Oregon's lemon law and your rights as a buyer

What the lemon law protects, what it doesn't, and what rights you keep when you buy used. With the state's exact deadlines.

This guide summarizes the recorded scope for Oregon (ORS 646A.400 a 646A.418). Eligibility, deadlines and notice requirements depend on the law and applicable coverage; read the state conditions below, including used-vehicle conditions where relevant.

What it covers

New passenger vehicles, bought or leased for personal, family or household use, bought in Oregon or bought elsewhere and registered in Oregon, with a warranty defect that substantially impairs use, value or safety. It also protects someone who receives the car while the express warranty is still running. Motorcycles and self-propelled motor homes are included: the law sets its own use-allowance math for each (ORS 646A.404(3)).

Rights period: 2 years from original delivery or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first. Each defect must be reported to the maker or dealer within that period.

When it is presumed a lemon

Three or more unsuccessful repair attempts for the same defect; or 30 cumulative calendar days out of service (60 for motor homes); or one attempt plus a final attempt if the defect can cause death or serious injury. Always with direct written notice to the maker and a chance to fix it.

The presumption does not replace the other requirements. Check the official conditions and procedure for your situation.

The process

If the maker has an informal dispute program that complies with 16 CFR 703 and told you about it, you must use it first; its decision binds the maker but not you. After that, sue in court within one year after the 2-year period or the 24,000-mile period ends, whichever ends first (ORS 646A.416). If the court finds the maker did not act in good faith, it must award you up to 3 times the damages (up to $50,000 extra), and it may award attorney fees, expert witness fees and costs (ORS 646A.412). Oregon has no state arbitration board: DOJ points you to the Oregon State Bar lawyer referral service, 503-684-3763 or 1-800-452-7636 toll-free in Oregon.

Who handles it: Oregon Department of Justice — Consumer Protection (no hay junta estatal de arbitraje).

Hotline: 1-877-877-9392 (línea del consumidor del Attorney General, gratuita).

What you get if you win

Replacement with a new vehicle, or a refund of the full purchase or lease price plus collateral charges (taxes, title, registration, financing), minus a reasonable allowance for use.

What it does not cover

Used cars outside the warranty period; defects that do not substantially impair use, value or safety; defects from abuse, neglect or unauthorized modifications; the living quarters of motor homes (flooring, plumbing, appliances, furniture, roof air conditioning and audio-visual equipment); vehicles bought for resale; and trailers, campers and towable RVs, because they do not move under their own power and are not a “motor vehicle” (ORS 801.360 and 646A.400). It gives no claim against the dealer, only against the maker, with one exception: the dealer does answer for failing to give you the Lemon Law Buyback notice (ORS 646A.405 and 646A.414).

I bought used: what do I have left

More than it seems, even if it isn't the lemon law:

• The Buyers Guide (FTC). The guide states the dealer warranty. "As Is" describes that warranty; it does not by itself resolve other state-law rights or remaining manufacturer coverage. The federal rule applies in 48 states (Maine and Wisconsin have their own equivalent rules). If the sale is conducted in Spanish, the dealer must post a Spanish-language Buyers Guide.
• Remaining manufacturer warranty. Check the warranty contract and its duration and transfer conditions; vehicle age does not guarantee coverage.
• In Oregon: In Oregon there are no 3 days to cancel a car purchase. What you do have: since January 1, 2026, if you signed a retail installment contract or a lease that depends on a lender buying it, the dealer must give you, before closing, a separate and conspicuous notice (“Retail Installment Contract Disclosure”), available in Spanish on request, and you have the right to void the purchase if no lender accepts the exact terms you negotiated within 10 calendar days after you took the car; the dealer then finances it on those same terms or voids the deal, tells you within 2 days and returns everything you handed over (ORS 646A.090, HB 3178). Until there is final approval of the funding, the dealer may not sell your trade-in or pay off its loan, and owes you money if it does. A dealer gives you the implied warranty of merchantability (ORS 72.3140) unless the contract says “as is” or “with all faults” (ORS 72.3160). You are also protected by: the required Lemon Law Buyback notice (ORS 646A.405), delivery of the salvage title for a totaled car (ORS 819.018), the NMVTIS search the dealer must run and tell you about (ORS 822.043(9)), the unlawful trade practices law (ORS 646.608) through the Department of Justice, the cap on the document fee (ORS 822.043) and complaints against dealers to DMV Business Regulation. On the test drive you can stop at a DEQ Clean Air Station and ask for a free “voluntary” emissions test.