New Mexico Lemon Law

The Motor Vehicle Quality Assurance Act covers new motor vehicles sold or leased in New Mexico that suffer a nonconformity substantially impairing the use or market value of the vehicle. The defect must arise during the manufacturer's express warranty term or within one year of original delivery, whichever comes first. The statute defines 'motor vehicle' to exclude vehicles over a certain weight and excludes the living portion of motor homes. The consumer must give the manufacturer or its dealer a reasonable opportunity to repair before invoking the refund or replacement remedy in 57-16A-4.

Section 57-16A-6 creates a presumption of a reasonable number of repair attempts when the same uncorrected nonconformity has been subject to repair four or more times by the manufacturer or its dealer within the express warranty term or within one year of original delivery, whichever is earlier. The presumption also arises when the vehicle has been out of service for repair a cumulative total of 30 or more business days during that same window. Routine maintenance time is excluded from the 30-day count.

Section 57-16A-3.1 gives used vehicles a narrower form of protection than the new-car provisions. A consumer who buys a used vehicle from a dealer must give the seller a reasonable opportunity to repair before exercising any remedy. Used vehicles do not get a statutory tiered warranty schedule like New Jersey or New York. Used buyers in New Mexico typically rely on any written warranty provided by the dealer, the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, or the implied warranty of merchantability under the UCC unless validly disclaimed.

The Act defines 'consumer' to include the purchaser of a new motor vehicle, any person to whom the vehicle is transferred during the warranty period, and any other person entitled to enforce the warranty. Lessees of new vehicles are typically treated as consumers under that definition. The statute does not contain the detailed lessor/lessee refund coordination found in states like New Jersey or New York, so leased-vehicle remedies often have to be worked out between the lessee, lessor, and manufacturer based on the specific lease terms.

Section 57-16A-9 requires that any action brought to enforce the Act be commenced within 18 months of the date of original delivery to the consumer, or within 90 days following the final action of a manufacturer's informal dispute settlement panel, whichever is later. This is one of the shorter limitations periods in the country. UCC warranty claims under Article 2 have a four-year limit, and Unfair Practices Act claims have a four-year limit, so consumers often plead parallel claims to preserve a longer window.

Section 57-16A-7 provides that if the manufacturer has established an informal dispute settlement procedure that substantially complies with the FTC's Magnuson-Moss regulations at 16 C.F.R. Part 703, the consumer must first resort to that procedure before pursuing the Act's refund or replacement remedy. Most major manufacturers participate in BBB AUTO LINE, which qualifies. If the manufacturer has no qualifying program, the consumer can proceed directly. The decision of the informal procedure is not binding on the consumer, who may still file suit in district court.

If you prevail, the manufacturer must either replace the vehicle with a comparable new motor vehicle or refund the full purchase price including collateral charges (sales tax, registration, license fees, and finance charges), less a reasonable allowance for the consumer's use of the vehicle prior to first reporting the nonconformity. The statute also entitles a prevailing consumer to recover reasonable attorneys' fees and court costs. Civil penalty multipliers are not available under 57-16A itself, but treble damages may be available under a separate Unfair Practices Act claim.