Lemon law for commercial vehicles: when a business wheelchair van qualifies, and when only the warranty helps

Does lemon law apply to commercial vehicles?

Sometimes. Every state writes its own lemon law, and the deciding question is how the statute defines the buyer and the vehicle. The five states below show the range, from a law that stops at five registered vehicles to one that excludes business use outright:

These laws look at how a vehicle is used, who owns it and how heavy it is. They do not ask whether it is a wheelchair conversion. A lemon law also needs a manufacturer’s warranty that still applies to the defect, and a private-use conversion warranty can disappear when a business buys the van. The commercial van warranty guide explains which warranty covers which part of the van.

California: five registered vehicles and under 10,000 pounds

California covers a business van when its gross vehicle weight is under 10,000 pounds and no more than five motor vehicles are registered to the business in the state. Civil Code 1793.22(e)(2) extends the definition of a new motor vehicle to one “bought or used primarily for business purposes” by a partnership, limited liability company, corporation, association or other legal entity with no more than five registered vehicles. As an example, an owner-operator with two California-registered vans is inside that line and a company with eight is outside it.

The repair-count tests in subdivision (b) apply within 18 months of delivery or 18,000 miles, whichever comes first. The statute presumes a reasonable number of attempts when any one of these happens:

• Four or more repairs. The same problem has been repaired four or more times by the manufacturer or its agents.
• Two or more repairs for a serious safety defect. The defect is likely to cause death or serious bodily injury, for example, a securement system that will not hold.
• More than 30 calendar days out of service. The days are cumulative since delivery.

The first two also require the buyer to have notified the manufacturer directly at least once, if the warranty or owner’s manual clearly and conspicuously explains that duty. The California Attorney General’s lemon law page describes the same presumption.

Florida, New York, and Massachusetts: built around personal use

A company-owned van usually falls outside these three laws. Each one defines the buyer or the vehicle by personal use, and Massachusetts goes further and excludes business vehicles by name.

• Florida. Chapter 681 defines a consumer as the buyer or lessee of a motor vehicle “primarily used for personal, family, or household purposes,” and its definition of motor vehicle excludes trucks over 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight. The rights period ends 24 months after original delivery. After three failed repairs of the same problem the consumer must notify the manufacturer in writing by registered or express mail, and the manufacturer then gets a final attempt.
• New York. General Business Law 198-a(a)(1) defines a consumer as a buyer, lessee or transferee of a vehicle “used primarily for personal, family or household purposes.” Its presumption in subdivision (d) applies after four or more repairs of the same problem, or 30 or more calendar days out of service, within the first 18,000 miles or two years, whichever is earlier.
• Massachusetts. Chapter 90, section 7N 1/2 leaves out “any vehicle used primarily for business purposes.” For a vehicle it does cover, the protection lasts one year or 15,000 miles, and a reasonable number of attempts is three repairs of the same problem or 15 or more business days out of service.

Texas: the statute names converters

Texas has no personal-use or fleet-size test, and it is the one statute here that names the converter. Section 2301.601 defines an owner as a person entitled to enforce a manufacturer’s warranty who bought the vehicle at retail from a license holder, among other groups, and says nothing about personal use. Sections 2301.603 and 2301.604 put the duty to repair, replace or refund on a “manufacturer, converter, or distributor.”

A converter, under section 2301.002, is a person who before the retail sale assembles, installs or affixes a body, cab or special equipment to a chassis, or substantially adds to, subtracts from or modifies a previously assembled vehicle other than a motor home, ambulance or fire-fighting vehicle. Whether a particular wheelchair conversion fits that wording is a question for the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles or a lawyer. The definition is broad enough that it is worth asking.

The Texas tests run to the earlier of the end of the express warranty or 24 months or 24,000 miles from delivery. The presumption in section 2301.605 applies after four repairs of the same problem, two repairs of a serious safety hazard, or 30 or more days out of service. The remedy in section 2301.604 is a replacement or a refund of the full purchase price less an allowance for use, plus reasonable incidental costs of losing the vehicle’s use. That last item matters to a fleet, because the lost use is lost trips.

How are the converter and the chassis maker treated?

