NC Lemon Law: Protecting Yourself First

There is no doubt that humans are a race of consumers. It's been this
was since the beginning of our history, and as long as our system of
economics has been in place, there have been victims of bad deals.
Nowadays, nowhere are shady transactions more prevalent than in the
realm of automobile sales. Have you been in and out of the mechanic ever
since you bought your "brand new" car? Do the repeated repairs seem to
be doing more harm than good? Are you worried that you may have bought a
lemon? Do you want to avoid being swindled in the future? Who doesn't?

There is a statute under lemon law (NC, specifically) called the "Motor
Vehicle Repair Act." This act states that a motor vehicle repair person
must present the repair order paperwork to the customer, obtaining their
signature before attempting any repairs. In essence, this is an
authorization to repair the vehicle. This act, in accordance with North
Carolina lemon law, also requires that the repair shop give an invoice
to the customer, upon releasing the vehicle, that states what was done
to correct any problems. Many dealerships conveniently "forget" to give
these documents to the customer, so they can fill them out later and
leave off any problems they're unable to address. This is a violation of
the Motor Vehicle Repair Act. How often has this happened to you?
Looking back, it has happened to me more times than I can count.

The most crucial thing you can do as a new vehicle owner is keep good
documentation of your warranty repairs. Save all of your repair orders
or invoices, and make sure they all contain the correct information. A
Repair Order (or R.O.) is what you receive when you drop off the vehicle
at the mechanic. Make sure you always get one of these, and that it
contains detailed accounts of your complaints. If you're not careful
about it, dealership personnel or staff at the mechanic shop may make
their own little adjustments to your repair orders in an attempt to
hide, minimize or get themselves out of addressing your concerns with
the vehicle.

If a claim qualifies to be brought under lemon law, NC or otherwise, it
helps to have a "repeat concern." This is how it works under The New
Motor Vehicle Warranty Act. The dealership service writers are trained
in Lemon Law. North Carolina is no exception to this phenomenon. One of
the tricks they use is to make your complaints sound different each time
you bring in the vehicle for repairs. Maybe it was a "ticking noise" one
time, a "clicking noise" another time, and then, just "noise." Here's
the kicker--later they will argue that the noise came from three
different problems, when, to you, it was always the same noise.
Consumers need to make sure the repair documentation reflects their
actual complaints before they leave the vehicle with a mechanic.