Federal law makes the dealer post a Buyers Guide that becomes part of your sales contract, limits “as is” sales when the dealer gives a written warranty or a service contract, and lets a later owner use a maker’s warranty that is still running. Twelve states also have a law written for used cars sold by dealers, and the District of Columbia adds a duty to disclose known defects. When a dealer won’t make a warranty repair, the maker usually stays responsible for it. Each rule below carries its section, as read in official text on 11 November 2026.
This page is general information, not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Lemon laws, deadlines and required steps vary by state and change. The statute, the maker, a state board or a court decides a claim.
Start with who sold you the car
Almost every rule in this section turns on the seller. The FTC’s Used Car Rule binds a “dealer”: anyone who sells or offers a used vehicle after selling or offering five or more used vehicles in the previous twelve months (16 CFR 455.1(d)(3), eCFR read 11 November 2026). Motorcycles are outside that rule (455.1(d)(1)). The state used-car laws set their own sales counts: 3 in New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island, “more than three” in Massachusetts, and 4 in Arizona and New Mexico. So a private sale is usually outside these laws. Massachusetts is the exception that reaches private sellers: they must disclose known defects that impair safety or substantially impair use (MGL c. 90, s. 7N1/4(8)).
The Buyers Guide is part of the deal
Before offering a used car to a consumer, a dealer must fill in and display a Buyers Guide on it (16 CFR 455.2(a)). The dealer marks one of three boxes: “As Is, No Dealer Warranty”, “Implied Warranties Only”, or a dealer warranty, full or limited, naming the systems covered, how long, and the share of parts and labor the dealer pays (455.2(b)). The rule then says the information on the final version of the form “overrides any contrary provisions in the contract of sale” (455.3(b)). If the Guide shows a 30-day dealer warranty and a line in the contract says “no warranties”, the Guide controls.
“As is” means the dealer has disclaimed the implied warranties that state law would otherwise give, such as the warranty that a car is fit for ordinary driving. Federal law ends that disclaimer in two cases: the dealer gives you a written warranty, or it enters into a service contract with you at the time of sale or within 90 days after (15 U.S.C. 2308(a), US Code 2024 edition, read 11 November 2026). A disclaimer made in breach “shall be ineffective for purposes of this chapter and State law” (2308(c)). Where state law limits “as is” sales, that law overrides the federal rule and the dealer uses the “Implied Warranties Only” box (16 CFR 455.2(b)(1)(ii)).
Our guide to buying “as is”, the Buyers Guide and implied warranties goes through the form box by box, quotes the federal text, and lists the states that limit “as is” sales with their exceptions. For a service contract, often sold as an extended warranty, the extended warranty break-even calculator compares its price with repair costs you enter yourself.
The states with a used-car law
In the statutes we read on 11 November 2026, twelve states have a law written for used cars sold by dealers: Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island and West Virginia. The District of Columbia requires written notice of known defects (DC Code 50-505). They work in three ways:
- A dealer warranty the law requires, with a refund or buyback after repeated failed repairs: New York (GBL 198-b), New Jersey (NJSA 56:8-67 to -80), Massachusetts (MGL c. 90, s. 7N1/4), Rhode Island (RIGL 31-5.4), Hawaii (HRS 481J) and Minnesota (Minn. Stat. 325F.662, where the refund is at the dealer’s election). Connecticut also requires a dealer warranty at a cash price of $3,000 or more, but its chapter sets no buyback (CGS 42-221).
- A short implied warranty the dealer can’t disclaim: 15 days or 500 miles, whichever comes first, in Arizona (ARS 44-1267), Illinois (815 ILCS 505/2L) and New Mexico (NMSA 57-16A-3.1). In Maine, the dealer warrants that the car meets the state inspection standards (10 MRSA 1474).
- Limits on “as is” sales: West Virginia lets dealers sell “as is” only in listed cases, then gives a 3-business-day right to cancel (WV Code 46A-6-107a).
