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New Mexico Lemon Law: Do You Qualify?

Under the NMSA §§ 57-16A-1 to 57-16A-9 (Motor Vehicle Quality Assurance Act).

New Mexico's Motor Vehicle Quality Assurance Act requires the manufacturer to replace a new vehicle or refund its price when a defect that substantially impairs its use and market value cannot be fixed after a reasonable number of attempts. Four repairs of the same defect, or thirty business days in the shop, within the express warranty term or one year after delivery (whichever is earlier), raise a presumption that the attempts were reasonable, but only after the manufacturer has received your direct written notice and a chance to cure. The Act protects the purchaser of a vehicle "normally used for personal, family or household purposes". A used car bought from a dealer has its own short warranty: fifteen calendar days or five hundred miles. If your vehicle keeps coming back unfixed, you may qualify.

New Mexico lemon law at a glance

Who is covered
The purchaser, other than for resale, of a new or used motor vehicle "normally used for personal, family or household purposes", a person to whom it was transferred during an express warranty, and any other person entitled by the warranty to enforce it. The vehicle must be a passenger motor vehicle (an automobile, pickup truck, motorcycle or van is named), sold and registered in New Mexico, under 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight. The Act does not name lessees.
Coverage window
The express warranty term or one year after original delivery, whichever is the earlier date. No mileage limit. The periods are extended while repair services are unavailable because of war, invasion, strike, fire, flood or other natural disaster.
Repair attempts
Four or more repairs of the same uncorrected nonconformity within that period, with the defect still present, raise a presumption of a reasonable number of attempts. The Act has no separate safety-defect count.
Days out of service
A cumulative total of thirty or more business days (not calendar days) in the possession of the manufacturer, agent or authorized dealer for repair, not counting routine maintenance down time.
Written notice
The presumption does not apply unless the manufacturer has received prior direct written notification from or on behalf of the consumer and an opportunity to cure the defect. The manufacturer must tell you about this obligation in the warranty or a separate notice.
Dispute program
If the manufacturer has or participates in an informal procedure that substantially complies with 16 C.F.R. Part 703, the refund and replacement provision does not apply until you have used it first. The Act sets up no state arbitration program.
Deadline to sue
Eighteen months after original delivery, or ninety days after the final action of the informal dispute panel if you used it, whichever is later.
Remedy
Replacement with a comparable vehicle, or return and refund of the full purchase price including collateral charges (taxes, license, title and registration fees and other governmental charges), less a reasonable allowance for use. The Act has no multiplied damages; a prevailing consumer is entitled to attorneys' fees and court costs from the manufacturer.
Used vehicles
A used motor vehicle dealer (four or more used vehicles sold or offered in the previous twelve months) cannot disclaim the implied warranty of merchantability for fifteen calendar days or five hundred miles, whichever is earlier. You give reasonable notice within thirty days and pay half of the first two repairs, up to $25 each; the seller's liability is capped at the purchase price paid, unless the seller knew or should have known of the defect and did not disclose it. The warranty is met if the vehicle functions "substantially free of a defect that significantly limits the use of the used motor vehicle for the ordinary purpose of transportation on any public highway"; it does not extend to damage after the sale from off-road use, racing, towing, abuse, misuse, neglect or missed maintenance or fluids.
Defenses
It is an affirmative defense that the nonconformity does not substantially impair the use and market value of the vehicle, that it results from abuse, neglect or unauthorized modifications or alterations, that the consumer's claim was not filed in good faith, or any other defense allowed by law (§ 57-16A-4).
Other remedies
A consumer who seeks to enforce the Act is foreclosed from the Uniform Commercial Code remedies in §§ 55-2-602 through 55-2-608 (§ 57-16A-5). The Unfair Practices Act (§ 57-12-10) is a separate private action for a loss of money or property from a practice it declares unlawful; the court of appeals allowed one in Jones v. GMC after the plaintiff failed as a lemon-law consumer.
Returned vehicles
A vehicle not properly repaired under the Act, or under a similar law of another state, may not be resold in New Mexico unless the manufacturer gives the buyer full written disclosure of the reason for the return (§ 57-16A-7). A repurchased or replaced vehicle must carry written notice of it before resale (§ 57-16A-7.1), and 12.2.4.28 NMAC makes a sale without the written disclosure an unfair or deceptive trade practice.

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Free, anonymous, and specific to New Mexico. Answer a few questions about your vehicle and repair history to see whether you may qualify.

New Mexico lemon law: frequently asked questions

How many repair attempts does the New Mexico lemon law require?
The Act presumes a reasonable number of attempts when the same uncorrected nonconformity has been subject to repair four or more times within the express warranty term or one year after original delivery, whichever is earlier, and still exists. The thirty days are business days, not calendar days, and routine-maintenance down time is not counted. The presumption is not the only way to qualify: the underlying test is a defect that substantially impairs the vehicle's use and market value that cannot be fixed after a reasonable number of attempts.
Do I have to give the manufacturer written notice?
For the presumption to apply, yes: the manufacturer must have received prior direct written notification from or on behalf of the consumer and an opportunity to cure the defect. The manufacturer must give you written notice and instruction about this obligation, in the warranty or a separate notice.
How long do I have to file suit in New Mexico?
An action to enforce the Act must be started within eighteen months after the original delivery of the vehicle to a consumer, or, if you used the manufacturer's informal dispute procedure, within ninety days after the panel's final action, whichever is later.
Does the New Mexico lemon law cover used cars or leases?
The refund and replacement duty is written for "a new motor vehicle". A used car sold by a used motor vehicle dealer carries an implied warranty of merchantability for fifteen calendar days or five hundred miles, whichever is earlier, with Chapter 55, Article 2 remedies. The definition of consumer includes the purchaser of a "new or used" vehicle and a person to whom a vehicle was transferred during an express warranty, but the Act does not say whether a used vehicle still under the manufacturer's warranty is "new" for the refund provision. The definition does not mention leases, so lessees are not addressed.
Does some business use of my vehicle disqualify me?
The Act covers a vehicle "normally used for personal, family or household purposes". In Jones v. GMC (1998-NMCA-020) the court of appeals treated that as the first test and affirmed a finding that the primary use of the vehicle was business. The Act does not say what share of business use is too much.

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Statutes cited on this page

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

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