Protecting consumers is always important; however, in times of financial crisis, ensuring that buyers are receiving quality products and services is even more crucial. A Yakima Herald-Republic story reports that Washington State lawmakers have passed a series of consumer protection laws. The story mentions that these new laws aim to dissuade individuals from trying to scam or defraud those who are already struggling financially due to the economy.
One of the new consumer protection laws in Washington relates to used car buyer protection against lemon vehicles. This law was introduced after the Attorney General’s Office detected an alarming trend of used car dealers burying lemon cars at auctions for relatively low prices and reselling them at higher prices throughout Washington State. Before the new law, Washington State’s lemon law only covered new cars. Now, used car dealers in Washington State will be required to disclose when a used car was repurchased under the lemon law of a different state.
With this additional protection, used car buyers will also have access to a vehicle’s title information to determine if the car has ever formally been returned to the manufacturer for a problem. Obviously, a title that reflects a used vehicle history of being totaled, reconditioned, salvaged, junked, damaged, rebuilt, or a lemon law return, may affect the vehicle’s resale value.
Even though lemon laws vary from state to state, consumer rights are a major concern across the board. If you believe that your used car may have a different history than what the used car buyer revealed to you, you may be entitled to your money back plus other expenses.
