Criteria

• According to the Nebraska Lemon Law, a car must be less than one year old, purchased in Nebraska, and under warranty to qualify as a lemon. You must also have brought the vehicle to the dealer four or more times to repair the same problem or have been without use of the vehicle for 40 or more days due to a defect.
  
  

Remedies

• The Nebraska Lemon Law allows car buyers either to use informal arbitration or to sue a car manufacturer in court if they believe they have purchased a car that qualifies as a lemon. If the courts or arbiter decide the car is a lemon, the manufacturer must pay the buyer the purchase price of the vehicle, any expenses related to taxes and licenses and any other governmental charges incurred. The arbiter or court may decide to reduce the amount the manufacturer owes based on how long the owner actually had use of the vehicle.
  
  

Arbitration

• Resolving a lemon law dispute with arbitration is faster and less expensive than taking a car manufacturer to court. With this informal process, you and the car manufacturer testify before an arbiter about the condition of your vehicle and its history of repairs. The arbiter then makes a decision on whether the manufacturer should reimburse you for the car based on the facts presented. Cases usually take about 40 days from the time of the arbitration hearing. If the arbiter decides in the car manufacturer's favor, you may still sue in court.
  
  

Making a Case

• To prove your car is a lemon, you may hire an attorney to help you present your best case. With or without an attorney, you will need to provide the arbiter with all of the records for each time you brought the car to the dealership for repairs. Be sure to include records of visits where the dealership performed diagnostic tests as well as when the shop made actual repairs.
  
  

Warnings

• Trailers and self-propelled motor homes do not qualify for Nebraska Lemon Law protection. Also, a car brought to the dealership numerous times for a minor problem may not qualify as a lemon. A used car that is sold "as is," even if it is under one year old, does not have any protection under the Nebraska Lemon Law since it has no warranty.