Jeffersonville Lemon Law

Indiana's Motor Vehicle Protection Act applies to new vehicles purchased or leased in Indiana and registered in Indiana. If you bought across the river in Louisville and registered the vehicle in Indiana, Indiana law generally governs. If the vehicle is titled and registered in Kentucky, Kentucky's lemon law would apply. Many Clark County buyers cross the bridge for selection, but they bring the vehicle back to Indiana to register and primarily service it. Confirm the title state, registration state, and where the vehicle is principally garaged before identifying which statute controls.

Civil actions under Ind. Code 24-5-13 are filed in Indiana state court, typically the circuit or superior court of the county where you live or where the selling dealer is located. For Jeffersonville residents that is the Clark County Circuit and Superior Courts at 501 E Court Ave. Before filing you must complete the manufacturer's informal dispute settlement program if it complies with 16 C.F.R. Part 703 (most major automakers' BBB AUTO LINE programs do). The two-year statute of limitations is tolled while arbitration is pending.

Indiana presumes a reasonable opportunity to repair after four attempts on the same nonconformity, or after the vehicle has been out of service for 30 cumulative business days within the 18-month/18,000-mile term of protection. The 30-day clock counts business days, not calendar days, and is extended for natural disasters and strikes. Keep every Clark County or Louisville-area dealer repair order, including 'no problem found' visits, because each documented attempt counts.

Generally no. Indiana's Motor Vehicle Protection Act applies only to new vehicles. The narrow exception is a used vehicle still inside the original 18-month/18,000-mile window where the defect was reported during that window: the new owner can step into the original consumer's shoes. For most used purchases from Clark County or southern Indiana dealers, your remedies are the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, the Indiana Deceptive Consumer Sales Act, or any written dealer warranty.

If the manufacturer cannot repair after a reasonable number of attempts, you can demand a comparable replacement vehicle or a full refund. The refund includes the total contract price, sales tax, the unexpended portion of registration and excise tax, finance charges actually paid, dealer-installed options, and necessary towing and rental costs, less a use allowance. The use allowance equals miles driven before the manufacturer's acceptance of the vehicle return, multiplied by the contract price, divided by 100,000. Indiana does not authorize civil penalties, but prevailing consumers recover attorney's fees and costs.

Civil actions must be commenced within two years from the original delivery date of the vehicle. Defects must have been reported within the 18-month/18,000-mile term of protection, but the four-attempt or 30-business-day determination can mature later. The two-year period is tolled while you participate in a qualifying manufacturer informal dispute settlement program. Federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act claims have a four-year limitations period, which sometimes provides a backstop if Indiana's two-year window has run.