Walk It Through: The Car That Keeps Breaking

A new car, the same defect again and again, thirty days in the shop, and a refund less an allowance for use.

Months after delivery, a new car's transmission fails for the fourth time.

Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.

A new passenger car bought in Connecticut with a substantial defect. Leased cars, motorcycles, the arbitration program and used cars are left to the page and the statute.

A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.

Words this turns on

Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.

LemonA new car whose defect substantially impairing its use, safety or value the manufacturer cannot fix after a reasonable number of attempts, presumed after four or more repairs or thirty days out of service in the first two years or 24,000 miles.