Your Rights Under Federal Law: The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, 15 U.S.C. §2301 et seq. (“MMWA”) is a federal law (basically a federal Lemon Law) that applies to all consumer product written warranties including Motor Vehicle and RV/Motor Home warranties. In some instances, the MMWA also incorporates State warranty law for implied warranties. The Statute protects non-motorized RV’s such as travel trailers that would normally not be included in the State Lemon Law, which applies only to motor vehicles and the chassis portion of motor homes. The MMWA also helps Motor Home buyers achieve complete protection of their product by providing a basis for compensation based on the entire warranted product.

In Arizona an RV/Motor Home warranty is breached under the MMWA if defect repairs are untimely, repetitive, or unreasonably numerous.

The main remedy for an RV/Motor Home limited warranty breach under the MMWA is diminution in value damages. Diminution in value means that a Motor Home was not worth what you paid for it at the time of purchase (the sales price) because of its defects. Basically, you should get money back from the RV manufacturer because you did not get the new RV value you paid for, but instead got the equivalent of a used worn-down RV that should have cost substantially less.

Your Rights Under State Law: The Arizona Commercial Code and The Arizona Lemon Law

Under the Arizona Commercial Code, the buyer of an RV motor home or travel trailer may be able to revoke acceptance of the defective product and undo the purchase to obtain his or her money back. Generally, the buyer may revoke his acceptance if: 1) there is a defect that substantially impairs its value of the RV; 2) the buyer accepted the RV with the reasonable assumption that the defect would be reasonably cured and it has not been seasonably cured; and 3) the revocation of acceptance occurs within a reasonable time.

The Arizona Lemon Law provides coverage for the “motor vehicle” part of you motor home i.e. its chassis, chassis cab, and propulsion system. The Law is violated when a manufacturer has failed to repair the defects in your motor home in a reasonable time or number of repair visits. The remedies for a Lemon Law violation may in some instances include a refund/repurchase.

My Arizona Lemon Law Rights – Consumer Rights Protection Center