New Jersey · Lemon law · Updated Oct 2026
New Jersey Lemon Law (New Car Lemon Law) (N.J. Stat. Ann. §§ 56:12-29 to 56:12-49) protects buyers of new vehicles that can't be fixed. Here is what counts as a lemon in New Jersey, the notice you must send and what you can get back.
Within 24,000 miles or 2 years, your vehicle is presumed a lemon if the same defect has been repaired 3 or more times and is still there; or a defect likely to cause death or serious injury has been examined or repaired at least once and is still there; or the vehicle has been out of service for repairs for a total of 20 or more calendar days (45 days for a motor home). The defect must substantially impair use, value or safety. Before the presumption applies, you must send the manufacturer a certified letter and give it one final chance to fix the defect within 10 calendar days of receiving the letter.
Period: The first 24,000 miles or 2 years from original delivery, whichever comes first (farm tractors: 2 years)
Send the manufacturer (not the dealer) a letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, saying you may have a lemon law claim. You can send it after 2 failed repairs of the same defect, after 20 days out of service (45 for a motor home), or after 1 failed repair of a serious safety defect. The manufacturer then has 10 calendar days from receiving it to fix the car. The Division of Consumer Affairs says the letter must reach the manufacturer before 24,000 miles and 2 years, and must go to the regional address the Lemon Law Unit gives you. This notice is required before you can apply to the state program.
You do not have to use the manufacturer's program or the state program before suing in Superior Court. If you choose the state program, you apply to the Lemon Law Unit and pay a $50 filing fee (refunded if you win); an administrative law judge holds a hearing, usually within 20 days, and the Director issues a final decision that binds both sides, subject to appeal to the Appellate Division.
You get a full refund; you may turn down a replacement offer. The refund covers the purchase price (including any trade-in credit), options added by the manufacturer or dealer within 30 days of delivery, sales tax, license and registration fees, finance charges, towing, and rental of a similar car while yours was out of service. The manufacturer deducts a use allowance: miles at your first repair visit for the defect x purchase price / 100,000. Lessees get back what they paid under the lease, and the lease ends with no early-termination penalty.
Attorney fees: Yes. A winning consumer must be awarded reasonable attorney's fees, expert witness fees and costs, in court or in the Division's program (§ 56:12-42).
New Jersey's Used Car Lemon Law (N.J.S.A. 56:8-67 to 56:8-80) requires dealers to give a written warranty on most used cars: 90 days/3,000 miles (up to 24,000 miles on the odometer), 60 days/2,000 miles (24,001-59,999 miles), or 30 days/1,000 miles (60,000+ miles, which you can waive by negotiating the price). It does not apply to cars sold for under $3,000, cars 7 or more model years old, cars with over 100,000 miles, or disclosed insurance total losses; if the dealer cannot fix a covered defect after 3 tries or 20 days, it must buy the car back.
Most states require you to tell the manufacturer in writing and give it a last chance to fix the car. Send the manufacturer (not the dealer) a letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, saying you may have a lemon law claim. You can send it after 2 failed repairs of the same defect, after 20 days out of service (45 for a motor home), or after 1 failed repair of a serious safety defect. The manufacturer then has 10 calendar days from receiving it to fix the car. The Division of Consumer Affairs says the letter must reach the manufacturer before 24,000 miles and 2 years, and must go to the regional address the Lemon Law Unit gives you. This notice is required before you can apply to the state program. Fill this in, copy the letter, sign it and send it by certified mail with return receipt. Keep a copy. Nothing you type here is sent to us; the letter is made in your browser.
Official page · Official lemon law guide
Within 24,000 miles or 2 years, your vehicle is presumed a lemon if the same defect has been repaired 3 or more times and is still there; or a defect likely to cause death or serious injury has been examined or repaired at least once and is still there; or the vehicle has been out of service for repairs for a total of 20 or more calendar days (45 days for a motor home). The defect must substantially impair use, value or safety. Before the presumption applies, you must send the manufacturer a certified letter and give it one final chance to fix the defect within 10 calendar days of receiving the letter.
The first 24,000 miles or 2 years from original delivery, whichever comes first (farm tractors: 2 years)
Send the manufacturer (not the dealer) a letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, saying you may have a lemon law claim. You can send it after 2 failed repairs of the same defect, after 20 days out of service (45 for a motor home), or after 1 failed repair of a serious safety defect. The manufacturer then has 10 calendar days from receiving it to fix the car. The Division of Consumer Affairs says the letter must reach the manufacturer before 24,000 miles and 2 years, and must go to the regional address the Lemon Law Unit gives you. This notice is required before you can apply to the state program.
You do not have to use the manufacturer's program or the state program before suing in Superior Court. If you choose the state program, you apply to the Lemon Law Unit and pay a $50 filing fee (refunded if you win); an administrative law judge holds a hearing, usually within 20 days, and the Director issues a final decision that binds both sides, subject to appeal to the Appellate Division.
You get a full refund; you may turn down a replacement offer. The refund covers the purchase price (including any trade-in credit), options added by the manufacturer or dealer within 30 days of delivery, sales tax, license and registration fees, finance charges, towing, and rental of a similar car while yours was out of service. The manufacturer deducts a use allowance: miles at your first repair visit for the defect x purchase price / 100,000. Lessees get back what they paid under the lease, and the lease ends with no early-termination penalty.
New Jersey's Used Car Lemon Law (N.J.S.A. 56:8-67 to 56:8-80) requires dealers to give a written warranty on most used cars: 90 days/3,000 miles (up to 24,000 miles on the odometer), 60 days/2,000 miles (24,001-59,999 miles), or 30 days/1,000 miles (60,000+ miles, which you can waive by negotiating the price). It does not apply to cars sold for under $3,000, cars 7 or more model years old, cars with over 100,000 miles, or disclosed insurance total losses; if the dealer cannot fix a covered defect after 3 tries or 20 days, it must buy the car back.
Car not covered, or the period has passed? Federal warranty law may still help, and small claims court can handle smaller repair bills.
Federal warranty lawLast checked: Oct 2026.