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Consumer Warranty Law: Introduction
Live weblinks can be found in the online version of this appendix.
Consumer Warranty Law: Governmental Websites
- Links to Secretary of State websites: www.nass.org; www.statelocalgov.net
- Federal court rules: www.uscourts.gov/rules-policies
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: www.nhtsa.gov
Consumer Warranty Law: Consumer Advocacy Organizations
- Center for Auto Safety: www.autosafety.org (posts insider documents, technical service bulletins, other information)
- Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety: www.carconsumers.org (lemon law index, links to websites that rate auto safety, other information)
- National Consumer Law Center:
Consumer Warranty Law: General Consumer Information
- www.consumerworld.org (non-commercial website providing over 1500 useful consumer resources and links to other websites)
- https://www.consumeraffairs.com (links to consumer-related websites)
- Federal Citizen Information Center: https://publications.USA.
Consumer Warranty Law: Investigating Vehicle Safety and Defects
- National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration: https://www.nhtsa.gov (allows searches for safety recall notices, technical service bulletins, defect investigations, and consumer complaints)
- Safercar.gov (NHTSA website providing links to various agency resources)
Consumer Warranty Law: Vehicle Pricing Guides
- NADA Guides: www.nadaguides.com
- Kelly Blue Book: https://www.kbb.com
- National Auto Research publications: www.blackbook.com
Consumer Warranty Law: Title Searches
- https://www.carfax.com
- www.autocheck.com
- National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS): https://vehiclehistory.bja.ojp.gov (vehicle history reports)
Consumer Warranty Law: 1.2.9 Strict Liability and Negligence; Common Law Warranty Law; Cooling-Off Statutes
The UCC and the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act do not apply to repairs and service transactions (although they may apply to mixed transactions involving both goods and services). The main sources of warranty law for repair and service transactions are common law warranty and negligence law. Courts may, however, borrow Article 2 principles when interpreting these common law sources.
Consumer Warranty Law: 1.2.10 Service Contract Statutes
The UCC does not generally apply to service contracts, mechanical breakdown insurance, and extended warranties.
Consumer Warranty Law: 1.3.1 UCC Case Law
A number of services and treatises make it relatively easy to access case law under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). For example, the Uniform Commercial Code Reporting Service70 contains the full text of the UCC portions of a large number of UCC cases. A case digest, organized on a section-by-section basis corresponding to UCC sections, quickly leads the reader to case citations for a particular state concerning a particular UCC section.
Consumer Warranty Law: 1.3.2 Official Comments to the UCC
Although not part of the law,76 the official comments to each section of the UCC are vital to using the Code. Not only are they rich with buyer protection explanations, but they are “indispensable to a knowledge of the Code.”77 The preface to the Code states that the comments are “one of the indispensable features” of the UCC.
Consumer Warranty Law: 1.3.3 Legislative History of Individual State UCC Enactments
At least twenty-two states have some local legislative history behind their enactment of the UCC. Contained in hearings, studies, or reports,90 such history is especially valuable in explaining any non-uniform amendments a state has made.91 Some of the states’ legislative history appears as state comments to each section, in addition to the official comments.
Consumer Warranty Law: 1.3.4 UCC Treatises
The academic literature on the UCC is voluminous. The following are some of the available treatises:
Consumer Warranty Law: 1.3.5 Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, Lemon Laws, and UDAP Statutes
The law of consumer warranties has been changed considerably by the passage of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, state lemon laws, and state UDAP statutes. Resources on these laws include:
Consumer Warranty Law: 1.4.1 Consumer Products; Goods
The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act applies to consumer products, defined as “any tangible personal property which is distributed in commerce and which is normally used for personal, family, or household purposes.”93
Consumer Warranty Law: 1.4.2 Sale
Article 2 applies to “transactions in goods,”101 not just sales, but many of the key warranty provisions apply only to a “sale” or “contract for sale” of goods, or only to a “seller.”102 A sale “consists in the passing of title from the seller to the buyer for a price.”103 An installment sales contract is a transaction in goods even though it also involves financing.104 The consideration for a sale ma
Consumer Warranty Law: 1.4.3 Used Goods
The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act covers consumer products, without any distinction as to whether the product is new or used. The product must simply be “tangible personal property which is distributed in commerce and which is normally used for personal, family, or household purposes.”113
Consumer Warranty Law: Contact Information for Car Manufacturers
(Including GM and Chrysler Bankruptcy Entities)
Consumer Warranty Law: Other Vehicle, Dealer, and Manufacturer Information
- www.autopedia.com (provides names and locations of dealers, links to state attorney general lemon law websites, text of state lemon laws, other web links)
- https://www.bbb.org (rules and information about Better Business Bureau dispute resolution programs)
- www.autone
Consumer Warranty Law: Litigation Aids
- www.daubertontheweb.com (links to Daubert cases)
- www.uscourts.gov/rules-policies (federal court rules)
Consumer Warranty Law: 1.1.1 Overview
This treatise on consumer warranty law addresses the rights of consumers when personal property they have purchased or leased does not meet their expectations. The book focuses on defective new and used cars, manufactured homes, automobile repairs, home improvements, and wheelchairs and other assistive devices. It also analyzes common law and statutory warranties that arise in the sale of a new house or condominium. The treatise only indirectly touches on warranty rights concerning other real property transactions or personal property purchased for business purposes.
Consumer Warranty Law: 1.1.2 All Subscribers Have Access to the Digital Edition

Consumer Warranty Law is available in both a print and a digital edition. Print revisions are released every few years and the digital edition is updated more frequently, with all changes integrated into the text.