Utah'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 Utah (Utah Code, título 13, chapter 20 (New Motor Vehicle Warranties Act)). 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 vehicles sold in Utah with a gross laden weight of 14,000 lb or less, including motorcycles designed mainly for paved highways and the self-propelled vehicle and chassis of motor homes, bought or leased for your own use (not for resale), with a defect that substantially impairs use, market value or safety. A motor home or a farm tractor is covered even above 14,000 lb (§ 13-20-2).

Rights period: The defect must be reported during the express warranty or the first year from original delivery, whichever ends first. Repairs must be made even if they finish later.

When it is presumed a lemon

Four or more repairs of the same defect that is still there, or 30 or more cumulative business days out of service for repair, within that period.

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

The process

You do not have to send the manufacturer a written notice before claiming on a car; that written notice is required only for recreational vehicle trailers (§ 13-20-8). What you do have to do is report the defect to the manufacturer, its agent or its authorized dealer within the period. If the maker has an informal dispute program that meets the federal rule (16 CFR 703), you must use it first. You can sue only after the Division of Consumer Protection has investigated and evaluated your claim (§ 13-20-6). The court may award attorney fees to the prevailing party.

Who handles it: Utah Division of Consumer Protection (Department of Commerce).

Hotline: 801-530-6601.

What you get if you win

A comparable new vehicle or a refund of the full purchase price with collateral charges, minus a reasonable allowance for use before the defect was first reported.

What it does not cover

Defects from abuse, neglect or unauthorized modifications or alterations. And, by definition, these are outside the law: any vehicle with a gross laden weight over 14,000 lb (except a motor home or a farm tractor); road tractors and truck tractors; mobile homes; the part of a motor home used as a dwelling, office or commercial space; motorcycles designed mainly for unimproved terrain; mopeds; motor assisted scooters; and electric assisted bicycles (§ 13-20-2). A new recreational vehicle trailer (travel trailer, camping trailer or fifth wheel) has no right to replacement or refund: only mediation over a roof, subfloor or wall defect, after four repair attempts and written notice to the manufacturer (§ 13-20-8). The dealer is not liable under this law, except for its own written warranties (§ 13-20-6).

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 Utah: Utah has no three-day right to cancel a vehicle purchase: once you buy, the car is yours unless the seller has its own return policy (Division of Consumer Protection). Mandatory written notice of salvage, brands and total loss (§ 41-1a-1004, § 41-1a-1005.3) and of a buyback (§ 41-3-408); hiding a buyback can cost the seller up to three times your damages, plus costs and attorney fees, but you must sue within two years of discovering it (§ 41-3-411). If the dealer gave you a temporary permit and does not file the title paperwork within 45 days — or, with no temporary permit, does not hand you the endorsed title within 48 hours — you can unwind the purchase: return the car and ask for rescission in writing before the dealer files the title, give a signed odometer statement, and pay the IRS standard mileage rate for each mile you drove; the dealer then refunds everything, including the car you traded in (§ 41-3-301, § 41-3-403). Consumer Sales Practices Act against deceptive acts (§ 13-11-4). Implied warranty unless excluded in writing and conspicuously, for example with "As Is" (§ 70A-2-316). Complaints about a dealer, odometer fraud or a title that never arrived: MVED, form TC-451.