South Carolina · Lemon law · Updated Oct 2026
South Carolina Lemon Law (Enforcement of Motor Vehicle Express Warranties) (S.C. Code Ann. §§ 56-28-10 to 56-28-110) protects buyers of new vehicles that can't be fixed. Here is what counts as a lemon in South Carolina, the notice you must send and what you can get back.
Your car is presumed a lemon if the same defect was repaired 3 or more times within the warranty term and still exists, or it was out of service for repairs a total of 30 or more calendar days during the warranty. After you send written notice, the manufacturer gets a final chance: it has 10 business days to name a repair shop, then up to 10 business days to fix the car.
Period: The defect must appear within the first 12 months or 12,000 miles, whichever comes first, and you must report it during the warranty.
Before using the lemon law, you must send the manufacturer written notice of the need for repair so it gets a final chance to fix the car, if the manufacturer clearly told you about this requirement when you bought it. All required notices must go by registered, certified or express mail (S.C. Code § 56-28-50(B), (E)). The Department of Consumer Affairs offers a sample 'Notice of Final Opportunity to Repair'.
If the manufacturer has a dispute program that meets the FTC rules (16 CFR Part 703), you must use it before you can get a refund or replacement; it is free to you and its decisions bind the manufacturer. If you are unhappy with the result, you can then sue. The law lets the state set up an arbitration board for manufacturers without a program, but no such board is mentioned on the Department of Consumer Affairs site.
The manufacturer chooses either to replace the vehicle with a comparable one, or to take it back and refund the full purchase price as delivered, including finance charges, sales tax, license and registration fees and similar government charges. It may deduct a use allowance: the full purchase price times the miles driven before your first report of the defect, divided by 120,000.
Attorney fees: A court may award a consumer who wins the costs and expenses of the case, including attorney fees based on actual time spent, unless it finds that inappropriate (§ 56-28-50(D)).
Deadline: You must sue within 3 years of the date of original delivery (S.C. Code § 56-28-70).
South Carolina's lemon law does not cover used vehicles. You can file a complaint about a used vehicle you bought or leased with the Department of Consumer Affairs.
Most states require you to tell the manufacturer in writing and give it a last chance to fix the car. Before using the lemon law, you must send the manufacturer written notice of the need for repair so it gets a final chance to fix the car, if the manufacturer clearly told you about this requirement when you bought it. All required notices must go by registered, certified or express mail (S.C. Code § 56-28-50(B), (E)). The Department of Consumer Affairs offers a sample 'Notice of Final Opportunity to Repair'. 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
Your car is presumed a lemon if the same defect was repaired 3 or more times within the warranty term and still exists, or it was out of service for repairs a total of 30 or more calendar days during the warranty. After you send written notice, the manufacturer gets a final chance: it has 10 business days to name a repair shop, then up to 10 business days to fix the car.
The defect must appear within the first 12 months or 12,000 miles, whichever comes first, and you must report it during the warranty.
Before using the lemon law, you must send the manufacturer written notice of the need for repair so it gets a final chance to fix the car, if the manufacturer clearly told you about this requirement when you bought it. All required notices must go by registered, certified or express mail (S.C. Code § 56-28-50(B), (E)). The Department of Consumer Affairs offers a sample 'Notice of Final Opportunity to Repair'.
If the manufacturer has a dispute program that meets the FTC rules (16 CFR Part 703), you must use it before you can get a refund or replacement; it is free to you and its decisions bind the manufacturer. If you are unhappy with the result, you can then sue. The law lets the state set up an arbitration board for manufacturers without a program, but no such board is mentioned on the Department of Consumer Affairs site.
The manufacturer chooses either to replace the vehicle with a comparable one, or to take it back and refund the full purchase price as delivered, including finance charges, sales tax, license and registration fees and similar government charges. It may deduct a use allowance: the full purchase price times the miles driven before your first report of the defect, divided by 120,000.
You must sue within 3 years of the date of original delivery (S.C. Code § 56-28-70).
South Carolina's lemon law does not cover used vehicles. You can file a complaint about a used vehicle you bought or leased with the Department of Consumer Affairs.
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.