Automobiles Auctions

Seized Vehicles, Government & Police Auctions

   
Home: Automobiles Auctions

Articles

Basics
Types of Vehicle Auctions
How to Find Vehicle Auctions
What Are Government Auctions?
How Government Auctions Work

How To
How to Buy a Reliable Used Car
How to Spot Flood-Damaged Vehicles
How to Spot Odometer Rollback

Make Money
Flipping Cars

Vehicle Title Branding
Vehicle Title Branding
Lemons & Title Branding
Salvage & Title Branding

VIN
What is the VIN?
How to Find the VIN
Understanding the VIN
Using the VIN

Ad
America's #1 Trusted Source to Gov't Car Auctions

Books

Buying Used Cars
Flipping Cars
Government Vehicle Auctions
Inspecting Used Cars


Glossary


Members' Sites

Auction Resource
Car Auction Inc.
Gov Auctions
Marshal Auctions
Police Auctions
Sheriff Auctions


Links
(includes Adverts)

Auction Listing Sites
Government Auctions

Auction Help
How to Buy Cars at Auctions

Automotive & Car Links
Auto Buying Tools
Buy And Sell Cars for Profit
Car & Automobile eBooks
Car & Automobile Downloads
Car & Automobile Magazines
Get Low Cost Car Insurance
How to Flip Cars for Profit
How to Inspect a Used Car

Ad
Cars at GovernmentAuctions.org


 
 














































 
Automobiles Auctions   >   Articles   >   Lemons & Title Branding

   
 

Lemons and Vehicle Title Branding


When people say a car is a "lemon", this usually just mean the vehicle has had serious, and usually repeated mechanical problems. However, in the vehicle and automobile trade, the word "lemon" (and some alternate words/phrases for "lemon") actually has a very specific technical meaning.

In the United States of America, there is a Federal law, known as the "Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act", or often informally as the "Lemon Law", which protects citizens and consumers in all states and US territories. Additionally, there also many state laws which also protect citizens, and often have some degree of overlap with the Federal law.
  • The Federal lemon law (the Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act) covers anything mechnical (although for many people, the key focus is on vehicles).

  • State lemon laws vary between states. They may not cover all types of vehicles, or used or leased vehicles depending on the state.

  • The basis of lemon laws is the manufacturer's (or seller's) breach of warranty. By failing to live-up to express warranties (written promises of performance in adverts, Owner's Manuals, etc.), or implied warranties (that the vehicle meets some minimum standards) - the manufacturer/sell assumes liablity, and has the responsibility to correct the defect, or repurchase or replace the vehicle/product.

  • Lemon laws usually only apply in cases of a sale where there is some form of warranty (express and/or implied) - they often do not apply if the vehicle/product is purchased on an "as is" or "with all faults" basis (although some states may not allow vehicles to be sold on on an "as is" or "with all faults" basis).
In any case, as a result of these laws, what happens is that if a vehicle repeatedly fails with the same problem while under warranty, the manufacturer/seller will often repurchase it. Generally speaking for this to happen, the problem in question must usually be one that makes the vehicle undriveable or unsafeable (such as failing brakes or headlights), rather than a minor issue such as an annoying rattle.

Of course, once the manufacturer/seller has repurchased the vehicle, the question then arises is what they should do with it. In many cases, they will in fact put the vehicle for sale in an automobile auction. So, if you are considering buy a vehicle at automobile auction, you should at least be aware that there is a possibility that some of the vehicles truly are lemons.

One small piece of good news is that many states do require vehicles repurchased by sellers/manufacturers as lemons are branded on their title as being being "lemon" or "buyback". So you should be on the look out for this. Of course, you can not completely rely on vehicle title branding telling you everything you need to know (because of variations between different state laws, as well as practices such as "vehicle title washing"). For this reason, all vehicles should be properly inspected before purchasing, and you might also consider using online services to get more detailed histories of vehicles offered to you - VinAudit.com provides vehicle history reports with over 60+ problem checks (based on access to a database of over 40 million records from state DMVs, junk yards, and insurance carriers).


Related Links


Here are some related links and websites:
  • Check Your VIN
    Offers vehicle history reports complete with over 60+ problem checks for a one-time fee of $12.99 per report.
    (Advertisement)

  • How To Buy Cars At Auctions
    With The Present Economic Crisis Theres Never Been A Better Time To Buy Cars At Auctions! This Website Will Provide You With The All Tools You Need To Benefit From The Thousands Of Vehicles Being Sold At Rock Bottom Prices At Auctions.
    (Advertisement)

  • Inspect Before You Buy
    ASE Certified Automotive Technician Teaches You How To Properly Inspect A Used Vehicle.
    (Advertisement)
Here are some related pages on this website:

Important Notices

The information on this page was not written by a lawyer, and is not intended as legal advice. Please consult an attorney if you need legal advice.

Disclosure: Advertising Link(s): Our company may receive a payment if you purchase a product/service after following this link.

 
 
 
 

 
 
Disclaimer: Pictures of vehicles on this site are purely decorative, and not intended to represent vehicles that are or were available at any particular auction. Availability of vehicles at auctions, and details of auctions and membership sites that we describe may vary from time-to-time, and are not under our control (information on this site may get out of date as a result): Details of membership sites' offers may be varied at any time by their operators, without notifying us, and in this case the information on operators' site is definitive. We are NOT responsible for the membership sites which we list or link to, and information on this site is based on publicly available information sources. Our company does NOT conduct or participate in auctions, and is NOT endorsed by, and is NOT associated with any government or law enforcement agency. This web site is operated by Answers 2000 Limited, a private for-profit company. As far as we know, the membership sites which we list are also run on a for-profit basis by individuals or companies.

Copyright © 2007-2024, Answers 2000 Limited

CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED 'AS IS' AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME.
CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE,COMES FROM AMAZON EU S.à r.l. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED 'AS IS' AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME.

Disclosure: Our company's websites' content (including this website's content) includes advertisements for our own company's websites, products, and services, and for other organization's websites, products, and services. In the case of links to other organization's websites, our company may receive a payment, (1) if you purchase products or services, or (2) if you sign-up for third party offers, after following links from this website. Unless specifically otherwise stated, information about other organization's products and services, is based on information provided by that organization, the product/service vendor, and/or publicly available information - and should not be taken to mean that we have used the product/service in question. Additionally, our company's websites contain some adverts which we are paid to display, but whose content is not selected by us, such as Google AdSense ads. For more detailed information, please see Advertising/Endorsements Disclosures

Our sites use cookies, some of which may already be set on your computer. Use of our site constitutes consent for this. For details, please see Privacy.

Click privacy for information about our company's privacy, data collection and data retention policies, and your rights.

Contact Us   Privacy   Terms of Use   Advertising/Endorsements Disclosures

In Association With Amazon.com
Answers 2000 Limited is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
In Association With Amazon.co.uk
Answers 2000 Limited is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk.
As an Amazon Associate, our company earns from qualifying purchases. Amazon, the Amazon logo, Endless, and the Endless logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.


All trademarks are property of their respective owners.
All third party content and adverts are copyright of their respective owners.

Some graphics on our web sites are Copyright (C) 1997-2000 Hemera Technologies Inc., and used under license. All such pictures are provided for viewing purposes only and are not to be saved or downloaded. All such pictures of recognizable individuals are models and used for illustrative purposes only, and not meant to imply any association or endorsement of said individual with any product or service.