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Under the New York State tax code, consumers are entitled to a refund of sales tax if their vehicle is repurchased pursuant to the New York Lemon Law. In the past, this was a fairly straightforward proposition. The Application Form is available online. You would simply fill it out per the instructions, and mail it to the New York State Department of Taxation & Finance along with a copy of your Purchase Invoice or Lease Agreement (whichever is applicable) and a copy of either the court or arbitrators judgment, or settlement documents. Unfortunately, the process has become a little bit more difficult. I have recently been contacted by several of my former Lemon Law repurchase clients indicating that their applications for a sales tax refund weren’t approved. In all cases, New York State wanted to see more documentation. I was surprised to hear about this and contacted the auditor at the Department of Taxation & Finance who handles these applications. The gentleman explained to me that in the case of a settlement, unless the documents specifically indicate that the vehicle is being repurchased pursuant to the Lemon Law, his office would have to interpret the transfer as simply an ordinary…

With General Motors and Chrysler on the verge of bankruptcy, the Obama Administration applied some tough love today and declined to bail them out – for the time being. GM was provided with 60 days of government financing for operating costs and Chrysler was offered up to $6 billion in financing if it comes to terms with Fiat, within 30 days, on a possible merger or sale. Addressing the reasonable concern that these two companies might end up in bankruptcy court, which GM’s new CEO seems to acknowledge, the Administration announced that it would guarantee all warranties on new cars sold by GM and Chrysler during a restructuring period. The length of the restructuring period has not been clarified, so for all intents and purposes, it will last until the government says so. Importantly, this guarantee of warranties does not apply to vehicles sold before March 30, 2009. I previously discussed what might happen in the event of a large manufacturer bankruptcy. Theoretically, if the manufacturer of your vehicle were to file for bankruptcy, your warranty could be voided. Realistically, it would be politically lethal for the Obama Administration to let that happen – and it won’t. My strong gut…

A typical New York Lemon Law case involves a vehicle that has been serviced repeatedly for the same problem, or has been out of service for repair for an unreasonable amount of time. These are inability to repair cases. I previously wrote a blog that concentrates on these types of cases. There is also another kind of New York Lemon Law case which perhaps doesn’t get as much attention, but is just as important. Refusal to repair cases. These are cases where the vehicle is brought to the dealership for warranty repairs and the dealership is either unable to verify the consumer’s complaint (cannot duplicate customers concern), or it verifies that something is wrong with the car, but determine that the problem is not covered by the vehicles warranty. Refusal to repair cases are more difficult to pursue because there is a fundamental disagreement between the consumer and the manufacturer. The manufacturer believes that there is either nothing wrong with the car, or alternatively, that whatever is wrong with the car is not its responsbility. On the other hand, in an inability to repair case, the manufacturer has attempted a repair, which implies that it recognizes something was wrong with…

Lets start at the beginning, shall we? Overview The New York Lemon Law, otherwise known as New York General Business Law Section 198-a, is a consumer protection statute originally enacted in 1983 as a response to rampant consumer complaints about defective automobiles. It has a four year statute of limitations, which means that you can bring a lawsuit or arbitration to enforce your rights under the law within four years of your purchase or lease of the vehicle in question. What happens if I have a Lemon? Did you ever hear the phrase, “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter”? That is what comes to mind when I’m asked what happens if your car is a lemon. One mans lemon is a car manufacturer’s sparkling example of modern engineering. The trick is getting the right person (or ajudicating entity) to agree it’s a lemon. Once you get that accomplished (more about that in a minute), you’re entitled to your choice of the following: Repurchase of the vehicle by its manufacturer. Comparable replacement vehicle. What makes my car a lemon? This is the type of question that deserves a simple answer. So here it is. Your car is a lemon…