Georgia Lemon Law: Do You Qualify?

Georgia lemon law at a glance

Who is covered

New motor vehicles purchased or leased for personal, family or household use, or by a business buying or leasing ten or fewer new vehicles a year (not limousine rental). A lessee is a consumer; a "lessee" under a lease of at least one year gets the lessee refund. Trucks over 12,000 lbs GVWR, motorcycles and golf carts are excluded; a motor home is covered as vehicle and chassis, not its living quarters, office or commercial space.

Coverage window

Two years after original delivery or the first 24,000 miles of operation after delivery, whichever occurs first; miles already on the vehicle at delivery do not count toward the 24,000 (Attorney General FAQ). It is extended for days repair services are unavailable in a disaster or declared emergency, and while a repair under way on the expiry date is completed.

Covered problems

A "nonconformity": a defect, a serious safety defect, or a condition that substantially impairs the use, value or safety of the vehicle to you or makes it nonconforming to a warranty. A problem that is the result of abuse, neglect or unauthorized modification or alteration is not one. A serious safety defect is a life-threatening defect, a malfunction that impedes your ability to control or operate the vehicle for ordinary use or reasonable intended purposes, or one that creates a risk of fire or explosion.

Repair attempts

A reasonable number of attempts is deemed to have been made if, during the rights period, a serious safety defect was subject to repair one time and not corrected, or the same nonconformity was subject to repair three times and not corrected.

Days out of service

30 cumulative calendar days out of service for repair of one or more nonconformities during the rights period. By rule, days are not counted when the vehicle is left only for routine maintenance, for problems not found to be nonconformities, or for repair after the period ended, and a vehicle dropped off after the close of business is not out of service that day.

Written notice

Notify the manufacturer by statutory overnight delivery or certified mail, return receipt requested, at the address in the owner’s manual. It has 28 days from receiving the notice to make a final repair attempt. The 30-day ground leads to the remedy without a final attempt.

Dispute program and arbitration

If the manufacturer has a program certified by the Attorney General, use it first. Then apply in writing to the Attorney General for arbitration, no later than one year after the rights period ends (or 60 days after a certified program’s proceeding, if later). The article’s provisions are not available in a civil action until its remedies are exhausted. The decision can be appealed to superior court within 30 days.

Used vehicles

Not covered. The article covers new motor vehicles only, and a vehicle whose title documents show it as used is not a new motor vehicle. The Attorney General says a demonstrator titled as new, and not titled to anyone but the dealer, can be a new motor vehicle.

Remedy

At your option, repurchase or replacement within 20 days of your written election. A repurchase pays the purchase price plus collateral charges and incidental costs, less an offset of price x miles directly attributable to your use / 120,000 (90,000 for a motor home). A lessee is paid all payments made under the lease, including the lessee cost, plus incidental costs, less the offset, and the lessor 110 percent of the adjusted capitalized cost.

Your other rights

An agreement that waives, limits or disclaims the article’s rights is unenforceable as contrary to public policy. The article gives no cause of action against the dealer, and a dealer named as a party is entitled to its attorney’s fees. A lessee must notify the lessor in writing within ten days of learning the dispute is eligible for arbitration. By rule, an application is ineligible if you no longer have possession of the vehicle and cannot reacquire it.

Georgia lemon law: frequently asked questions

How many repairs does the Georgia lemon law require?

Within the rights period, one repair of a serious safety defect that has not been corrected, or three repairs of the same nonconformity that has not been corrected. Thirty cumulative calendar days out of service for repair of one or more nonconformities is a third ground.

Do I have to give the manufacturer a final chance to repair?

Yes, for the repair-attempt grounds. After a reasonable number of attempts you notify the manufacturer by statutory overnight delivery or certified mail, return receipt requested, and it has 28 days to make a final attempt. If it does not name a repair facility within seven days or does not finish within the 28 days, the final-attempt requirement no longer applies. The 30-day out-of-service ground leads to the remedy without a final attempt.

