Vermont · Lemon law · Updated Oct 2026
Vermont Lemon Law (Motor Vehicle Arbitration) (9 V.S.A. §§ 4170–4181) protects buyers of new vehicles that can't be fixed. Here is what counts as a lemon in Vermont, the notice you must send and what you can get back.
Your vehicle is presumed a lemon if the same defect has been repaired at least 3 times (with at least the first repair within the warranty) and still exists, or the vehicle has been out of service for repairs a total of 30 or more calendar days during the warranty. Each repair must be shown by a written repair order, and the 3 repairs must be by the same dealer unless you show good cause for using a different one. A vehicle is not counted as out of service if it is available to you for a major part of the day. The defect must substantially impair the vehicle's use, market value or safety. Before the hearing the manufacturer gets one final repair attempt, which must be finished at least 5 days before the hearing.
Period: The term of the manufacturer's express warranty. For the 3-repair test, at least the first repair must happen within the warranty; you must file within 1 year after the warranty expires.
After the repair attempts (or 30 days out of service), you must notify the manufacturer and any lessor in writing, on the form the manufacturer gives you at delivery, and say whether you choose the state Arbitration Board or the manufacturer's program (9 V.S.A. § 4173(a)).
The lemon-law remedy is decided in arbitration: you choose either the state-run Vermont Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board or the manufacturer's program, and that choice rules out the other. It is free for consumers, and a hearing must be held within 45 days of the notice (extendable by up to 30 days for good cause).
At your choice, a comparable new replacement vehicle (with adjustment for model-year differences) or a refund of the full purchase price, plus trade-in and down payment credits, finance charges, credit charges, registration fees, similar charges, and incidental and consequential damages. The use deduction is purchase price × miles driven before the first repair attempt ÷ 100,000. The state refunds a proportional share of Vermont purchase and use tax if you file a claim with the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles within 90 days of the order. Lessees get back deposits and payments, minus a use allowance, and the lease ends. The manufacturer must pay within 30 days of the Board's decision (15 days after a final court ruling); if it does not complete the transaction by the order's effective date, you get an extra 10 percent of the award.
Attorney fees: Only in limited cases: the winning party gets attorney fees for getting a Board decision confirmed in court (9 V.S.A. § 4176(a)(2)).
Deadline: File within 1 year after the manufacturer's express warranty expires (9 V.S.A. § 4179(a)).
A used vehicle can qualify if the first repair attempt happened while the manufacturer's express warranty was in effect and the other requirements are met, according to the Vermont DMV.
Most states require you to tell the manufacturer in writing and give it a last chance to fix the car. After the repair attempts (or 30 days out of service), you must notify the manufacturer and any lessor in writing, on the form the manufacturer gives you at delivery, and say whether you choose the state Arbitration Board or the manufacturer's program (9 V.S.A. § 4173(a)). 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 vehicle is presumed a lemon if the same defect has been repaired at least 3 times (with at least the first repair within the warranty) and still exists, or the vehicle has been out of service for repairs a total of 30 or more calendar days during the warranty. Each repair must be shown by a written repair order, and the 3 repairs must be by the same dealer unless you show good cause for using a different one. A vehicle is not counted as out of service if it is available to you for a major part of the day. The defect must substantially impair the vehicle's use, market value or safety. Before the hearing the manufacturer gets one final repair attempt, which must be finished at least 5 days before the hearing.
The term of the manufacturer's express warranty. For the 3-repair test, at least the first repair must happen within the warranty; you must file within 1 year after the warranty expires.
After the repair attempts (or 30 days out of service), you must notify the manufacturer and any lessor in writing, on the form the manufacturer gives you at delivery, and say whether you choose the state Arbitration Board or the manufacturer's program (9 V.S.A. § 4173(a)).
The lemon-law remedy is decided in arbitration: you choose either the state-run Vermont Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board or the manufacturer's program, and that choice rules out the other. It is free for consumers, and a hearing must be held within 45 days of the notice (extendable by up to 30 days for good cause).
At your choice, a comparable new replacement vehicle (with adjustment for model-year differences) or a refund of the full purchase price, plus trade-in and down payment credits, finance charges, credit charges, registration fees, similar charges, and incidental and consequential damages. The use deduction is purchase price × miles driven before the first repair attempt ÷ 100,000. The state refunds a proportional share of Vermont purchase and use tax if you file a claim with the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles within 90 days of the order. Lessees get back deposits and payments, minus a use allowance, and the lease ends. The manufacturer must pay within 30 days of the Board's decision (15 days after a final court ruling); if it does not complete the transaction by the order's effective date, you get an extra 10 percent of the award.
File within 1 year after the manufacturer's express warranty expires (9 V.S.A. § 4179(a)).
A used vehicle can qualify if the first repair attempt happened while the manufacturer's express warranty was in effect and the other requirements are met, according to the Vermont DMV.
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