If you're not offered a satisfactory settlement, you can submit your dispute to arbitration, which is free and designed to take place without a lawyer. At the arbitration hearing, the arbitrator hears both sides of the dispute. The arbitrator has approximately 60 days to decide if your car is a lemon and if you're entitled to a refund or a replacement. Consumers who bring substantial documentation to the hearing tend to do better than those with little evidence to back up their claims. If you don't like the ruling, you can usually sue the manufacturer in court.
Many automobile manufacturers have secret warranty, or warranty adjustment, programs.
Under one of these programs, a manufacturer makes repairs for free on vehicles with persistent problems after a warranty expires in order to avoid a recall and bad press. According to the Center for Auto Safety, at any given time there are a total of 500 secret warranty programs available through automobile manufacturers. Unfortunately, consumers aren't told of these secret warranties unless they come forward after the warranty has expired, complain about a problem and demand that the manufacturer repair it. A few states, including California, Connecticut, Virginia and Wisconsin, require manufacturers to tell eligible consumers when they adopt a secret warranty program, usually within 90 days of adopting the program. Deal with debts, negotiate with creditors and stop collection harassment.