A new vehicle 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 after four or more repair attempts, or is out of service due to repair for at least 30 days, within the first 18,000 miles or two years (whichever comes first), 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 vehicle. 

To qualify, all of the following must be true:

• The car was covered by a lemon-law warranty when you first received it. 
• The dealer bought, leased, or transferred the car before it had 18,000 miles, or the dealer first received the car less than two years ago.
• The car was bought, leased, or transferred in New York state or is currently registered in New York state.
• The car has been used mostly for personal purposes.   

In addition, your car’s manufacturer must try a certain number of times to fix your car for any defect covered by the warranty, free of charge. 

You may be able to get a refund or replacement for your car if either of the following is true:

• The manufacturer cannot fix your car after four repair efforts.
• You are unable to use your car for a total of at least 30 days while the dealer is fixing it. 

Motorcycles are covered under the New Car Lemon Law and follow the same guidelines, requirements and timelines as would a new car.

Motor homes are covered under the law, except for defects in systems, fixtures, appliances, or other parts that are residential in character. Some items that are excluded from coverage: flooring, plumbing system and fixtures, roof, air conditioner, furnace, generator, electrical systems other than automotive circuits, side-entrance door, exterior compartments, and windows other than the windshield and driver and front passenger windows. 

The law defines a motor-home manufacturer to include not only the manufacturer but also the assembler of the component parts of the motor home, including the chassis, engine, and residential portion. The assembler may be the dealer. 

There are special-notice requirements with motor homes. According to these requirements, you must notify the motor-home manufacturer (which may be the dealer) earlier about your repair attempts or inability to use the vehicle than you do for a regular car. 

If you have met all the other legal requirements, you may still be entitled to relief under the law, if either of the following is true: 

• A defect remained even after the fourth repair attempt.
• Because of the defect, you were unable to drive the car for a total of 30 days or more, even if the defect was subsequently repaired. 

For example: Your car had a defective transmission that could not be fixed after four repairs. The fifth repair fully fixed the problem. You are still considered to have made a reasonable number of repair attempts and you may be entitled to relief.