New York Lemon Law

New York's New Car Lemon Law (Gen. Bus. Law § 198-a) covers passenger and certain other motor vehicles registered in New York, purchased or leased from a New York dealer or registered in New York, that develop a nonconformity covered by the written warranty during the first 24 months from delivery or the first 18,000 miles of operation, whichever comes first. The defect must substantially impair the value of the vehicle. The Used Car Lemon Law (§ 198-b) separately covers used vehicles bought from a dealer for more than $1,500, including leases with an agreed value over $1,500, with coverage tiers based on odometer mileage.

For new cars, § 198-a(d) presumes a reasonable number of attempts when, within the 24-month/18,000-mile period, either the same nonconformity has been subject to repair four or more times and continues to exist, or the vehicle has been out of service for repair for a cumulative total of 30 or more calendar days. The consumer must give the manufacturer notice by certified mail and a 20-day opportunity to cure before filing for arbitration. For used cars, the dealer must repair within the applicable warranty tier or refund after three failed repair attempts or 15 days out of service.

Yes. § 198-b is one of the strongest used-car lemon laws in the country and requires every used car sold or leased from a dealer for more than $1,500 in agreed value to come with a written statutory warranty. Coverage tiers: vehicles with 18,000 miles or fewer are treated under the new-car statute; 18,001 to 36,000 miles get at least 90 days or 4,000 miles; 36,001 to 79,999 miles get at least 60 days or 3,000 miles; 80,000 to 100,000 miles get at least 30 days or 1,000 miles. Vehicles over 100,000 miles are not covered by § 198-b.

Yes. Both § 198-a (new) and § 198-b (used) extend to leases. The new-car statute treats lessees as consumers for purposes of all repair attempt thresholds, presumptions, and remedies. When a buyback is ordered, the manufacturer must coordinate refunds between the lessee (for cap cost reductions and lease payments) and the lessor (for the lessor's residual interest in the vehicle). Early-termination penalties cannot be charged to a lessee whose buyback is the result of a successful lemon law claim. Short-term rentals are not covered.

§ 198-a(l) sets a statute of limitations of four years from the date of original delivery of the motor vehicle to the consumer. The four-year clock applies to both arbitration applications and civil suits. If you elect to use the New York New Car Lemon Law Arbitration Program, your arbitration request must be filed within that four-year window. Federal Magnuson-Moss claims and UCC warranty claims also follow a four-year clock from delivery, so the practical filing deadline is essentially the same across statutes.

No. The state-run New York New Car Lemon Law Arbitration Program, administered by the Attorney General, is optional for consumers but binding on the manufacturer if the consumer chooses it. A manufacturer cannot force you into a private informal dispute resolution program (like BBB AUTO LINE) in lieu of the state program. You may file directly in state Supreme Court instead. Most consumers prefer the state program because the filing fee is $250 (refundable if you prevail), hearings are scheduled within about 35 days, and decisions usually come within a few months.

If you prevail, you may choose either a comparable replacement vehicle or a refund of the full purchase price plus license, registration, and other collateral fees, less a use allowance only if the vehicle has been driven more than 12,000 miles. The use offset is calculated as (miles over 12,000 / 100,000) x purchase price. § 198-a(l) allows the court or arbitrator to award reasonable attorneys' fees to a prevailing consumer. Parallel claims under General Business Law § 349 can add statutory damages of up to $1,000 trebled if the manufacturer's conduct was willfully deceptive.