Does the lemon law apply to used cars?

When a used car is still protected

• A used-car lemon law exists in your state. These usually set a short statutory warranty scaled to mileage — for example 30 to 90 days or 1,000 to 4,000 miles — and exclude vehicles above a mileage cap or below a price floor.
• The original factory warranty is still running. Many state new-car lemon laws follow the vehicle, not the first owner, so a defect reported within the original warranty period may still qualify.
• A written dealer warranty was given. That opens the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, which applies to any consumer product sold with a written warranty and provides fee-shifting.
• The seller lied. Undisclosed accident history, a rolled-back odometer, a salvage or flood title, or a concealed known defect are claims under state consumer-protection and odometer statutes, independent of any lemon law.

The «as is» problem

The federal Used Car Rule requires a Buyers Guide in the window stating whether the vehicle is sold with a warranty or as is. An as-is sale removes implied warranties in most states — but a handful, including Massachusetts, do not permit disclaimer, and as-is never protects a seller from affirmative misrepresentation.

What to do first

Get the Buyers Guide and the sale paperwork together, pull the vehicle history report, obtain an independent inspection documenting the defect, and write to the dealer describing the problem and what you want. Those four items are what any consumer lawyer will ask for.