Nevada Lemon Law – 5 Things Consumers Need to Know

Posted on August 17, 2022

If you bought a new car that turns out to be a lemon, the vehicle manufacturer is legally obligated to replace it or refund you your money. And if they refuse, you can take them to court for all your expenses and possibly punitive damages.

Here are five things to know about Nevada lemon laws (also called Nevada car return laws):

1. Nevada’s lemon definition has four parts:

For your new vehicle to qualify as a lemon under Nevada state lemon laws, the following four conditions must be true:

1. The motor vehicle has a problem that does not conform with its express warranty (“nonconformity“);
2. You report the problem(s) within one year of the car’s original delivery date to the first purchaser or prior to the express warranty’s expiration;
3. The car manufacturer is unable to fix the problem(s) within four tries (“repair attempts”) or within 30 days of the car being in the shop; and
4. The defective vehicle’s problem(s) substantially affect the car’s market value.

Note that these lemon laws do not apply to used cars, motor homes or off-road vehicles.¹

2. Lemons must be replaced or refunded

If your car is a lemon in Nevada, the manufacturer must replace it with a comparable automobile (identical model and features). If the manufacturer cannot replace your lemon vehicle, then it must refund you for the:

• buying price,
• taxes, and
• fees.

However, the manufacturer can deduct some money representing the time you used the car (“reasonable allowance”).²

3. It is your responsibility to initiate a lemon claim

If you believe your car is a lemon, you must notify your car dealership – in writing – of the defects.  This notification must occur:

• within one year of the car’s original delivery date to the first purchaser, or
• during the manufacturer warranty period;

The manufacturer likely has an entire division devoted to handling these complaints. If the manufacturer fails to resolve the issue through a buyback or replacing the car, only then can you initiate a formal lemon lawsuit.

Note that if you and the manufacturer went to arbitration – and you do not agree with the arbitrator’s decision – you can still file a lemon lawsuit.³

4. You have 18 months to bring a lemon lawsuit

The statute of limitations to bring a lemon lawsuit in Nevada is 18 months after the car was originally delivered to the buyer. But you can only bring a lawsuit if you notified the manufacturer of the defect:

• within one year of the car’s original delivery date to the first purchaser, or
• prior to the applicable express warranty’s expiration.⁴

5. You can seek many types of damages in lemon lawsuits

If you win your lemon law claim, the court can award you compensatory damages to cover:

• Cost of the car’s full purchase price, plus taxes and fees
• Cost of repairs
• Medical expenses (if the lemon caused injuries),
• Pain and suffering, and/or
• Any other out-of-pocket costs associated with the car.

In addition, the court can award you:

• Attorney’s fees, and
• Court costs.

And if the manufacturer acted in a shocking or malicious way, the court can even award you punitive damages – which can far exceed your compensatory damages.⁵

Contact a Las Vegas lemon law attorney…

Car manufacturers have entire legal teams devoted to fighting lemon law cases and exploiting warranty laws in their favor. But a Nevada lemon law attorney knows how to fight these cases in pursuit of the maximum settlement possible while protecting your lemon law rights. Contact our law firm for legal advice today.

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Legal References