Vehicles That Qualify

• The Missouri Lemon Law applies to new vehicles sold or leased with a warranty, except for commercial vehicles, off-road vehicles, mopeds, motorcycles and the nonchassis portion of recreational vehicles. The law applies to defects that affect the use, safety or value of the vehicle--minor defects are not covered under the law. The law covers vehicles for one year after the date of delivery or while they are under the manufacturer warranty--whichever expires first.
  
  

Owner Responsibilities

• Before they can use the Lemon Law, new vehicle owners in Missouri need to report the problems to the manufacturer in writing. They must also give the manufacturer a reasonable number of attempts to repair the vehicle. Under the Missouri Lemon Law, reasonable is defined as the vehicle being in the repair shop four or more times for the same problem or the vehicle being out of service for repair for 30 or more days since delivery.
  
  

Remedies Available to Owners

• Once the manufacturer or dealer has had a reasonable number of attempts to repair the vehicle, if the problem still remains, the vehicle owner can ask for a cash refund or a replacement vehicle. Under the Missouri Lemon Law, if a refund is offered, the dealer can deduct a reasonable amount of money to account for the amount of time the owner has used the vehicle. The Missouri law also states that the manufacturer must offer an acceptable replacement--if the vehicle offered is unacceptable to the owner, she can refuse to accept it.
  
  

Resolving Disputes

• If the manufacturer or dealer refuses to offer a refund or replacement, the Missouri Lemon Law requires the owner to first turn to the manufacturer's informal dispute resolution procedure. This usually involves arbitration. The owner is not required to accept any offers the manufacturer makes during this procedure, but, if the case later goes to court and the offer was reasonable, this may make any claims harder to prove. If a manufacturer does not have an informal dispute resolution procedure, the owner can proceed directly to litigation.
  
  

Going to Court

• The Missouri Lemon Law allows consumers who have not reached an agreement with the manufacturer on compensation to take that manufacturer or dealer to court. However, vehicle owners who choose to go down this route have to hire their own attorney to represent them. Owners cannot go to court until they have been through the manufacturer's dispute arbitration process, if they have one.