Cambridge Lemon Law

Cambridge consumers can apply to the Massachusetts state-certified arbitration program run by OCABR; the program's mailing address is 501 Boylston Street in Boston and applications are accepted statewide. For new vehicles, the application must be submitted within 18 months of original delivery to lock in mandatory manufacturer participation, with a decision issued within 45 days. If you prefer litigation, civil actions for Cambridge residents can be filed in Middlesex Superior Court at 200 Trade Center in Woburn or in Cambridge District Court, usually pleading the lemon-law violation with a Chapter 93A unfair-practices count.

Yes. Massachusetts's New Car Lemon Law applies to any new motor vehicle bought or leased in the Commonwealth for personal, family, or household use, regardless of powertrain. Cambridge has unusually high EV and hybrid adoption, and traction-battery faults, regenerative-braking errors, charging-system failures, software-update bricks, and infotainment crashes all qualify if they substantially impair use, value, or safety. Three repair attempts on the same defect, or fifteen business days out of service for any combination, within the 12-month or 15,000-mile coverage period under § 7N1/2 triggers the right to a refund or replacement. EV consumers should keep dated repair orders from every Tesla service center, Rivian mobile visit, or franchised dealer.

Document the visit anyway. Massachusetts's three-repair presumption under § 7N1/2 counts every documented attempt on the same defect, even when the dealer notes 'NPF,' 'could not duplicate,' or returns the car unrepaired. Keep the dated repair order showing the customer concern and the dealer's response. Many cold-weather defects in Cambridge, such as cold-start no-starts, EV state-of-charge errors, and infotainment crashes, are intermittent and hard for a Brighton or Watertown service writer to duplicate in May. The repair-order paper trail becomes the central evidence in arbitration before OCABR or in Middlesex Superior Court.

For new vehicles, you must submit your OCABR arbitration application within 18 months of original delivery to require manufacturer participation. New-car civil actions should be filed within two years, while pure Chapter 93A unfair-practices claims carry a four-year statute of limitations. Used-vehicle § 7N1/4 claims must be filed within two years of original delivery. Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn is the typical Cambridge venue, and many complaints plead federal Magnuson-Moss alongside the state statute to capture the broader four-year UCC warranty period.

Yes. Massachusetts's Used Vehicle Warranty Law, M.G.L. c. 90, § 7N1/4, applies to any Cambridge-area dealer selling a used vehicle for at least $700 with fewer than 125,000 miles. The dealer must provide a tiered written warranty: 90 days or 3,750 miles for vehicles under 40,000 miles; 60 days or 2,500 miles for 40,000-79,999 miles; and 30 days or 1,250 miles for 80,000-124,999 miles. If the dealer cannot fix a substantial defect after three attempts or ten business days out of service, you are entitled to a refund minus 15 cents per mile driven. Private Cambridge sales have a narrower 30-day implied warranty.

Under § 7N1/2, you can elect either a comparable replacement vehicle or a refund of the full purchase price, including sales tax, registration, finance charges, and incidental costs like towing and rentals, less a mileage offset equal to contract price times miles driven divided by 100,000. Because lemon-law violations are automatically unfair and deceptive under Chapter 93A, a Middlesex County judge must award double to triple actual damages plus attorney's fees if the manufacturer acted willfully or rejected a reasonable settlement in bad faith. That multiplier structure is a major reason Cambridge attorneys often plead Chapter 93A alongside the lemon-law claim rather than relying solely on state arbitration.

Generally yes. If a software update or OTA push causes a substantial impairment of use, value, or safety, such as disabling Autopilot, breaking the infotainment system, or rendering the car undriveable, that condition is treated as a nonconformity under § 7N1/2. Three documented repair attempts within the 12-month or 15,000-mile window, or fifteen business days out of service, triggers the lemon-law remedy. Cambridge EV owners should document every service visit, every software ticket, and every mobile-service interaction in writing because OTA defects often lack a traditional repair order and OCABR arbitrators look for dated, written evidence of repair attempts.