Lemon law in Georgia

At a glance

Who qualifies

Which vehicles

New cars and other self-propelled road vehicles bought, leased, or registered in Georgia. Trucks over 12,000 pounds GVWR, motorcycles, and golf carts are not covered.

“The term "new motor vehicle" also does not include trucks with more than 12,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating, motorcycles, or golf carts.”

consumer.georgia.gov

Repair attempts

The same defect has been repaired 3 times during the rights period and is still not fixed.

“(B) The same nonconformity has been subject to repair three times, and the nonconformity has not been corrected;”

consumer.georgia.gov

Serious safety defects

A serious safety defect that has been repaired once and is still not fixed counts as a reasonable number of attempts.

“(A) A serious safety defect has been subject to repair one time and the serious safety defect has not been corrected;”

consumer.georgia.gov

Days out of service

The vehicle is out of service for repairs for a total of 30 days during the rights period. Days means calendar days.

“(C) The vehicle is out of service by reason of repair of one or more nonconformities for a cumulative total of 30 days.”

consumer.georgia.gov

Used vehicles

No. A vehicle whose title shows it as used is not covered by this law.

“The term "new motor vehicle" does not include any vehicle on which the title and other transfer documents show a used, rather than new, vehicle.”

consumer.georgia.gov

Leased vehicles

Yes. A person who leases a new vehicle for personal, family, or household use is covered.

“"Consumer" means each of the following: (A) A person who purchases or leases a new motor vehicle for personal, family, or household use and not for the purpose of selling or leasing the new motor vehicle to another person;”

consumer.georgia.gov

Deadlines

Protection period

2 years after delivery or the first 24,000 miles, whichever comes first.

“"Lemon law rights period" means the period ending two years after the date of the original delivery of a new motor vehicle to a consumer or the first 24,000 miles of operation after delivery of a new motor vehicle to the original consumer, whichever occurs first.”

consumer.georgia.gov

Time limit to file

You must apply to the Attorney General for arbitration within 1 year after the rights period ends, or within 60 days after the manufacturer's certified program ends, whichever is later.

“The application must be filed no later than one year from the date of expiration of the lemon law rights period or 60 days from the conclusion of the certified informal dispute settlement mechanism's proceeding, whichever occurs later.”

consumer.georgia.gov

Steps

1. Keep every repair order. Each visit to the dealer should give you a work order with the date, the mileage, what you reported and what they did. Ask for one every time, even when they find nothing. These papers are your case.
2. Check the dates. 2 years after delivery or the first 24,000 miles, whichever comes first. You must apply to the Attorney General for arbitration within 1 year after the rights period ends, or within 60 days after the manufacturer's certified program ends, whichever is later.
3. Tell the manufacturer in writing. The law asks for written notice. See written notice below.
4. Use the dispute program if one is required. See arbitration below for whether you must go there before court.
5. Ask for a refund or a replacement, or file. Send the letter, then file before the time limit if the manufacturer will not buy the vehicle back or replace it.

Written notice

After the repair attempts, you must notify the manufacturer by certified mail or overnight delivery, and it gets 28 days for a final repair attempt.

“The manufacturer shall have 28 days from its receipt of the notice to make a final attempt to repair and correct the nonconformity.”

consumer.georgia.gov

Arbitration

If the manufacturer has a dispute program certified by the Attorney General, you must use it first. You must then use the free State-Operated Arbitration run by the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division before you can sue under this law.

“This office also provides, at no cost to the parties, State-Operated Arbitration.”

consumer.georgia.gov

What you get

You choose a repurchase or a replacement. A repurchase pays the purchase price plus collateral charges and incidental costs, minus a reasonable offset for use.

“the manufacturer shall pay to the consumer an amount equal to the purchase price of the nonconforming new motor vehicle plus all collateral charges and incidental costs, less a reasonable offset for use of the nonconforming new motor vehicle.”

consumer.georgia.gov

Do it yourself

You can bring a lemon law claim without a lawyer. It takes letters, records and patience. The usual route:

1. Put your repair orders in date order and count the attempts and the days out of service.
2. Send the manufacturer the letter below, by a tracked method, to the address in your owner's manual or warranty booklet.
3. If it offers a final repair, let it try within the time the law gives it.
4. If it refuses or does not answer, file with the manufacturer's dispute program or the state program (Georgia Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division), then court if you need to.
5. Do not sell or trade in the vehicle while the claim is open.

[Your name]
[Your address]
[Date]

[Manufacturer name]
[Address from your owner's manual or warranty booklet]

Re: Lemon law claim, [year make model], VIN [VIN]

I bought (or leased) this vehicle on [date] from [dealer], in Georgia. It has a defect that the dealer has not been able to fix: [describe it in one or two sentences].

It has been in for repair of this defect [number] times, on [dates], and out of service for a total of [number] days. Copies of the repair orders are enclosed.

Under Georgia Lemon Law (O.C.G.A. §§ 10-1-780 to 10-1-798), I ask you to repurchase or replace the vehicle. Please reply in writing within 15 days. I can bring the vehicle in for a final repair attempt if the law gives you one.

[Your name]
[Phone and email]

What a buyback pays in Georgia

The law asks for a reasonable allowance for your use without a fixed formula. Makers and courts often use the one several states write into law: the price times the miles driven before the first repair visit for the defect, divided by 120,000. For a $40,000 car with 6,000 miles at the first repair and 15,000 now, that is about $2,000.

Estimate your buyback

Questions people ask about Georgia's lemon law

Find a Georgia lemon law lawyer

The arbitrators may award attorney fees and expert witness fees to a consumer who wins.

“The arbitrator or arbitrators also may award attorney's fees and technical or expert witness fees to a consumer who prevails.”

consumer.georgia.gov

Because the manufacturer usually pays the lawyer's fees when you win, most lemon law lawyers charge you nothing up front. A lawyer also knows what the manufacturer offers in cases like yours and what the use deduction should be.

Send the free case check below and we find a lemon law firm that takes Georgia cases like yours. The firm contacts you, and you decide whether to hire them.

Sources

• O.C.G.A. §§ 10-1-780 to 10-1-798, Georgia Lemon Law
• Georgia Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division
• Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, 15 U.S.C. § 2310, the federal warranty law that also lets owners recover attorney fees.

Each quote above is copied from the page it links to, checked 2026-10-26. If a page has moved, the citation still finds the law.