Maine · Lemon law · Updated Oct 2026
Maine Lemon Law (Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 10, §§ 1161–1169) protects buyers of new vehicles that can't be fixed. Here is what counts as a lemon in Maine, the notice you must send and what you can get back.
Within the warranty, 3 years or 18,000 miles (whichever comes first), your vehicle is presumed a lemon if the same defect has been repaired 3 or more times and still exists; if a serious failure of the brakes or steering has been repaired once; or if the vehicle has been out of service for repairs for a total of 15 or more business days (any defects). After that, you must send written notice asking for a refund or replacement, and the manufacturer gets one final chance of 7 business days to fix the vehicle at a repair shop reasonably accessible to you.
Period: You must report the defect during the express warranty, within 3 years of the vehicle's original delivery to a consumer, or within its first 18,000 miles (odometer miles), whichever comes first.
Send written notice to the manufacturer (or the authorized dealer, who must pass it on) saying you want a refund or replacement. This starts the manufacturer's 7-business-day final repair chance. For a brake or steering failure, you can send it after one repair attempt. Treat this notice as required: the Attorney General will not accept your application to the State Lemon Law Arbitration Program without it. (Under 10 M.R.S. § 1163(6), a court cannot hold the missing notice against you unless the manufacturer clearly disclosed the requirement and its mailing address in the warranty or owner's manual.) The Attorney General offers a sample notice letter; keep proof of mailing.
If the manufacturer has a federally compliant dispute program, you must first use it or the state program before claiming a refund or replacement. The state program is free; you must apply within 3 years of original delivery or within the warranty term, whichever comes first; a decision is issued within 45 days; and either side can appeal to Superior Court within 21 days.
Maine Lemon Law Arbitration Program (Office of the Attorney General)
The manufacturer must replace the vehicle with a comparable one or take it back and refund you; you may refuse a replacement and take a refund instead. The refund covers the full purchase price (or lease payments made), finance charges paid, collateral charges such as sales tax and registration fees, and reasonable towing, storage and alternative-transportation costs while the vehicle could not be driven. The manufacturer may deduct a use allowance, which can never exceed the lesser of 10% of the purchase price or one-third of the IRS business mileage rate times the miles on your arbitration application plus your miles beyond 20,000.
Attorney fees: Yes. A court may award reasonable attorney fees and costs to a consumer who wins a lemon law case, and must award them if a manufacturer appeals a state arbitration award and loses (10 M.R.S. §§ 1167, 1169(5)).
Deadline: The chapter sets no lawsuit deadline. State arbitration must be requested within 3 years of original delivery or within the warranty term, whichever comes first (10 M.R.S. § 1169(1)); an appeal of an arbitration decision must be filed in Superior Court within 21 days.
Maine's Lemon Law covers used vehicles still under an express warranty within 3 years/18,000 miles. Separately, dealers must give an inspection warranty on used cars; if a car is sold "as is" with implied warranties properly disclaimed, the only warranty is that it can pass state inspection.
Most states require you to tell the manufacturer in writing and give it a last chance to fix the car. Send written notice to the manufacturer (or the authorized dealer, who must pass it on) saying you want a refund or replacement. This starts the manufacturer's 7-business-day final repair chance. For a brake or steering failure, you can send it after one repair attempt. Treat this notice as required: the Attorney General will not accept your application to the State Lemon Law Arbitration Program without it. (Under 10 M.R.S. § 1163(6), a court cannot hold the missing notice against you unless the manufacturer clearly disclosed the requirement and its mailing address in the warranty or owner's manual.) The Attorney General offers a sample notice letter; keep proof of mailing. 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 the warranty, 3 years or 18,000 miles (whichever comes first), your vehicle is presumed a lemon if the same defect has been repaired 3 or more times and still exists; if a serious failure of the brakes or steering has been repaired once; or if the vehicle has been out of service for repairs for a total of 15 or more business days (any defects). After that, you must send written notice asking for a refund or replacement, and the manufacturer gets one final chance of 7 business days to fix the vehicle at a repair shop reasonably accessible to you.
You must report the defect during the express warranty, within 3 years of the vehicle's original delivery to a consumer, or within its first 18,000 miles (odometer miles), whichever comes first.
Send written notice to the manufacturer (or the authorized dealer, who must pass it on) saying you want a refund or replacement. This starts the manufacturer's 7-business-day final repair chance. For a brake or steering failure, you can send it after one repair attempt. Treat this notice as required: the Attorney General will not accept your application to the State Lemon Law Arbitration Program without it. (Under 10 M.R.S. § 1163(6), a court cannot hold the missing notice against you unless the manufacturer clearly disclosed the requirement and its mailing address in the warranty or owner's manual.) The Attorney General offers a sample notice letter; keep proof of mailing.
If the manufacturer has a federally compliant dispute program, you must first use it or the state program before claiming a refund or replacement. The state program is free; you must apply within 3 years of original delivery or within the warranty term, whichever comes first; a decision is issued within 45 days; and either side can appeal to Superior Court within 21 days.
The manufacturer must replace the vehicle with a comparable one or take it back and refund you; you may refuse a replacement and take a refund instead. The refund covers the full purchase price (or lease payments made), finance charges paid, collateral charges such as sales tax and registration fees, and reasonable towing, storage and alternative-transportation costs while the vehicle could not be driven. The manufacturer may deduct a use allowance, which can never exceed the lesser of 10% of the purchase price or one-third of the IRS business mileage rate times the miles on your arbitration application plus your miles beyond 20,000.
The chapter sets no lawsuit deadline. State arbitration must be requested within 3 years of original delivery or within the warranty term, whichever comes first (10 M.R.S. § 1169(1)); an appeal of an arbitration decision must be filed in Superior Court within 21 days.
Maine's Lemon Law covers used vehicles still under an express warranty within 3 years/18,000 miles. Separately, dealers must give an inspection warranty on used cars; if a car is sold "as is" with implied warranties properly disclaimed, the only warranty is that it can pass state inspection.
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 law