Don't Buy a New Car Without Knowing This About Lemon Laws and Parts Shortages

The Rise of Late-Model Lemon Law Cases

• 💡 Late-model cars are increasingly being brought in for repair disproportionately often for the time they've been owned.
• 📌 Many new cars are spending 30, 40, or 50 days in the shop, not due to repair complexity, but due to parts shortages.
• ⚠️ This phenomenon began during COVID-19 when manufacturers put purchases on hold, leading to a "just-in-time" inventory system with minimal parts stockpiles.

Supply Chain Issues and Chip Shortages

• 🚗 Manufacturers initially put holds on critical components like chips, causing delays when production lines restarted.
• 🚚 New cars were sometimes built without necessary chips, then moved to storage yards to await installation, highlighting the severity of the chip shortage.
• 🏭 Fields were used to store vast numbers of new cars waiting for parts, particularly chips, a situation that has largely been resolved but has resurfaced with other electronic components.

Modern Car Electronics and Repair Delays

• 💻 Modern cars contain numerous electronic control modules that interact, making diagnosis and repair complex.
• 🛠️ When these modules fail, dealerships often know the problem but cannot fix it due to a lack of replacement parts, leading to extended repair times.
• ⏳ Consumers are sometimes in rental cars longer than they've owned their own vehicle, a critical factor in lemon law claims.

Understanding Lemon Law Protections

• 🍋 Under Michigan's lemon law, a car is considered a lemon if it's out of service for 30 days within the first year of ownership.
• 📜 While exceptions exist for events like war or strikes, these generally do not apply to current parts shortages, especially post-COVID.
• ⚖️ Manufacturers are increasingly using parts availability as a defense, but courts often dismiss this unless it falls under specific, extreme exceptions.
• ⏳ The law typically allows only 5 days for a final repair attempt after a vehicle has been out of service for an extended period.

Protecting Your Consumer Rights

• 📝 Document every repair attempt meticulously, including dates, issues reported, and any work performed or refused.
• 📹 Use your cell phone to record any unusual car behavior, as video evidence is more compelling than witness accounts.
• 🔄 If one dealership is unhelpful, take your car to another dealership within the manufacturer's network, as they are compensated for warranty work.
• 🗣️ Clearly state the problem to the service advisor and ensure it is accurately written on the repair order; don't let them simplify it to generic terms like "no crank, no start" if the issue is more specific, like a broken timing belt.