What is Arizona's lemon law?

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Arizona's lemon law (A.R.S. §§ 44-1261 through 44-1266) protects buyers of new motor vehicles that fail to conform to their express warranties.

Repair obligation. If a new motor vehicle does not conform to all applicable express warranties, the consumer must report the nonconformity to the manufacturer, its agent, its authorized dealer, or the warranty issuer during the shorter of the express warranty term or two years/24,000 miles from original delivery (whichever is earlier), and the manufacturer must then make the repairs necessary to conform the vehicle to those warranties — even if the repairs occur after that period expires .

Remedy: replacement or refund. If the manufacturer cannot conform the vehicle to the warranty after a reasonable number of attempts to repair a defect that substantially impairs the vehicle's use and value, the manufacturer must either replace the vehicle with a new one or accept its return and refund the full purchase price, including all collateral charges, less a reasonable allowance for the consumer's use . The manufacturer may raise affirmative defenses that the nonconformity does not substantially impair use and market value, or that it resulted from abuse, neglect, or unauthorized modifications .

"Reasonable number of attempts" presumption. A reasonable number of repair attempts is presumed if, within the warranty/two-year/24,000-mile window, the same nonconformity has been repaired four or more times and continues to exist, or the vehicle has been out of service for repairs a cumulative total of thirty or more calendar days . This presumption applies only if the manufacturer received prior direct written notice of the defect and an opportunity to cure it .

Procedure and deadlines. If the manufacturer has an informal dispute settlement procedure complying with 16 C.F.R. part 703, the consumer must use that procedure before obtaining a refund or replacement . Any lawsuit must be filed within six months after the warranty/two-year/24,000-mile period expires, and a prevailing consumer is entitled to reasonable costs and attorney fees .

Resale disclosure. A manufacturer that has replaced or repurchased a vehicle under this article (or been ordered to) must attach written notification of that fact before offering the vehicle for resale, and a dealer selling such a vehicle must give the purchaser that notification before completing the sale .

Scope. This article governs new motor vehicles only; it does not apply to vehicles sold for resale, vehicles with a declared gross weight over ten thousand pounds, or vehicles sold at public auction, and for motor homes it covers only the self-propelled vehicle and chassis, not the dwelling portions .