Buying a vehicle is a significant investment as part of your transportation needs or personal enjoyment. Whether it's a new or used car, truck, aircraft or motor home, you likely have special rights under state laws when you purchase a vehicle. But you can only enforce those rights if you understand them beforehand.
Disclosures and Warranties
State laws protect vehicle buyers during the purchase process and beyond. These laws require certain disclosures dealing with vehicle condition, mileage and history. For example, in Maine a dealer selling a used vehicle must post the method by which it acquired the vehicle, a statement of all known mechanical defects, the previous owner's primary use of the vehicle and the dealer's policy for returning purchase deposits. You have the right to understand your vehicle's warranty, which means that if dealers offer formal or implied warranties, they must honor them, and if not they must state the terms of the sale and the absence of any warranty.
Lemon Laws
Some states have lemon laws to protect new or used vehicle buyers, or both. These laws give state courts the power to enforce warranties or require refunds when vehicle dealers or manufacturers refuse to do so. In some cases they also add limited short-term warranties to used vehicles that would otherwise have no warranty protection. Some states have special lemon laws that apply to recreational vehicles, while others only cover passenger vehicles, such as cars, trucks and SUVs.
Rights for Financing
Consumer protection laws also cover your rights when it comes to financing a vehicle. Financing can add thousands of dollars to the cost of a vehicle, or impact your finances with changing monthly payments of unexpected fees. While vehicle dealers often facilitate financing, they usually don't provide the loans themselves. Instead, they work with lenders that must note their interest rates, loan policies and other disclosures when you sign a loan agreement. As a vehicle buyer, you always have the right to compare loan offers and use the lender of your choice, which can save you a great deal of money if the first offer you receive has a high interest rate.
Prorating Taxes
Some states and local governments charge property taxes on the value of vehicles you own. This may include personal or business aircraft, boats and recreational vehicles. However, you have the right to pay prorated taxes based on when you purchase a vehicle during the tax year. For example, if you purchase a new motor home at the end of June to use during the summer, you will only need to pay half of the full property tax amount since you only owned it for six months of the year. To protect your right to pay prorated vehicle taxes you'll need to have a dated proof of purchase from the seller.
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