Bowling Green Lemon Law

Kentucky lemon-law actions under KRS 367.840-846 are filed in Kentucky Circuit Court in the county of your residence or where the vehicle was purchased. For Bowling Green residents, that is the Warren Circuit Court (8th Judicial Circuit), located at the Warren County Justice Center, 1001 Center Street downtown. If you bought your vehicle in another county - common for buyers who shop Nashville or Louisville metro dealers - you may also file in that county. Most lemon-law cases proceed in the civil division. If the manufacturer runs a Magnuson-Moss-compliant arbitration program, you typically must submit there first.

Kentucky has the shortest lemon-law rights window in the country - 12 months from delivery OR 12,000 miles, whichever comes first. Inside that window you must hit one of two presumption triggers: the same nonconformity subject to repair four or more times, OR the vehicle out of service for warranty repair for 30 or more cumulative days. Then you must give the manufacturer written notice (certified mail recommended) and a final opportunity to cure. I-65 commuters can hit 12,000 miles in under a year, so document every defect immediately on a written repair order.

Yes. KRS 367.840-846 covers all new motor vehicles sold or leased in Kentucky for personal, family, or household use under 12,000 pounds GVWR, including high-performance vehicles like the Corvette. The lemon-law analysis is the same whether the vehicle is a Cruze or a Corvette: four repair attempts on the same nonconformity, OR 30 cumulative days out of service for warranty repair, inside 12 months / 12,000 miles, triggers the presumption. High-performance vehicles can be especially complicated because some defects (transmission, electronics, infotainment) require specialized diagnostics - keep every repair order from the very first visit.

If your manufacturer maintains an informal dispute settlement procedure that substantially complies with the federal Magnuson-Moss regulations at 16 C.F.R. Part 703, KRS 367.840-846 requires you to submit there before invoking the statutory refund or replacement remedy. Most major manufacturers - GM (whose Bowling Green Assembly Plant builds the Corvette), Ford, Stellantis, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Kia - run BBB AUTO LINE or a similar qualifying program. Kentucky does not operate a state-administered arbitration program. The arbitrator's decision is not binding on you, so if unfair you can still file in Warren Circuit Court.

No. KRS 367.840-846 explicitly limits coverage to new motor vehicles. If you bought a used vehicle from a Warren County dealer and it has serious defects, your remedies are the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (for any active manufacturer written warranty still in effect), UCC implied warranties of merchantability under KRS 355.2-314 (unless validly disclaimed in an 'as-is' sale), and the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act (KRS 367.170) for deceptive seller conduct. The KCPA authorizes civil penalties up to $2,000 per violation.

KRS 367.846 sets a two-year statute of limitations measured from the expiration of the manufacturer's express warranty - not from delivery and not from when you discovered the defect. Because most new-car warranties run three years / 36,000 miles or longer, Kentucky's effective filing window is often longer than the typical UCC four-year clock. You still must have first triggered the lemon-law presumption inside the 12-month / 12,000-mile rights window with four repair attempts or 30 days out of service on a substantial nonconformity.

Whether Kentucky's KRS 367.840 or Tennessee's lemon law (Tenn. Code 55-24-201 et seq.) applies depends primarily on where the sale or lease closed. If you signed at a Nashville-area Tennessee dealership, Tennessee law and venue likely apply; if you signed at a Bowling Green dealership, Kentucky law and Warren Circuit Court likely apply. The two statutes differ - Tennessee gives you 12 months / 12,000 miles or one year/the warranty term, and similar repair-attempt thresholds. Talk to a lemon-law attorney about which forum best fits your facts before filing.