How to Get Rid of Your Lemon RV

1. Get Your Records Together

  • Organize Your Repair Orders in Chronological Order
  • Obtain a Vehicle Warranty Repair History from Your Dealer
  • Double Check Entries on Repair Orders for Accuracy
  • Compare Repair History to Your Repair Orders and Contact Dealer for any Missing copies
  • Gather Sales and Financing Paperwork Organize Warranty Documents
  • Organize Emails and Correspondence with the Manufacturer and Dealer in Chronological Order
  • Outline or Write A Diary Summarizing What You Have Been Through Because of Your Defective RV

2. Know Your State's RV Lemon Law

Every state has a Lemon Law and every manufacturer will know whether an RV is covered or not and what the definition of a lemon is in your state. You need to know that too. A great outline of all 50 US RV & Motorhome Lemon Laws (complete with your state definition of a lemon vehicle and the citation to find the law so you can read it for yourself) can be found on this web page: Find Your State RV Lemon Law. Make sure you understand the law before you waste time arguing about it. If your state law doesn’t cover you, or you don’t have a lemon, then keep taking your vehicle back to the RV dealer’s repair shop until you clearly meet the definition. The better your case, the more likely you’ll get the settlement you want. And if your state Lemon Law doesn’t cover RV’s, don’t worry because the federal RV Lemon Law does.

3. Answer the Following Question: What Do You Want the RV Manufacturer to Do?

Decide what you want to settle your dispute. Do you want a buyback or a replacement or just some money? If you want a replacement, most RV manufacturers will want you to pay for any difference in sticker price but many Lemon Laws say you don’t have to do. Regardless of whether you want a repurchase or a replacement, they may also want you to pay a usage fee but many Lemon Laws say you don’t have to do that either. Generally, you are entitled to get back all your loan payments, your down payment, the value of your trade in vehicle, any permanent improvements you made to the RV, and make the manufacturer pay off the loan. But, in this kind of economy, that result is not going to be easy or quick – especially if you attempt to resolve this on your own.

4. Can I Handle This Myself?

The short answer is maybe. First, you will need to write a detailed demand letter to the manufacturer including pertinent details about your RV, the problems you have experienced and what you want to settle your case. Be sure to give them a deadline to respond to your demand or they may never respond. The deadline may help to push your claim through the system. If they ignore you, write a complaint letter to everyone you can think of including the selling dealership, the finance company who financed your purchase, your local TV station or newspaper consumer reporter, your local Better Business Bureau, maybe even your state’s Attorney General (they generally are the ones who enforce the state Lemon Law). Try to make it one page long and just explain what you bought, what went wrong, why the manufacturer and dealer aren’t helping you, why you think their decision is wrong, and ask for help. Don’t expect much help, but send a copy of your letters to the RV manufacturer every time too. The more you complain, the more likely it is they will want to do something to make you “go away.” If you don’t get what you want, then it is time to find an experienced Lemon Law attorney to evaluate your claim and recommend how the claim needs to proceed.

5. Why Hire a Lemon Law Attorney?

We don’t suggest you hire just any attorney. You need to hire a Lemon Law attorney with considerable experience handling RV cases to get the result you want in the shortest amount of time. State RV Lemon Laws can be confusing (so can the federal Lemon Law too) and there are enough gray areas that RV manufacturers can still argue. An experienced Lemon Law attorney will know which state laws are better than others since so many RV owners buy their RV in one state, have repairs done in one or more states, and maintain permanent residence in yet another state. An experienced Lemon Law attorney that routinely deals with RV manufacturers and their attorneys will know those manufacturers that are more willing to settle and those that don’t. RV manufacturers also know who the RV Lemon Law lawyers are and they know which ones will fight them hard and which ones never go to court. Find one that will fight for you.

DISCLAIMER: Burdge Law Office websites are provided as a public service by our Consumer Protection Law firm for information purposes only. The information on our web sites is intended for consumers only and is not intended to be specific legal advice and should not be taken or construed as legal advice because each case’s facts are different. Visiting our web sites and emails sent to or received from our law firm do not constitute an attorney-client relationship with Burdge Law Office unless a written attorney-client agreement has been entered into with Burdge Law Office. 

We strongly advise consumers to contact the Consumer Law attorneys at Burdge Law Office by phone (1.888.331.6422) or email info@burdgelaw.com with your specific questions and to get specific answers to your problems.