Cars - Lemon

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	Cars - Lemon

A lemon is a defective car that, when purchased new or used, is found by the purchaser to have numerous or severe defects not readily apparent before the purchase. Any vehicle with these issues can be termed a 'lemon,' and, by extension, any product which has major flaws that render it unfit for its purpose can be described as a 'lemon.'

New

Even though used lemons are more common, new vehicles directly from the factory may contain hidden mechanical flaws or defects in workmanship, usually caused by an error during the build process of the car. These errors can range from parts being installed incorrectly, a tool that was used to build the car not being removed, a batch of materials with structural or chemical flaws or simply bad design. Usually, a car is labeled a lemon if the same problem occurs three times in a row over a short period, and previous attempts at repair have not fixed the problem. In most cases, if you get a lemon, lemon laws will make the company buy back the car or exchange it.

Used

It is more common to get a lemon when buying a used car. Used lemons could be poorly built, poorly repaired, been unprofessionally rebuilt causing the car to act strangely, etc.

Cut and shut

Another form of lemon is called a "cut and shut." This is when someone buys a wrecked car and saws off the wrecked section and replaces it with a matching section from another (similar) car. This is inherently dangerous because at high speeds, or in an accident, the car may come apart. Usually, if half of a car is a different color than the rest of the car, then it is most likely a cut and shut.

Protection

Today, websites like Carfax can help you when buying a used car by giving you a "history report."

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Cars - Lemon

New

Used

Cut and shut

Protection

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