How to recognize a lemon car?

I know, you probably think this comes off as a sales page trying to get you to buy some kind of info-product and not a guide to recognizing a "lemon car" before you buy it. I purposely wrote that headline that way to get your attention.

Why, you ask? Well, because this is probably the most important thing I can teach you. After all, if you can learn to successfully avoid buying a lemon car in the first place you'll be soooooo much better off.

Yes, I'll teach you how to successfully get out from under a "lemon car" if you do happen to end up with one. But, it'll still be a big hassle that will cost you lots of time and cause pleanty of headaches before you're done.

So, even though you can use your states automobile lemon laws to get some justice after the fact, it's much better to just avoid the whole ordeal to start with. Agreed?

Ok, so with that in mind, here's a checklist to help you tell if that shiny car you're itching to buy is a "lemon" waiting to happen.

Check out this checklist before you buy your next car:

• Before you shop for a car, you should take the time to do enough research to know what you want. This is where it pays to do good research. You'll often find out if the model of car your interested in has any well known defects or other known issues. There are lots of automobile review sites online that cater to consumers by giving alerts to these known issues. Start your research here.
• Don't get too attached to a car before you buy it. It's easy to let emotions sway your decisions, which could keep you from paying attention to the signs that are telling you the car you're looking at could be a "lemon".
• You should always buy used cars from lots that are connected to new car dealerships. They keep only the best trade-ins. Also, since they're connected to large dealerships they may be a little easier to deal with if you happen to get a lemon.
• Don't buy a used car from anyone without having it thoroughly checked out by an independent mechanic first. I know most people don't like spending money on a car they don't even own yet but look at it this way. The small amount you spend now can save you thousands of dollars and many months of headaches trying to fix the situation.
• Besides, this should be the absolute last step before you sign on the dotted line. Make absolutely sure that everything else looks good before you take this last step. That way you're not paying to have several cars checked out, and you'll appreciate the peace of mind you'll get from having a qualified mechanic tell you your new car isn't gonna fall apart on you.
• The average yearly mileage that you should find on a used car is 15,000 miles. This is important for a couple reasons. First, most used cars start to break down once you pass 100,000 miles. Second, it gives you a good idea of how hard the previous owner drove the car. If it's 2 years old and has 60,000 miles you can safely assume the previous owner drove it pretty hard, and the harder a car is driven the more wear and tear it's parts get. Obviously, this will speed up any mechanical breakdowns.
• You'll want to run the cars VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) to see if it's been in any accidents or had any major repairs or recalls. The VIN number is what you'll use to get all of the records for everything that has ever happened to that individual car. You should definately do this before you start buying a car whether it's used or new. It could certainly save you a lot of time and money later.

If you follow this point by point system of buying it shouldn't be too difficult to avoid getting stuck with most lemon cars.

I want to take a second and stress that running a VIN report on any car you're seriously considering buying is an absolute MUST. That's why I highly suggest reading the page called "VIN Numbers Revealed".

Of course, even if you do the VIN research and follow the checklist on this page you could still wind up with a lemon, and if this happens, you'll need to know what your rights are under your state lemon laws and what you can do about it.

I'll cover that shortly, but first you need to know if your car even qualifies as a "lemon". Yes, there are specific rules to determine if you have a "lemon car".

▫ What is a lemon vehicle? ▫ How to recognize a lemon car? ▫ Do I have a lemon? ▫ Car VIN number revealed ▫ What about Motor Homes and Motorcycles? ▫ The lemon law complaint process ▫ Is a Used or Leased Car protected? ▫ Lemon car manufacturers responsibilities ▫ Do I need a lawyer? ▫ How lemon law cases are handled? ▫ Who pay the lawyer? ▫ What should I do if I have a lemon? ▫ When can I take action? ▫ State by State Lemon Law Summaries ▫ Tips to Protect your inverstment! ▫ How to pick a lawyer or attorneys