CAR MAKERS, DEALERS MAY BE JAILED
AND FINED IF THEY VIOLATE SALES WARRANTIES

Buyers of motor vehicles which turn out to be defective are given ample protection under a newly-approved Senate bill in terms of repairs or replacement in compliance with the terms of warranties by the car manufacturers and dealers.

Under Senate Bill 2464, known as the ?Lemon Act of 2007,? the car makers or dealers can be penalized with two to six year imprisonment or a fine of not less than P200,000, or both, if they renege on their obligations as stipulated in the warranty.

Minority Leader Aquilino ?Nene? Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban), one of the principal authors of the Lemon Act, said the measure was approved by the Senate in response to the rampant complaints from consumers against car makers and dealers for refusing to abide by the warranties.

Pimentel stressed that victims of false or fraudulent car warranties should not be helpless in seeking legal remedies and damages.

?Not only do these poor-quality vehicles shortchange their buyers or owners, they also endanger the lives and limbs of the drivers and passengers,? he said.

Pimentel said he expects the House of Representatives to approve its version of the Lemon Act. Final approval of the measure is seen when Congress resumes session after the mid-term elections in June.

The bill defines warranty as the obligation of the manufacturer in relation to materials, workmanship and fitness of a motor vehicle for ordinary use or reasonable intended purposes throughout the duration of the lemon law rights period.

The lemon rights period shall mean ?the period ending 18 months after the date of the original delivery to the consumer of a new motor vehicle.? This is the period when the consumer can report any non-conformity to the manufacturer and pursue any rights provided under this Act.

SB 2464 provides that ?if a motor vehicle does not conform to all warranties and the consumer reports the non-conformity, the manufacturer, its agents, its authorized dealer or the seller in case of second-hand motor vehicles, during the warranty period, shall make such repairs, free of any charges, as are necessary to make the vehicle conform to such warranties, notwithstanding the fact that such repairs are made after the expiration of the manufacturer?s or seller?s warranty period.?

The bill also provides that if the manufacturer and the agent or seller, in case of second-hand vehicles, do not repair or correct the defects, after a reasonable number of attempts within the lemon rights period, the manufacturer or seller shall replace the motor vehicle with a comparable car.

It says that the manufacturer or seller of the motor vehicle may accept the return of the vehicle and refund to the buyer the full purchase price, including all collateral and incidental charges less the reasonable allowance for the buyer?s use of the vehicle up to the date of the first notice of non-conformity that is given to the manufacturer, agent or dealer.

Pimentel said that since the purchase of a motor vehicle, next to a residential house, is the biggest investment of the ordinary Filipino workers, the government is duty-bound to protect their interest in case the car maker and dealer fail to honor the product warranty issued to them.

?It is unfortunate that many consumers would find out too late that the motor vehicles sold to them do not live up to the quality and specifications advertised by the manufacturer and seller. Hence, they end up with poor quality vehicles or lemons that endanger the lives and limbs of their passengers and the general public,? he said.