BILL TO PUT MOTORCRAFT AND MOTORCYCLES UNDER LEMON LAW POWERS THROUGH
SENATE CONSUMER COMMITTEE
HARRISBURG –The Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure
Committee gave unanimous approval to a measure offered by Sen. Stewart J.
Greenleaf to extend the provisions of the State's Automobile Lemon Law to
motorcycles and motorboats, including personal watercraft.
The Automobile Lemon Law currently applies to the purchase or lease of
a defective new motor vehicle that is used primarily for personal, family,
or household purposes. Under its provisions, a manufacturer or dealer is
given three attempts to repair a defect that substantially impairs the
operation, value, or safety of the motor vehicle when the defect has
occurred within one year of delivery, 12,000 miles, or the term of the
warranty—whichever comes first. If the nonconformity cannot be corrected
after three repair attempts, the manufacturer must replace the motor
vehicle with a vehicle of equal value or refund the purchase or lease
price, less a reasonable allowance for the purchaser's use that does not
exceed 10 cents per mile driver or 10 percent of the price—whichever is
less.
Under Senate Bill 216, purchasers or lessees of new motorized
watercraft and motorcycles would have recourse if their new motorcycle or
motorboat is defective.
Greenleaf noted that 26 other states provide similar protections to
those who purchase new motorcycles. "The cost of a new motorcycle or
motorized watercraft is significant and, in some cases, can exceed the
cost of a motor vehicle. Consumers of these items need Lemon Law
protections so that they will receive an operable conveyance of equal
value or be refunded for the defective product when their new purchase
cannot be made operable or safe in three repair attempts," Greenleaf said.
There are 233,237 registered motorcycles in the commonwealth, and,
according to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, there are 359,000
registered boat owners.
The motorcyclist advocacy group A.B.A.T.E. of Pennsylvania supports
the Greenleaf proposal.
