Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act Law Summary


The Magnuson-Moss Warranty act is a Federal Law that protects the buyer of any product which costs more than $25 and comes with an express written warranty.This law applies to any product that you buy that does not perform as it should.

The Magnuson-Moss law is a federal law gives consumers considerable rights in dealing with manufacturers of lemon cars. This law guarantees a car buyer that certain minimum requirements of warranties must be met, and provides for disclosure of warranties before purchase.

Regarding "lemon cars", this law greatly affects the rights of car buyers. For any product which has a written warranty if any part of the product, or the product itself is considered defective, the warrantor must permit the buyer the choice of either a refund or replacement of the product.

Law firms have argued successfully to juries that the lemon manufacturers should be given three attempts to fix the defect. Continued attempts to repair beyond the initial three should not be allowed. This is called the "three strikes and you're out" principle.

A consumer may pursue legal action in any court of general jurisdiction in the United States to enforce his rights under the Magnuson-Moss Law. Attorney's fees based on actual time spent will be covered if the consumer does prevail.

Due to this particular condition, there is quite a bit of financial pressure on the manufacturer to settle consumers disputes before going to court, as this would keep their expenses down.

Editorial provided by:T. Michael Flinn