Motorcycle Lemon Law
What is the Motorcycle Lemon Law?
A new or used motorcycle that was purchased, leased or registered in New York State for personal use and which shows a serious problem or defect that is not corrected within a reasonable amount of time may be eligible for the Lemon Law Arbitration Program. If successful, the consumer will be entitled to either a full refund of the purchase price or a comparable replacement motorcycle. Motorcycles will fall under the New Motorcycle Lemon Law OR the Used Motorcycle Lemon Law, depending on whether the motorcycle was purchased new or used.
New Motorcycle Lemon Law requirements
To qualify, all of the following must be true:
- The motorcycle was covered by a lemon-law warranty when you first received it.
- The dealer bought, leased, or transferred the motorcycle before it had 18,000 miles, or the dealer first received the car less than two years ago.
- The motorcycle was bought, leased, or transferred in New York state or is currently registered in New York state.
- The motorcycle has been used mostly for personal purposes.
In addition, your motorcycle’s manufacturer must try a certain number of times to fix your motorcycle for any defect covered by the warranty, free of charge.
You may be able to get a refund or replacement for your motorcycle if either of the following is true:
- The manufacturer cannot fix your motorcycle after four repair efforts.
- You are unable to use your motorcycle for a total of at least 30 days while the dealer is fixing it.
Used Motorcycle Lemon Law requirements
To qualify, all of the following must be true:
- The motorcycle was covered by a lemon-law warranty when you first received it.
- The dealer bought, leased, or transferred the motorcycle before it had 18,000 miles, or the dealer first received the motorcycle less than two years ago.
- The motorcycle was bought, leased, or transferred in New York state or is currently registered in New York state.
- The motorcycle has been used mostly for personal purposes.
In addition, your motorcycle’s manufacturer must try a certain number of times to fix your motorcycle for any defect covered by the warranty, free of charge.
You may be able to get a refund or replacement for your motorcycle if either of the following is true:
- The manufacturer cannot fix your motorcycle after four repair efforts.
- You are unable to use your motorcycle for a total of at least 30 days while the dealer is fixing it.
Can I still file a claim if my motorcycle was fixed?
You may still file a claim even if the motorcycle is repaired so long as the motorcycle has already met the requirements for either the New Motorcycle Lemon Law or the Used Motorcycle Lemon Law, respectively.
What happens if you win your case?
List of Services
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Repurchase / RefundList Item 1
If you win your case, you may be entitled to a full repurchase / refund. Your motorcycle would be repurchased by the manufacturer and you would recieve a full refund.
The refund should include:
- The price of the motorcycle (cash plus trade-in allowance), including all options; and
- Title fees, licence/registration fees and any other governmental charges; less any lawful deductions* and an offset for mileage.**
*Lawful deductions include any other expenses or charges, such as loss of use, insurance premiums, and finance charges.
**The mileage deduction is calculated by multiplying the purchase price of the motorcycle by the number of miles currently on the motorcycle in excess of 12,000 and dividing by 100,000. If the motorcycle has less than 12,000 miles at the time of award, no deduction is taken.
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Replacement
If you win your case, you may be entitled to a replacement motorcycle. Your current motorcycle would be replaced by the manufacturer and you would recieve a different motorcycle of comparable make, model and mileage*.
*If the replacement motorcycle has a higher MSRP than the motorcycle being replaced, you may be required to pay the difference, depending on financing options, original trade-in value and other factors.
Financing vs. Leasing a Motorcycle
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FinancingList Item 1
The refund you will receive from the manufacturer is the same, whether the motorcycle was financed or paid for in cash at time of purchase. However, if the motorcycle is financed, the refund is divided between you and the lender (the bank or finance company). The lender will calculate how much you still owe and apply its part of the refund to that amount. The balance of the refund then goes to you*.
*There can be instances in which you may owe the manufacturer to comply with the award. This can happen if you had a large amount of negative equity on a prior trade-in or if the deduction for mileage exceeds the amount of payments you have made so far.
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Leasing
If the motorcycle is leased, the refund due from the manufacturer is divided between you and the leasing company. Your refund is the total of your downpayments (including any trade-in allowance), plus the total of the monthly lease payments you have already made, minus interest charges and any other service fees.
For example: You leased a new motorcycle under a three-year lease, with a $1,500 downpayment, and pay a monthly lease payment of $300. Of the $300 monthly payment, $100 is allocated as interest charges. After you make 12 monthly payments, you are granted a refund under the lemon law:
Deposit $1,500
Monthly payments (12 x $300) $3,600
Interest (12 x $100) (-$1,200)
Total refund $3,900
The refund will be $3,900.
If the monthly payment includes other service fees, such as insurance or other costs that are paid for your benefit, these amounts will also be deducted from your refund.
The leasing company’s portion of the refund is the balance of the lease price, as that term is defined by the law.*
*Your lease agreement will be terminated if you win your case. However, you should continue to make any monthly lease payments as required under the lease agreement until the lease is paid off by the manufacturer to avoid late charges and/or negative credit reporting.
Ready to File or Still Have Questions?
To file a claim, click on one of the below file buttons to be redirected to the correct claim form. If you have any additional questions, you may reach out to NYSDRA's Lemon Law program manager directly at lemonlaw@nysdra.org. You may also complete the Contact Us form via the below button. When completing the form, please be sure to select Lemon Law as your area of interest. We also encourage you to review the below program FAQ which answers additional questions about the Lemon Law program and case management process.