October 15, 2008
By: Robert Silverman
When Bob Silverman & Craig Kimmel formed Kimmel & Silverman eighteen years ago, they had one goal in mind–to equal the playing field between the consumer and the billion-dollar automotive manufacturer, using State & Federal Laws that many consumers were not aware of. Best of all, the legal help under these laws is completely FREE to the consumer.
For the life of us, we cannot understand why consumers still insist on trying to do this by themselves, when you can have access to an experienced attorney who has worked on thousands of lemon law and breach of warranty claims (not only that, but we have three ASE-certified mechanics on staff to inspect our clients’ vehicles and research their issues.) The other day, a gentleman called with a real problem–he was two years into a four-year lease and he was experiencing many problems with his power-train. Being that he thought he had a “slam dunk” case, he decided to represent himself through the NJ Lemon Law unit. He couldn’t get a mechanic to testify on his behalf. The manufacturer hired attorneys to oppose his claim. He ended being offered a very minimal settlement which only covered a few lease payments. He now has decided to buy himself out of his lease, which means he is going to take a huge financial hit. This is all because he thought he could handle this on his own. We have seen many other claims where the consumer was promised a new car, only it turned out to be a trade and the consumer found themselves stuck in a terrible situation. If you are not a doctor, can you diagnose someone with a chest pain? If you are not a contractor, can you build a house and ensure it’s going to last the test of time? The legal help is free, the participation is minimal. You can keep driving your car throughout the entire process….if you don’t take advantage of what the Law provides, then you are partly to blame for whatever happens.
We know that It sounds too good to be true, but we can assure you it is for real. You can read the many consumer stories we have in our on-line newsroom, or just take a look at some of our recent victories from the last quarter. The following are some of the repurchases we have successfully obtained in the last four months. These clients received all taxes, tags, finance charges, monthly payments and value on their trade-ins, minus a very small mileage offset normally based on the mileage when they first brought the car to the authorized manufacturers dealership for service. And how much did they pay for legal fees? if you answered “nothing,” you get a gold star!
Now, remember this is a legal process, so we can’t guarantee that you will receive a repurchase if you open a claim with us, but it could be possible.
Under the Laws we work with, a repurchase is the maximum remedy a consumer can receive. Repurchases are reserved where the consumer has suffered a significant non-conformity which has affected the use, value and safety of the vehicle, and the problem has reoccurred repeatedly. Another possible remedy under the Lemon Law is a new car. This known as an MSRP to MSRP swap, which is essentially a trade without the depreciation you would normally suffer. As you know, the minute you drive a car off the lot, the value of the car depreciates significantly. If you receive a swap, we take the MSRP from the sticker price of your car and apply it to the MSRP of a brand new car. So, essentially you are getting a brand new car with the same features, and you have the same amount of equity in the new car as you did in the old car. The depreciation you would normally deal with does not apply.
There is also a third remedy under the State Lemon Laws and most commonly under the Federal Magnuson Moss Warranty Act–significant monetary compensation to reflect the diminished value of the vehicle for the problems you have incurred. This could apply if it is fixed after three repairs; if the problem is not threatening the overall use, value, or safety if the vehicle (i.e. radio); it falls outside the lemon law mileage provisions; or if you purchased the car used but it still has a manufacturers warranty. If you receive money, it is non-taxable and YOU GET TO KEEP YOUR CAR and your car is not branded in any way, shape or form. Plus, your warranty remains completely in effect, so the manufacturer is still obligated to fix the car if problems persist, and you do not need to disclose that you received this money at time of trade or sale. You may do whatever you want with the money. You may have previously read in our blog about the Volvo SUV owner who received $7,000 after he heard Communications Director Michael Sacks on the radio. Here are some other folks who received monetary awards in the last four months(All of these folks kept their vehicles and had their attorney fees paid separately by the manufacturer):
And this is just a sampling of the work we have done in the last four months. Think you have a lemon? E-mail us you question or call us at 1-800 LEMON LAW (1-800-536-6652) and we will be happy to go over your situation and whether we can help.