New Car Problems Checklist: From Delivery Day to a Lemon Law Claim

Use this checklist from the day you take delivery. Report problems early, get a repair order every time, keep every paper, and send written notice when a defect keeps coming back. Each step below has a box you can tick. Print it and keep it with your warranty booklet.

The rules that decide a lemon law claim vary by state. This list follows the habits that help in most of them. For your state's deadlines and repair counts, see your state lemon law page.

What should I do on delivery day?

Check the vehicle before you leave the lot, and leave with every paper. Problems that are written down on day one are hard to dispute later.

• [ ] Walk around the vehicle in good light. Look for paint damage, dents, panel gaps and glass chips.
• [ ] Test every light, screen, camera, sensor and warning chime.
• [ ] Photograph the odometer and the VIN plate.
• [ ] Get the signed purchase or lease contract and the buyer's order.
• [ ] Get the warranty booklet and owner's manual, or confirm where to find them online.
• [ ] Keep the window sticker.
• [ ] Get any fixes the dealer agreed to written on a "due bill" or "we owe" form, signed by the dealer.
• [ ] Keep any written statement of your lemon law rights the dealer hands you. Florida and Washington both require dealers to give one at the time of sale (Fla. Stat. § 681.103(3); RCW 19.118.031(2)).

What should I do when the first problem shows up?

Report it to an authorized dealer right away, and write down what happened. Early reports protect your time window.

Lemon law windows usually start at delivery. Florida's "Lemon Law rights period" ends 24 months after delivery (Fla. Stat. § 681.102). Washington's "eligibility period" ends two years after delivery or at 24,000 miles, whichever comes first (RCW 19.118.021(6)). Florida's law also says that if you first report the problem during its window, the manufacturer must make the needed repairs even after the window ends (Fla. Stat. § 681.103(1)).

• [ ] Write down the date, time, mileage, weather and what you were doing when it happened.
• [ ] Take a photo or short video, safely. Pull over first, or have a passenger film.
• [ ] Photograph any warning light with the odometer in the frame.
• [ ] Call an authorized dealer and book a visit. Note the date you called and who you spoke with.
• [ ] Check your VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

What should I do at each repair visit?

Describe the problem clearly, and leave with a repair order. Every visit is a record, even a visit where nothing gets fixed.

• [ ] Describe the symptom in plain words: what, when, how often. See what to say at the dealership.
• [ ] Read the repair order before you sign it. Make sure your complaint is written the way you said it.
• [ ] Ask for a test drive with a technician if the problem comes and goes.
• [ ] Get a copy of the repair order when you drop off the vehicle.
• [ ] Get the final repair order when you pick it up. It should show the date in, the date out, the mileage, the diagnosis and the work done.
• [ ] Get a copy even if the shop says "could not duplicate" or "no problem found."
• [ ] Write down how many days the vehicle was at the shop.
• [ ] If you're given a loaner or rental, keep the paperwork.

Some states make the itemized repair order mandatory. Florida requires one after each warranty exam or repair, listing any test drive and its approximate length, the diagnosis, the work done, the problem you reported, the date and mileage in, and the date the work was finished (Fla. Stat. § 681.103(4)). Washington requires dealers to give a similar statement (RCW 19.118.031(5)). Our guide on how to document repair visits has a log you can copy.

What should I do when the same problem comes back?

Keep reporting it, and put it in writing to the manufacturer. A defect that survives several repairs is what most lemon laws are built around.

• [ ] Take it back to an authorized dealer each time. Don't switch to an independent shop for warranty problems.
• [ ] Use the same words to describe the problem each visit, so the repair orders line up.
• [ ] Count your repair visits for this defect and your total days out of service.
• [ ] Find the manufacturer's address for notices in your warranty booklet or owner's manual. Florida requires manufacturers to list it there (Fla. Stat. § 681.103(2)).
• [ ] Send written notice of the defect to the manufacturer. Use a method with proof of delivery, and keep a copy. See notice to the manufacturer.
• [ ] If the manufacturer offers a final repair attempt, take the vehicle in and get a repair order for that visit too.
• [ ] Check your state's repair-attempt and days-out-of-service rules. See repair attempts.

Federal warranty law also expects you to give the warrantor a chance to fix things. Under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, a warrantor must get a reasonable opportunity to cure before a consumer sues over a warranty (15 U.S.C. § 2310(e)).

What should I keep doing the whole time?

Keep up the maintenance and keep your file in one place. Gaps in either can give a manufacturer an argument.

• [ ] Do the scheduled maintenance on time and keep receipts. Under a full warranty, a warrantor doesn't owe repairs for damage from unreasonable use, which includes skipping reasonable and necessary maintenance (15 U.S.C. § 2304(c)).
• [ ] Keep every repair order, receipt, email and text in one folder, paper or digital.
• [ ] Don't modify the vehicle while the defect is unresolved.
• [ ] Watch your deadlines. See lemon law deadlines.

When should I talk to a lawyer?

When a defect has come back after repair, when the vehicle has spent a long time in the shop, or before you make any big decision about it.

• [ ] The same defect has gone in for repair more than once.
• [ ] The defect affects safety, such as brakes, steering, power loss or a fire risk.
• [ ] The vehicle has been out of service for many days.
• [ ] The manufacturer offered a "goodwill" payment, extended warranty or settlement and wants a signature.
• [ ] You're thinking about selling or trading in the vehicle. Read selling or trading in a lemon first.
• [ ] A deadline in your state is getting close.

Many lemon laws, and the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, let a consumer who wins recover reasonable attorney's fees from the manufacturer; we explain exactly how fees work in your case before you sign anything. To see whether your vehicle may fit, start with do I qualify.