Most lemon laws put the duty on the manufacturer named in the warranty, so on a wheelchair van the defect decides who answers. A chassis defect belongs to the automaker’s warranty. A ramp, kneel, floor or door defect belongs to the converter’s, and a lift defect to the lift maker’s, as the warranty guide sets out. The conversion guide explains who does which work.

The statutes handle this in different ways:

• Florida defines a manufacturer to include a person who “manufactures or installs on previously assembled truck or recreational vehicle chassis special bodies or equipment which, when installed, forms an integral part of the motor vehicle.” The text says truck and recreational vehicle chassis, so whether it reaches a minivan conversion is a question for a lawyer.
• Texas names the converter, as the section above shows.
• New York has no general definition of the manufacturer and does not mention converters in its section.

All three also protect the manufacturer when someone else changed the vehicle. Florida’s definition of a nonconformity leaves out a defect that results from “modification, or alteration of the motor vehicle by persons other than the manufacturer or its authorized service agent.” New York gives the manufacturer an affirmative defense for “abuse, neglect or unauthorized modifications or alterations,” and Texas lets a manufacturer, converter or distributor plead unauthorized modification or alteration. A defect traced to a part that someone other than the manufacturer or its authorized agent installed gives the manufacturer that argument, so write down who installed each part.

What if the state lemon law does not cover the van?

The federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (15 U.S.C. 2301 to 2312) works alongside state law and does not use a lemon law’s use test. A consumer is a buyer of a consumer product other than for resale, and a consumer product is tangible personal property normally used for personal, family or household purposes. The FTC’s rule at 16 CFR 700.1 asks whether that type of product is commonly used that way, not how this buyer uses it. It says automobiles used for both personal and commercial purposes are consumer products, and it resolves any ambiguity in favor of coverage.

What the act gives you:

• A right to sue. Under 15 U.S.C. 2310(d), a consumer damaged by a warrantor’s failure to follow a written warranty, an implied warranty or a service contract can sue in state court or federal district court. A federal claim needs at least $50,000 in controversy, and a consumer who prevails may recover attorneys’ fees based on actual time spent.
• A chance to cure first. Section 2310(e) requires the warrantor to have a reasonable opportunity to fix the problem. If the written warranty requires an informal dispute procedure that meets FTC rules, section 2310(a)(3) makes you use it before suing.
• A refund right only under a full warranty. Under section 2304(a)(4), after a reasonable number of repair attempts the warrantor must let the consumer choose a refund or a replacement without charge. Section 2304(e) deems a warranty designated “full (statement of duration)” to include those standards. A limited warranty gives only what its booklet and state law give.

Look at how each warranty names itself. Ricon’s Titanium lift brochure describes a full 3-year warranty, and its Classic brochure a 5-year limited warranty, and the difference carries legal weight. Warranty booklets for vans and ramps may differ again, so read the heading on each one.

What to do when a van keeps failing

Start the paper trail at the first repair, because every statute above counts attempts and days. Work through these steps:

1. Keep every repair order. Each one should show the date in and out, the complaint as you described it, and the mileage. Florida, California and New York count calendar days out of service, and Massachusetts counts business days.
2. Write to the manufacturer when the statute asks. Florida requires registered or express mail after three repair attempts. Texas will not order a refund or replacement without written notice of the defect and a chance to cure. California’s first two repair-count tests require direct notice when the warranty or manual explains the duty.
3. Watch the clock. In Texas a proceeding must start within six months after the earliest of the warranty ending or 24 months or 24,000 miles. In Florida the consumer must request arbitration no later than 60 days after the 24-month rights period ends, or within 30 days after a manufacturer’s certified program acts, whichever is later, and the Department of Legal Affairs screens those requests.
4. Track the lost trips. Texas lets an owner recover reasonable incidental costs from the loss of use, and its board defines which costs count. A log of trips moved to other vans backs up that number.
5. Have the booklet read. A lemon law claim turns on the van’s warranty and the state’s text. The state agency, such as the Texas DMV, or an attorney can read both before you send a demand.

Keeping the repair record in one place

The dates and mileage decide these claims, and they are easy to lose. At the start of every shift, drivers check their van in the HealthRide app, and the checklist is stored with that shift, so you have dated records to set beside the repair orders. See fleet management.