Recalls & Defects

March 26, 2003 -- A national consumer protection attorney visiting the University of Wyoming advises citizens who have purchased "lemon" automobiles to pursue adequate compensation, alerting government agencies if necessary.

Laura Polacheck of Washington, D.C., AARP lawyer and senior legislative representative, was a keynote speaker during the Consumer Issues Conference at UW. She said consumer advocates have made a crucial difference in protecting Americans from car fraud. "One or two people can make a big impact," she said.

"If you have a defect in your car, report the problem right away to your state attorney general's office or local consumer protection office. That's the way to launch a government investigation," Polacheck said, adding that federal warranty laws entitle citizens to refunds or replacements for defective cars. She also urged car buyers to save all documents relating to the purchase and repair records of their automobiles.

Formerly on the staff of the Center for Auto Safety, Polacheck said a particular problem facing car buyers is the danger of "laundered lemons" -- defective automobiles bought back by manufacturers to satisfy disgruntled consumers and then transported to other locations to be sold to unsuspecting buyers. More than 100,000 such vehicles may now be in circulation, Polacheck reported.

"People think that if it's on the lot and they bought it from a dealer, then it's okay. They don't even realize that such practices go on," she explained.

Only about 12 percent of consumers owning defective cars receive "full disclosure" about a car's history, Polacheck said. She urged purchasers to request a car's service record and to use Internet resources to conduct a title search. Manufacturers often ignore the requirement that "buy back" or "returned for defect" labels be stamped onto a car's documents, she added. "Unfortunately there's no national computer to keep track of lemons," she said.

Polacheck also cautioned consumers to be wary of "secret warranties" that may cover particular kinds of problems but that are not honored unless customers specifically complain. Problems and defects in cars represent "life and death," she said.

Polacheck joined a team of legislators, lawyers, loan officers, consumer advocates, government agency spokespersons and business and industry representatives at UW's fourth annual Consumer Issues Conference. The UW colleges of Agriculture and Law, the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, the Cooperative Extension Service and other agencies hosted the conference.

< Back