What to do if your car is a "lemon"?

What to do if your car is a "lemon"? With repeated trips to the dealer for repairs? Don't worry. There's help in Florida's Lemon Law.

Just don't wait to take action. Your Lemon Law period ends two years after the date of original delivery of the vehicle. You then have 60 days to file your State Arbitration Request with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, or if your manufacturer participates, the State Certified Program. Consumers who are successful in Lemon Law arbitration have received refunds or replacement vehicles.

Commonly known as Florida's Lemon Law, the Motor Vehicle Sales Warranties Act established arbitration boards around the state to hear and settle complaints between car manufacturers and owners.

The program began in 1988 and is funded by a $2 fee collected with all new motor vehicles sold or leased in Florida.

If, after a reasonable number of repair attempts, the problem still isn't fixed, the law requires the manufacturer to buy back the defective vehicle and give the consumer a purchase price refund or a replacement vehicle.

In 2008, Lemon Law programs returned almost $17 million to Floridians in the form of repurchases and replacements, said Rudy Hamrick, regulatory program administrator with the Division of Consumer Services.

The Florida Attorney General's Office obtained another $13 million for consumers through state arbitration.

If you purchased or leased a new or demonstrator vehicle in Florida that has a manufacturer's defect, you should look in Lemon Laws of your country/state.