Can I sue the manufacturer directly in Georgia?

Not under the lemon law, until you have used its remedies. The article’s provisions are not available in a civil action unless you have first exhausted all its remedies, and the route is an application to the Attorney General for arbitration. Enforcement of the article is public, by the Attorney General; a private action under the Fair Business Practices Act is not available except for the resale-disclosure rule. The article is cumulative with other rights and remedies under other law.

What is the deadline to apply for arbitration?

No later than one year after the lemon law rights period expires, or 60 days from the conclusion of a certified manufacturer program’s proceeding, whichever is later. If the manufacturer has a certified program, you must file with it within one year after the period expires, and if it does not decide within 40 days you may go on to arbitration. The rights period ends at the first of two years or 24,000 miles, so the deadline is earlier when the mileage came first. The article states no court filing deadline other than the 30-day appeal of an arbitration decision.

Does the Georgia lemon law cover used cars or later owners?

No. It covers new motor vehicles only, and a vehicle titled as used is not a new motor vehicle. It covers a vehicle purchased, leased or registered by the consumer or lessor to whom the original title was issued, and the period runs from delivery to the original consumer. The Attorney General’s guide says the title must still be in the name of the person who originally purchased or leased the vehicle, so a later owner is treated as not covered. A demonstrator titled as new, and not titled to anyone but the dealer, can be a new motor vehicle.

Statutes cited on this page

• O.C.G.A. § 10-1-782(5) (consumer: personal use, or ten or fewer new vehicles a year for business)
• O.C.G.A. § 10-1-782(15) (new motor vehicle; excluded trucks over 12,000 pounds, motorcycles, golf carts)
• O.C.G.A. § 10-1-782(10) (lemon law rights period: two years or 24,000 miles, whichever occurs first)
• O.C.G.A. § 10-1-784(a)(1) (reasonable number of attempts deemed: safety defect once, same defect three times, 30 days out of service)
• O.C.G.A. § 10-1-784(a)(2)(A) (notice to the manufacturer and its 28 days for a final repair attempt)
• O.C.G.A. § 10-1-786(a) (arbitration application deadline)
• O.C.G.A. § 10-1-788 (remedies in the article must be exhausted before a civil action)
• O.C.G.A. § 10-1-782(4) (collateral charges: options, sales tax and title charges, earned finance charges)
• O.C.G.A. § 10-1-782(8) (incidental costs: repair payments to dealers, towing, alternative transportation)
• O.C.G.A. § 10-1-782(11) (lessee: a written lease of at least one year, responsible for repairs)
• O.C.G.A. § 10-1-782(20) (purchase price: the cash price in the sales agreement; for a lease, the agreed upon value)
• O.C.G.A. § 10-1-782(23) (reasonable offset for use: price x miles / 120,000, or 90,000 for a motor home)
• O.C.G.A. § 10-1-786(c) (a lessee notifies the lessor of the pending arbitration within ten days)
• O.C.G.A. § 10-1-792(a) (no cause of action against a new motor vehicle dealer; dealers are not made parties)
• O.C.G.A. § 10-1-797 (a consumer cannot waive the article’s rights)
• Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 60-2-1-.02(12) (out of service day; days not counted)
• Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 60-2-1-.08(1)(h) (no final attempt is required after 30 days out of service)
• Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 60-2-1-.15(5) (grounds of ineligibility for arbitration, including no possession of the vehicle)
• Attorney General FAQ (miles on the vehicle at delivery do not count toward the 24,000 miles)
• Attorney General FAQ (a demonstrator can be a new motor vehicle if titled as new)
• O.C.G.A. § 10-1-782(17) (nonconformity; abuse, neglect and unauthorized modification excluded)
• O.C.G.A. § 10-1-782(25) (serious safety defect)

This page summarizes the statute in plain language and is not legal advice. The linked official text controls.