Protect your rights with the Wisconsin lemon law

The Wisconsin lemon law was designed to protect the rights of consumers who find that they have purchased a "lemon". If you're in that situation, a good place to begin is at Lemon Helpers -- a website provided by Macey & Aleman, one of America's largest consumer protection firms. Their staff of experienced attorneys will be glad to answer any questions about the Wisconsin lemon law.

Wisconsin lemon law provides broad protection.

Under the Wisconsin lemon law, vehicles registered (or transferred), including demonstrators, non-resident or foreign registered vehicles purchased, leased or transferred in Wisconsin are protected. The only Wisconsin exceptions are mopeds, semi-trailers or trailers designed for use in combination with a truck or truck tractor.

You may qualify for relief under state statute if, during the earlier of the express warranty period or one year following purchase, your vehicle has at least four attempts to repair the same defect and the defect still exists or your vehicle has been out of service for at least 30 days.

If you qualify for relief, you can force the manufacturer to do one of two things: (1) replace with a comparable new vehicle and refund collateral costs; or (2) accept return of the vehicle and refund the full purchase price (plus taxes, finance charges, amounts paid at point of sale and collateral costs) less a reasonable allowance for your use.

In addition, with Macey & Aleman, you never have to pay a single penny of attorney's fees. If your case is successful, we will seek to recover our fees from the manufacturer. If for some reason your case is not successful you will not be required to pay our fees.

Is arbitration the right road for you?

Arbitration is one of numerous "Alternative Dispute Resolution" ("ADR") procedures. ADRs provide a way of settling disputes outside of the courtroom. Arbitration is an informal trial involving no discovery and simplified rules of evidence. Generally, manufacturers are bound by decisions made by arbitration panels. On the other hand, if you are not happy with the arbitration panel's decision, you may proceed to file a suit.

If your motor vehicle manufacturer has established a "state certified" arbitration program, most state statutes require you to follow that arbitration program before filing suit against your manufacturer. These arbitration programs handle consumer complaints outside of the court system. If your manufacturer has set up a certified arbitration program, then your case may have to proceed through that program before you are able to file a suit. However, not all manufacturers have certified arbitration programs, and many motor vehicles are ineligible for arbitration due to a variety of reasons, such as the motor vehicle's age or mileage or, in some cases, the arbitration program's rules disqualify certain motor vehicles. In those situations, you may file a suit without first going through arbitration.

Think you have a lemon?

If you're considering taking on a giant automobile company in a suit, you'll want to make sure that you have your own giant on your legal team. That's where we come in. For a FREE consultation with an attorney, you can fill out our confidential form or call 866-536-6601.