IIRC it's less than 1 page. Have you ever bought / sold aircraft? If you were ever involved in the maintenance of an aircraft you would never wish that system upon anyone. I could go into detail, but this isn't the aircraft forum.
In the same respect, since my license is issued by Ohio and I drive in Ohio. can then give the finger to the FMCE Cfficer? NOOO I can't, and you won't see a FMCE Officer pulling over cars for speedingg either! In OH it's the DOT also known as Federal Motor Carrier Enforcement Division of the State Highway Patrol that pulls over commercial trucks on the interstate! BTW: Anyone have a defination for an "intercity bridge"? I am allowd 68500 gross on the interstate, and I'm sure that is a legal weight in the state highway, but intercity iI'm only allowd 62500 gross. So what constitutes an intercity bridge? Is a cluvert under a state route concidered an intercity bridge, or when I enter the corp imit am I automatically to 6000 lbs? Or is when I enter the city limit that I must be under 62500! It makes a difference, bcause I tare at 34500! Yea it's a heavy SOB!
Hey Rino, sounds like a good topic for conversation. maybe you ought to start a new thread with this one...