Many state lemon laws only give you a repurchase or a replacement vehicle. In West Virginia, you have more options. If you get stuck with a lemon in West Viriginia, you could get a repurchase, or “buyback”, diminished value, damages for the cost of repairs, and/or damages for annoyance, loss of use, or inconvenience, plus reasonable attorneys’ fees. You can be awarded all or just a portion of these remedies.
What is Included in a Repurchase
A repurchase refunds your purchase price, sales tax, license and registration fees, and other reasonable expenses. The expenses usually include interest you’ve paid on your loan, though not insurance. If you still owe money on the vehicle, the manufacturer pays off the remaining loan balance on top of giving you back the money you’ve paid.
Negative Equity on Trade
One tricky situation comes up when a dealer rolls negative equity into the price of your new car. Negative equity means you owe more on your trade-in than the dealer gives you in trade credit. The dealer then covers that gap by inflating both the purchase price and the trade-in credit. West Virginia courts haven’t directly ruled on whether a manufacturer can pay back only what your trade-in was really worth at the time, instead of the inflated amount listed on the purchase agreement. There is a strong argument that you should be reimbursed for the amount shown on your paperwork, not whatever lower number the dealer now claims the trade-in was worth.
What Cars are Eligible for Lemon
The West Virginia Lemon Law isn’t just for new cars — it also covers used vehicles still under the manufacturer’s warranty. Your best shot at a repurchase is with a new vehicle that’s had at least three repair attempts for the same problem, or spent 30 days in the shop, all within the first year. If your new or used vehicle doesn’t quite meet that three-repairs-or-30-days threshold, a repurchase still isn’t off the table — it’s just a much tougher case to make.
No Mileage Deduction in West Virginia
One thing other states allow that West Virginia doesn’t: a mileage deduction. Some manufacturers will tell West Virginia car owners that “loss of use” gives them the right to dock the refund for the miles you’ve driven — it doesn’t. A manufacturer can ask you to negotiate a mileage deduction, but nothing in the West Virginia Lemon Law actually entitles them to one.
West Virginia also doesn’t offer the typical Lemon Law option of a replacement vehicle instead of a repurchase. Before 2020, manufacturers were generally willing to swap for a replacement vehicle instead of a repurchase once a vehicle was deemed a lemon. That’s changed. Even in states where replacement is offered as an option under the Lemon Law, manufacturers are now very reluctant to actually agree to one.
Manufacturers often tell consumers that the West Virginia Lemon Law gives them fewer rights or less money than it actually does. If you have a Lemon vehicle in West Virginia, contact attorney Christina Gill Roseman at Roseman Law Firm at 800-745-5259 to get accurate information on your rights.