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Colorado Lemon
Law
Colorado
Revised Statutes §§42-10-101 to 107
42-10-101
Definitions. As used in this article, unless
the context otherwise requires:
(1) "Consumer"
means the purchaser, other than for purposes
of resale, of a motor vehicle normally used
for personal, family, or household purposes,
any person to whom such motor vehicle is
transferred for the same purposes during the
duration of a manufacturer's express warranty
for such motor vehicle, and any other person
entitled by the terms of such warranty to
enforce the obligations of the warranty.
(2) "Motor
vehicle" means a self-propelled private
passenger vehicle, including pickup trucks
and vans, designed primarily for travel on
the public highways and used to carry not
more than ten persons, which is sold to a
consumer in this state; except that the term
does not include motor homes as defined in
section 42-1-102 (57) or vehicles designed to
travel on three or fewer wheels in contact
with the ground.
(3) "Warranty"
means the written warranty, so labeled, of
the manufacturer of a new motor vehicle,
including any terms or conditions precedent
to the enforcement of obligations under that
warranty.
42-10-102 Repairs to
conform vehicle to warranty.
If a motor vehicle does not
conform to a warranty and the consumer
reports the nonconformity to the
manufacturer, its agent, or its authorized
dealer during the term of such warranty or
during a period of one year following the
date of the original delivery of the motor
vehicle to a consumer, whichever is the
earlier date, the manufacturer, its agent, or
its authorized dealer shall make such repairs
as are necessary to conform the vehicle to
such warranty, notwithstanding the fact that
such repairs are made after the expiration of
such term or such one-year period.
42-10-103 Failure to
conform vehicle to warranty - replacement or
return of vehicle.
(1) If the manufacturer,
its agent, or its authorized dealer is unable
to conform the motor vehicle to the warranty
by repairing or correcting the defect or
condition which substantially impairs the use
and market value of such motor vehicle after
a reasonable number of attempts, the
manufacturer shall, at its option, replace
the motor vehicle with a comparable motor
vehicle or accept return of the motor vehicle
from the consumer and refund to the consumer
the full purchase price, including the sales
tax, license fees, and registration fees and
any similar governmental charges, less a
reasonable allowance for the consumer's use
of the motor vehicle. Refunds shall be made
to the consumer and lienholder, if any, as
their interests may appear. A reasonable
allowance for use shall be that amount
directly attributable to use by the consumer
and any previous consumer prior to the
consumer's first written report of the
nonconformity to the manufacturer, agent, or
dealer and during any subsequent period when
the vehicle is not out of service by reason
of repair.
(2) (a) It shall be
presumed that a reasonable number of attempts
have been undertaken to conform a motor
vehicle to the warranty if:
(I) The same nonconformity
has been subject to repair four or more times
by the manufacturer, its agent, or its
authorized dealer within the warranty term or
during a period of one year following the
date of the original delivery of the motor
vehicle to the consumer, whichever is the
earlier date, but such nonconformity
continues to exist; or
(II) The motor vehicle is
out of service by reason of repair for a
cumulative total of thirty or more business
days of the repairer during the term
specified in subparagraph (I) of this
paragraph (a) or during the period specified
in said subparagraph (I), whichever is the
earlier date.
(b) For the purposes of
this subsection (2), the term of a warranty,
the one-year period, and the thirty-day
period shall be extended by any period of
time during which repair services are not
available to the consumer because of war,
invasion, strike, or fire, flood, or other
natural disaster.
(c) In no event shall a
presumption under paragraph (a) of this
subsection (2) apply against a manufacturer
unless the manufacturer has received prior
written notification by certified mail from
or on behalf of the consumer and has been
provided an opportunity to cure the defect
alleged. Such defect shall count as one
nonconformity subject to repair under
subparagraph (I) of paragraph (a) of this
subsection (2).
(d) Every authorized motor
vehicle dealer shall include a form,
containing the manufacturer's name and
business address, with each motor vehicle
owner's manual on which the consumer may give
written notification of any defect, as such
notification is required by paragraph (c) of
this subsection (2), and the form shall
clearly and conspicuously disclose that
written notification by certified mail of the
nonconformity is required, in order for the
consumer to obtain remedies under this
article.
(3) The court shall award
reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing
side in any action brought to enforce the
provisions of this article.
42-10-104 Affirmative
defenses.
(1) It shall be an
affirmative defense to any claim under this
article that:
(a) An alleged
nonconformity does not substantially impair
the use and market value of a motor vehicle;
or
(b) A nonconformity is the
result of abuse, neglect, or unauthorized
modifications or alterations of the motor
vehicle by a consumer.
42-10-105 Limitations
on other rights and remedies. Nothing in this
article shall in any way limit the rights or
remedies which are otherwise available to a
consumer under any other state law or any
federal law. Nothing in this article shall
affect the other rights and duties between
the consumer and a seller, lessor, or
lienholder of a motor vehicle or the rights
between any of them. Nothing in this article
shall be construed as imposing a liability on
any authorized dealer with respect to a
manufacturer or creating a cause of action by
a manufacturer against its authorized dealer;
except that failure by an authorized dealer
to properly prepare a motor vehicle for sale,
to properly install options on a motor
vehicle, or to properly make repairs on a
motor vehicle, when such preparation,
installation, or repairs would have prevented
or cured a nonconformity, shall be actionable
by the manufacturer.
42-10-106
Applicability of federal procedures.
If a manufacturer has
established or participates in an informal
dispute settlement procedure which
substantially complies with the provisions of
part 703 of title 16 of the code of federal
regulations, as from time to time amended,
the provisions of section 42-10-103 (1)
concerning refunds or replacement shall not
apply to any consumer who has not first
resorted to such procedure.
42-10-107 Statute of
limitations.
Any action brought to
enforce the provisions of this article shall
be commenced within six months following the
expiration date of any warranty term or
within one year following the date of the
original delivery of a motor vehicle to a
consumer, whichever is the earlier date;
except that the statute of limitations shall
be tolled during the period the consumer has
submitted to arbitration under section
42-10-106.
source:
Center for Auto Safety http://www.autosafety.org/
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