Is Georgia's Lemon Law a lemon?   By Clark Howard, Channel 2's consumer adviser

May 23, 2001 -- The Georgia Lemon Law was designed to get consumers what they paid for -- a new car that runs right. But it doesn't always work for everyone.

Shirley Atkinson-Samms has gone sour over the Georgia lemon law. "I've spent lots of time, lots of money," she said. "Right now (I'm) already out of pocket, over $6,000 in attorney's fees.

All because her brand new Infiniti came with an unwanted option -- a vibrating steering wheel.

She maintains that the car was defective.

So, what makes a defective car a lemon? Here in Georgia, if your car is serviced three times for the same problem within the first 2 years, or 24,000 miles, it's a lemon. The manufacturer has a choice: buy the car back, or give you a new one. If the manufacturer refuses, then you go to state-run arbitration. That's what Shirley did, and she won. "They told Nissan-Infiniti to replace my vehicle," she said.

The arbitration decision only specified a new "Infiniti". But there was a problem. Infiniti no longer makes Shirley's J-30. Infiniti wanted to give Shirley a lower-priced model.

Shirley disagreed saying she was entitled to the higher priced Q-45. So Nissan-Infiniti appealed.

"When an award has been made to the consumer, it means the consumer is to be made whole, and that certainly suggests that they are not going to be given a lesser-valued vehicle," said Barry Reid of the Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs. "I'm puzzled why this matter is still in dispute."

The Georgia Lemon Law gives both the consumer and the carmaker the right to appeal. That sounds fair, but here's the problem. One side is a multi-million dollar corporation with tons of bucks, and plenty of lawyers. The other is a frustrated consumer, who usually doesn't' have the bucks or the time to fight.

"They have deep pockets, and they don't care how long it is dragged out in court," said Shirley Atkinson-Samms.

"It's not fair to the consumer to shoulder that kind of burden," said attorney Alex Simanovsky.

He doesn't use the state lemon law. "We try to negotiate it directly with the manufacturer," Simanovsky said. "I would say in 80% of the cases we are successful in getting the cases resolved before we file a lawsuit."

The Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs says that appeals are rare, and the state Lemon Law process is fair to both sides. "We average about $14.5 million of cars being taken back and replaced for consumers and they pay a staggering $3 dollars to get the service," Reid said.

But guess what? Just days before Shirley's trial, and after two and a half years of fighting, Nissan finally gave in.

"They settled, gave me a check, and took the lemon back," said Shirley Atkinson-Samms.

And in a truly ironic twist, Shirley used that check to buy what she had been asking for all along, a new Infiniti Q-45.

The basic reason I bought another Infiniti was economics," she said. "Economically, it was the best investment for the money. I could get the most vehicle."

www.GeorgiaLemonLaw.com
Simanovsky & Associates
2987 Clairmont Road, Suite 130
Atlanta, Georgia 30329
404-248-6333
1-866-86-LEMON
Fax: 1-877-216-0365

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