Auto sales began a serious slide in the spring of 2008 and by the fall, several manufacturers were down as much as 30% from the prior year. What if anything will this mean to the consumers in their future lemon law claim?

A hint of what may become the prevailing attitude amongst manufacturers happened during the recent Chrysler bankruptcy proceedings. It appeared as though all outstanding lemon law claims and the bouncing checks were going to be swept up and discharged in the bankruptcy leaving many lemon owners out in the cold. There was a public uproar carried by various consumer groups speaking on behalf of those who had purchased a lemon, went through the process and were poised for their refund. The media was such that it gave Chrysler a black eye, and in what appeared to a PR effort to secure a future with the buying public the “New Chrysler” switched its course and decided to honor the outstanding lemon law claims.

Just prior to GM’s recent bankruptcy filing I was informed by someone in a position to know that GM did not want to make the same mistake Chrysler did by giving the appearance that it didn’t give a hoot about it’s buying public or those stuck with a lemon. I took this to mean GM is already looking to the future with a message they will stand behind their product, which includes honoring the lemon law.

Auto manufacturers in this country will survive only if they deliver a high quality product and stellar service. No manufacturer is immune from producing a bad one every now and then. It is the nature of mass production. So when it does happen, manufacturers are smart to stand behind their product and “exchange in abundance” with their public by honoring lemon law claims. Gone should be the days whena  consumer has to fight to get what the manufacturer promised at the time of sale; a vehicle free of defefcts for a given term.

Good news for Chrysler consumers. U.S. customers of the new Chrysler to emerge from bankruptcy will be covered by lemon law rights accordings to the agreement reached by Chrysler and Fiat. Warranty promises will be honored as originally intended.

Under most states lemon laws, a manufacturer is suppose to either buyback or replace a lemon vehicle where the consumer has given the manufacturer a reasonable opportunity to repair a major problem.

Prior to the agreement reached between Chrysler and Fiat it was unclear how consumers who had initiated claims under the lemon law would be affected by the bankruptcy. Some consumers who had requested refunds on their lemons had been issued checks that bounced because of the bankruptcy filing. After many protests by consumer groups and attorneys on behalf of consumers, Chrysler said it immediately requested and received approval from the court to honor warranties in the bankruptcy case. The court decided that all warranty and lemon law obligations will be assumed by the new company after the close of the transaction between Chrysler and Fiat.

Chrysler consumers can now rest easy knowing their warranty is safe and they will still have rights to seek a refund or replacement under the lemon law if they find they have purchased a lemon, whether it was prior to the bankruptcy, during or after.

The “lemon law community” is still waiting to see just how the Chrysler bankruptcy is going to affect lemon law claims. There are consumers who have a legitimate lemon law claim who haven’t filed yet. There are those who have filed lemon law claims and are mid cycle, and finally those who resolved their lemon law claims and haven’t been paid.

It is wise to hold on to claims that haven’t been made yet so as not to be swept into the bankruptcy mess. By all accounts the bankruptcy process is supposed to be fast, and Fiat has a purchase agreement in place to buy Chrysler and among other things will assume specified liabilities including “certain liabilities for product warranties, product returns and rebates…”

There is a big question whether claims that are mid-stream can be resumed with the “New Chrysler.” The language of the proposed sale is ambiguous in this regard.

Just what the purchase agreement between Fiat and Chrysler means in the lemon law context remains to be seen. I think it is safe to assume that the “New Chrysler” will continue to honor Chrysler warranty claims for the driver who goes to the dealer but, one would argue that after a reasonable opportunity to repair defects, that one should be entitled to invoke the lemon law and seek a replacement or refund. The “New Chrysler” cannot have an infinite number of repair attempts while “honoring their warranty.” After all, that is what the lemon law is all about. There comes a time when enough is enough, right?

As for those who have returned their vehicle and got a bounced check in return, hope is on the horizon. There has been a lot of publicity about bounced refund checks from Chrysler, the Los Angeles Times recently wrote an article describing this fiasco. If the “New Chrysler” intends to honor its warranties, they had better honor the lemon law buy back too. They go hand in hand.