Consumer paints lemons on her lemon car and parks it outside near the dealership of purchase

Often times, consumers who purchased lemon cars call my office to seek guidance under the Texas Lemon Law, but I have yet to encounter a potential client that has done this before…

To signify that the vehicle she purchased is a lemon, Christy Direnzo painted yellow lemons and the car dealership’s name on a car she purchased from DJ Enterprises. Thereafter, she parked it near the dealership to warn other car buyers. When she purchased the car, she was informed it only needed $300 worth of repairs. She soon found out it needed approximately $1,500 in repairs.

Another car buyer in Charleston, South Carolina, Mary Grodjeski, also bought a truck from the same dealership. A few weeks later, the transmission and engine went out. Both women tried to take the vehicles back to the dealership in order to get their money back, but were refused. The dealership claims that the vehicle was sold “as-is.”

Consumer lawyer, Steven Moskos, informs them of the revocation of acceptance statute that allows a person to ask for a refund based on defects that show up in a reasonable amount of time. This statute is usually not enforced by any state agency and must be fought in civil court. Also, it is easier to win a suit if a warranty or service contract was purchased and the dealership refuses or cannot fix the vehicle.

Unfortunately, if the situation is not covered by state lemon laws that has attorney fee shifting provisions that require the dealership or car manufacturer to pay for the consumer’s attorney fees, then cases like these might be cost prohibitive to sue on because of the costs of litigation.

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