Texas Lemon Law has a clearly defined three-prong approach on which vehicles are eligible for a lemon law buyback or replacement.
Under Section 2301.605 of the Texas Occupations Code (Title 14, Subtitle A, Chapter 2301, Sub-chapter A), it states in relevant part that a vehicle meets the rebuttable presumption if:
(1) “…the same nonconformity continues to exist after being subject to repair four or more times…,”
(2) “…the same nonconformity creates a serious safety hazard and continues to exist after causing the vehicle to have been subject to repair two or more times…,” or
(3) “…a nonconformity still exists that substantially impairs the vehicle’s use or market value and… the vehicle is out of service for repair for a cumulative total of 30 or more days…”
Keep in mind that there are more stringent requirements, but I am cutting and pasting relevant parts to help dissect the law into smaller and easier to understand sub parts. Below is a layman’s description when it comes to the 3 part rebuttable presumption.
Please note that this is not legal advice. Every situation and case is different and you ought to contact an attorney as soon as possible to get clarification on your set of facts.
To start, what is a “rebuttable presumption”? A rebuttable presumption is something that the court will accept as true, unless it has been unproven or proven otherwise by the manufacturer or car dealer.
Keep in mind that a car owner needs to only meet the one of the three prongs to achieve the rebuttable presumption. However, I always recommend to my clients that they meet at least 2 of the 3 prongs to be safe. I call it the prong backup plan.
The first prong is self explanatory. Keep in mind that same conformity does not necessarily have to be a specific vehicle part, it can be a larger vehicle category, such as the transmission system, brake system, engine, electrical or electronic system, body, and etc. What matters is how you present and frame the nonconformity to the administrative judge and the Texas Department of Transportation‘s (DOT) case handler.
Regarding interpretations on how the facts are applied to the second and third prong, please contact my lemon law office.