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Write everything down. Keep a notepad and pencil with you everywhere and take notes. This might sound silly but having every bit of information regarding the purchase of a new vehicle is extremely important and can help speed up the process of dealing with a lemon and could possibly mean the difference between a positive outcome and a negative one.
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Make copies of everything. All the documentation regarding repairs, the warranty, the dealership, the car, your loan, the terms... every thing is potentially important. By having a copy, stored separately from the originals, is just good sense and more then just precaution against loss.
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Always test drive before you buy. With the Internet becoming the marketplace for an ever rising percent of our purchases, buying a new car or truck online might seem tempting. Your options open up to nearly every new car available and you can avoid dealing with pushy sales people car lot tactics, but you miss out on the test drive. During a test drive you get a feel for the car; how it drives, how the engine responds, how the interior feels, etc. You might feel something that doesn't seem right and you might end up avoiding a lemon all together (which, obviously, is better then having to fight for your lemon law rights)
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Do not get discouraged. The issue of repeated repairs might come up in discussions with someone at the dealership, a mechanic or sales people and they might try to tell you that the problems are common and don't qualify under the lemon laws. Unless they are attorneys, and working for you, then don't listen to them. They can tell you anything they want, it doesn't make it law.
Whether dealing with a car manufacturer or a dealership, or any of their various lawyers (whose sole purpose is to make sure you are denied the money or replacement vehicle you are owed), you need to have more than a passing knowledge of the law on your side. You need an experienced lawyer and a reputable law firm that is experienced in all sorts of consumer's rights and lemon law situations. If you're in the Tampa area, or elsewhere in Florida, we are the firm for you.
Contact the Cremeens Law Group PLLC today, for more information on Florida's Lemon Laws, consumer rights and for more information (should you need it) on how to determine if your vehicle is a lemon.
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