If you live in Florida and you've got yourself stuck with what looks to you like a lemon car, you'll want to know about the Florida lemon Law. Florida's Lemon Law is basically supposed to help consumers who have ongoing problems with getting a new vehicle fixed to met the manufacturer's warranty.

The intent of the law is to require that manufacturers provide refunds or vehicle replacement should a car (or other covered vehicle) fail to conform to the warranty terms after a reasonable number of attempts have been made to repair the vehicle. The Florida Lemon Law can be located in Chapter 681 of Florida Statutes.

The exact definitions related to Florida's Lemon Law are in Section 681.102, Florida Statutes (Supp. 1992). The precise definitions can be important in certain cases where the circumstances are not completely clear.

For protection under Florida's Lemon Law, the following must hold:

Covered Vehicles:

(1) a new vehicle purchased mainly for household, family or personal purposes;

(2) new vehicles which are leased for more than one year with a written agreement providing that the lessee (that would be you) is responsible for repairs.

(3) vehicles which were used as demonstrators if they are sold with a manufacturer's warranty - this is not actually a separate category, but more in the nature of a special circumstance.

Vehicles which are Not Covered:

(1) vehicles run only on tracks;
(2) off-road vehicles;
(3) trucks over ten thousand pounds gross weight;
(4) the living facilities of recreational vehicles;
(5) motorcycles or mopeds.

What Problems are Covered:

Any defect or condition that significantly damages the safety, use or value of a covered motor vehicle.

Problems which are Not Covered:

Any defect or problem which results from an abuse, neglect, modification/alteration of the vehicle by anyone who is not a manufacturer's service agent or an accident.

Now that you have a good idea of just what is and isn't covered under the Florida Lemon, Take a look at the followup article on "How to Work With the Florida Lemon Law."

The Office of the Attorney General has published more complete information in "Preserving Your Rights Under The Lemon Law." You can obtain this publication through the Division of Consumer Services at: (800)321-5366 or by writing to:

Office of the Attorney General
Lemon Law Research Unit
The Capitol
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1050