Each law has its own exclusions by price, mileage, age or vehicle type, and its own notice rule. New York, Rhode Island and Connecticut, for example, require the failure to be reported within the warranty period (GBL 198-b(b)(3); RIGL 31-5.4-2(c); CGS 42-222), while New Mexico requires notice within 30 days of the breach (57-16A-3.1(E)). Other states may add rules in general consumer laws we have not yet read. Used-car lemon laws by state has the table and a fold-out per state with who is covered, the repair and refund rules, the use offset where the statute sets one, and the time to sue as written.
When the maker’s warranty is still running
A late-model used car may still carry the maker’s original warranty. Under the federal warranty Act, a “consumer” includes “any person to whom such product is transferred during the duration of an implied or written warranty” (15 U.S.C. 2301(3)), so a second owner can use it; the booklet’s own terms still set what it covers. Our guide to the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act explains full and limited warranties and what the Act lets a consumer do.
Several state new-car lemon laws also count later owners, but the window may be mostly gone. New York’s runs from the car’s original delivery (GBL 198-a(b)(1)), and New Jersey’s “consumer” includes a person to whom a car is transferred during the warranty (NJSA 56:12-30). The lemon laws in all 50 states and DC table gives each state’s window, and the lemon law checker compares a repair history with the numbers in your state’s new-car law as read.
When the dealer won’t fix it
First work out whose warranty it is. A maker that uses dealers for its warranty work stays directly responsible to you, and the dealer doesn’t become a co-warrantor by doing the work (15 U.S.C. 2307). For a suit under the Act, only the company that actually made the written warranty can be sued on it (2310(f)). A dealer that only sells a car under the maker’s warranty isn’t liable on that warranty unless its own words and actions obligate it, or state law treats it as having “adopted” the promise (16 CFR 700.4).
The usual route, in the order two makers’ 2026 warranty booklets and the federal Act set it out: a written repair order for every visit, dealer management, another authorized dealer, the maker in writing, the maker’s dispute program, and, for a new car whose defect keeps coming back, the state lemon law. Before a suit under the federal Act, the company obligated under the warranty must have “a reasonable opportunity to cure” (2310(e)). A maker’s dispute program under the FTC’s rules charges no fee (16 CFR 703.3(a)) and its decisions don’t bind you (703.5(j)).
Complaints about a dealer’s own conduct go to the state attorney general’s consumer office or the agency that licenses dealers. The pages we read describe mediation or investigation, and several say outright that the office can’t represent you or make a business pay. Of the states we read for that page, Texas is the one whose statute gives owners a written warranty repair complaint that can reach a hearing (Texas Occupations Code 2301.204, read 11 November 2026). When a dealer won’t fix your car covers each step, the Texas complaint, and the complaint pages in 16 states, each in the office’s own words.
A reading path
- Before you sign, or if you just bought: read the Buyers Guide on the window and keep a copy; the “as is” guide explains each box.
- If something failed soon after the sale: check whether your state is one of the twelve on the used-car law page, and its notice rule.
- If a warranty repair is refused: follow the steps in order, and see our page on what to do when a warranty claim is denied for what a denial can and can’t rest on.
What to keep
- Your copy of the Buyers Guide (the dealer must give it to you or an accurate copy, 16 CFR 455.3(a)) and the sales contract, with the price, the mileage at sale and any “as is” box or signed waiver.
- Any written dealer warranty and any service contract, with the date signed and who it is with: the 90-day rule in 15 U.S.C. 2308(a) runs from the sale.
- Every repair order: the date in and out, the mileage, the problem as you described it, the work done and the days in the shop. Ask for any “not covered” reason in writing.
- A record of each time you told the dealer or maker, how and when, since the state notice rules differ.
Rules checked on 11 November 2026 in official text, as cited on the pages linked above: 16 CFR part 455, 700.4 and part 703 on the eCFR (Title 16 up to date as of 9 November 2026); 15 U.S.C. 2301, 2307, 2308 and 2310; the used-car statutes of the twelve states and DC named above; and Texas Occupations Code chapter 2301 (current through the 89th Legislature, 2nd Called Session, 2025). Found an error? See our corrections page.
