Boston Lemon Law

Most Boston consumers begin with the state-certified arbitration program run by the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation (OCABR), which has its main office at 501 Boylston Street in Back Bay. For new vehicles, you must submit your arbitration application within 18 months of original delivery; the manufacturer is then required to participate and a decision issues within 45 days. If you would rather skip arbitration or appeal an adverse decision, you can file a civil action in Suffolk Superior Court at 3 Pemberton Square or in Boston Municipal Court, typically pleading both the lemon-law violation and a Chapter 93A unfair-practices count.

Boston's freeze-thaw cycles and heavy road-salt application from December through March accelerate corrosion on brake components, exhaust hangers, and underbody electrical connectors, and they push 12V and traction batteries to the edge of their operating range. That matters for a lemon-law claim because defects must surface within the 12-month or 15,000-mile coverage window under M.G.L. c. 90, § 7N1/2, and many cold-weather faults like ABS sensor errors, no-starts, and HVAC failures appear only in January or February. Keep dated repair orders for every visit because each documented attempt counts toward the three-repair presumption, even if the dealer notes 'no problem found.'

Massachusetts's New Car Lemon Law covers vehicles bought or leased primarily for personal, family, or household use. If you bought a vehicle mostly to drive for Uber, Lyft, or a delivery platform, the manufacturer will likely argue the car is a business vehicle and outside § 7N1/2. However, many Boston rideshare drivers also use their cars as a primary family vehicle, and Massachusetts courts look at the predominant use rather than any incidental commercial activity. If the vehicle is also your daily personal car, you may still qualify; if it is dedicated commercial use, your remedies typically fall under federal Magnuson-Moss and Chapter 93A instead.

Yes. Massachusetts is the only state with a true used-car lemon law, M.G.L. c. 90, § 7N1/4. Any Boston dealer selling a used vehicle for at least $700 with fewer than 125,000 miles must provide a tiered written warranty: 90 days or 3,750 miles for vehicles under 40,000 miles; 60 days or 2,500 miles for 40,000-79,999 miles; and 30 days or 1,250 miles for 80,000-124,999 miles. If the dealer cannot fix a substantial defect after three attempts or ten business days out of service during that warranty, you are entitled to a refund minus 15 cents per mile driven. Private-party sales in Boston have a narrower 30-day implied warranty.

Under § 7N1/2 you can elect either a comparable replacement vehicle or a refund of the purchase price including sales tax, registration, finance charges, and incidental costs like towing and rentals, less a mileage offset equal to the contract price times miles driven divided by 100,000. Because a lemon-law violation is automatically an unfair and deceptive act under Chapter 93A, a Suffolk County judge must award double to triple actual damages plus reasonable attorney's fees if the manufacturer's conduct was willful or knowing, or if it refused a reasonable settlement offer in bad faith. That multiplier is one reason Massachusetts is considered one of the most consumer-friendly venues in the country.

For new vehicles you must apply for OCABR arbitration within 18 months of original delivery to preserve the manufacturer's mandatory participation. Civil actions under the new-car statute should be filed within two years, and pure Chapter 93A unfair-practices claims carry a four-year statute of limitations measured from the date of the deceptive act. Used-vehicle § 7N1/4 cases must be filed within two years of original delivery. Federal Magnuson-Moss claims piggyback on the four-year UCC warranty period running from the date you took delivery, so combined pleading is common in Suffolk Superior Court.

For most Boston consumers, yes. The OCABR program is free to apply, manufacturers are required to participate for new vehicles within the 18-month window, and decisions come down within 45 days, which is far faster than litigation in Suffolk Superior Court. The arbitrator's award is binding on the manufacturer but not on you, so you can reject an adverse decision and refile in court. You can also use the state program even if you previously went through a manufacturer-sponsored BBB AUTO LINE arbitration, which is unusual nationally. The main downside is that arbitration awards do not include the Chapter 93A multiplier, so consumers with strong willful-conduct evidence sometimes go straight to court.