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R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 31-5.4-1 to 31-5.4-6

The term of any service contract shall be extended by any time period during which the used motor vehicle is in the possession of the dealer or their duly authorized agent for the purpose of repairing the used motor vehicle under the terms of the service contract and at any time during which repair services are unavailable due to war, invasion or strike, fire, flood, or other natural disaster (§ 31-5.4-3).

R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 6-57-1 to 6-57-2

S.C. Code Ann. §§ 38-78-10 to 38-78-120

S.D. Codified Laws §§ 58-1-3, 58-30-144

Motor vehicle service contracts offered by the manufacturer or dealer are exempt from application of the insurance code (§ 58-1-3(3)). License as insurance producer is not required of any party engaged in the sale of or issuance of vehicle service contracts (§ 58-30-144(9)).

Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 56-2-126, 47-18-1401 to 47-18-1404

Service contracts are exempt from insurance regulation (§ 56-2-126). The term of a service contract other than a motor vehicle service contract is extended by the number of days the consumer is deprived of the product while it is being repaired, plus two (§§ 47-18-1401 to 47-18-1404).

Tex. Occ. Code Ann. §§ 1304.001 to 1304.205 (West)

Utah Code Ann. §§ 31A-6a-101 to 31A-6a-110 (West)

Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 8, §§ 3301, 4247 to 4256

Automobile guarantees are insurance (§ 3301(a)(3)(B)). Forms must be approved by the commissioner. There is no requirement that rates be filed or approved. Contractor must purchase a bond or display other evidence of financial security (§ 4249). Disclosures to the consumer are required (§ 4251); certain practices and contract terms are prohibited (§§ 4253, 4254); and a violation constitutes an unfair or deceptive practice enforceable under the state’s deceptive practices statute (§ 4255(b)).

Va. Code Ann. § 59.1-435 to 59.1-441

Wash. Rev. Code §§ 48.110.010 to 48.110.904

W. Va. Code § 33-4-2

Warranties, maintenance agreements, and service contracts (defined) are excluded from insurance regulation.

Wis. Stat. §§ 616.50 to 616.62

Statute applies to service contracts for property primarily for personal, family, or household use, it does not apply to warranties or maintenance agreements; also certain provisions do not apply to vehicle service contracts (§§ 616.50, 616.52). For all contracts, forms must be approved by insurance commissioner (§ 616.56). For all contracts, sale or loan may not be conditioned on purchase of contract; deceptive or misleading terms or statements are also prohibited (§ 616.58).

Wyo. Stat. Ann. §§ 26-37-101 to 26-37-128, 26-49-101 to 26-49-111

This chapter focuses on used car warranty issues. Other chapters cover topics relevant to used car warranties, and that discussion will not be repeated here. This chapter examines warranty issues of special relevance to used cars and details laws applicable only to used car sales.

Every contract for sale carries a warranty by the seller that the title conveyed is good and its transfer rightful, and that the goods will be delivered free from any security interest or other lien or encumbrance, unless the buyer has actual knowledge (not just constructive knowledge) at the time of contracting of such encumbrance.² The seller’s lack of knowledge of the title problem is irrelevant.³ Thus this warranty will be breached when a car does not have good title, as when the car has been stolen

Unless the manufacturer’s written warranty expressly limits itself to the first purchaser, any subsequent car owner has rights under the manufacturer’s original written warranty.¹² If certain parts are covered for five years under the warranty, and a car is sold after four years, the subsequent owner has rights under the warranty’s final year.

Manufacturers offer written warranties on some used cars, even when the factory warranty is no longer in effect, as when a consumer purchases a car that the manufacturer had previously bought back under a state lemon law or as a goodwill gesture.

Used car dealers provide assurances in writing that constitute UCC express warranties more often than might be imagined.

A number of jurisdictions restrict or prohibit disclaimers of implied warranties for consumer goods more generally, typically applying as well to used cars. California, the District of Columbia, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oregon, and West Virginia have particularly significant restrictions.

This appendix analyzes state new car “lemon laws.” Practitioners should use this appendix for easy reference to their own state’s statute, and to compare their statute with other states’ laws. All fifty states and the District of Columbia now have new car lemon laws. This analysis is a summary and should be used as a beginning to a thorough reading of the statute itself. As terms are not always defined in a statute, it may be helpful to determine how another state has defined a term or how a court has interpreted the statute.

Ala. Code. §§ 8-20A-1 to 8-20A-6

Vehicles covered: All vehicles, new or previously untitled, that are under 10,000 lbs., self-propelled, and intended primarily for operation on public highways (§ 8-20A-1(2)). Excludes motor homes. No reference to leased vehicles.

Persons covered: Purchasers or any persons entitled to enforce the warranty if vehicle used in substantial part for personal, family, or household purposes (§ 8-20A-1(1)).

Alaska Stat. §§ 45.45.300 to 45.45.360

Vehicles covered: Vehicles normally used for personal, family, or household purposes and registered under Alaska Stat. §§ 28.10.011 to 28.10.661; excludes tractors, farm vehicles, and off-road vehicles (§ 45.45.360(6), (8)). No reference to leased vehicles. Alaska also has a lemon law for boats, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), snowmobiles, and similar vehicles: Alaska Stat. §§ 45.27.100 to 45.27.395 (§ 45.27.190).

Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 44-1261 to 44-1267

Vehicles covered: Vehicles under 10,000 lbs. that are designed primarily for transportation of persons or property; excludes living portions of motor homes (§ 44-1261(A)(2), (B)). Includes used motor vehicles (§§ 44-1261(A)(3), 44-1267). No reference to leased vehicles.

Persons covered: Purchasers, transferees during express warranty period, or any person entitled to enforce the warranty (§ 44-1261(A)(1)).

Ark. Code Ann. §§ 4-90-401 to 4-90-417

Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1793.1 to 1795.8, 1793.22 to 1793.26 (West)

Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 42-10-101 to 42-10-107. See also Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 44-20-124, 44-20-131

Vehicles covered: Passenger vehicles normally used for personal, family, or household use and sold in-state, including pick-up trucks and vans; excludes vehicles that carry more than ten persons, motor homes, and vehicles with three or fewer wheels (§ 42-10-101(2)). No reference to leased vehicles.