The purpose of this paper is to review the trend in federal and state legislation to solve the warranty-related problems of purchasers of new automobiles with serious mechanical problems which cannot be eliminated by a reasonable number of repair attempts. These cars are commonly called “lemons.” The managerial implications of these trends with respect to the consumer-complaining literature are discussed.
BeardenWilliam O. (1983), “Profiling Consumers Who Register Complaints Against Auto Repair Services,”The Journal of Consumer Affairs17 (Winter), 315–35.
3.
BeardenWilliam O. and CrockettMelissa (1981), “Self-Monitoring, Norms, and Attitudes as Influences on Consumer Complaining,”Journal of Business Research9 (Sept.), 255–66.
4.
BiehalGabriel (1983), “Consumers’ Prior Experience and Perceptions in Auto Repair Choice,”Journal of Marketing47 (Summer), 82–91.
5.
California Civil Code. Enacted 1982. §1793.2.
6.
ClarkBarkley and DavisMichael (1977), “Beefing-Up Product Warranties: A New Dimension in Consumer Protection,” in Warranties in the Sale of Goods, PLI Handbook Series No. 169, Practicing Law Institute, New York, NY.
7.
Connecticut Public Acts 82–287. Enacted 1982. Connecticut Public Acts 84–388, Amendment enacted 1984.
8.
DidowNicholas M.Jr. and BarksdaleHirom C. (1982), “Conjoint Measurement Experiment of Consumer Complaint Behavior,”Journal of Business Research10 (Dec.), 419–429.
9.
Federal Trade Commission, 1982. Digest of Consumer Complaint Correspondence, 3rd Quarter, FY 1982.
10.
Federal Trade Commission, 1970. Report on Automobile Warranties.
11.
J.D. Power and Associates (1982), Customer Satisfaction Survey (Congressional Hearing, Washington, D.C.), as reported in The Power Newsletter (Sept.), p. 3. Cited in Testimony on Lemon Laws, Center for Auto Safety (March 8, 1984).
12.
KendallC.L. and RussFrederick A. (1975), “Warranty and Complaint Policies: An Opportunity for Marketing Management,”Journal of Marketing39 (April), 36–43.
13.
LeleMilind M. and KarmarkarUday S. (1983), “Good Product Support Is Smart Marketing,”Harvard Business Review83 (Nov-Dec), 124–32.
14.
The Magnuson-Moss Warranty-Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act (1976). United States Code, Vol. 15, Sections 2301–12.
15.
MetzenbaumHoward (1979), 125 Congressional Record S11691, (Aug. 3).
16.
SansonBarbara E. (1981), “The Automobile Warranty Crisis: Would Enactment of Proposed Amendments Provide a Panacea for the Consumer?”Dickinson Law Review85 (Spring), 409.
17.
ShimpTerence A. and BeardenWilliam O. (1982), “Warranty and Other Extrinsic Cue Effects on Consumers’ Risk Perceptions,”Journal of Consumer Research9 (June), 38–46.
18.
Staff of the House Subcommittee on Commerce and Finance (1974), Report on Consumer Products and Warranties. An earlier study found analogous problems in the home appliance industry; Presidential Task Force (1969). Report on Appliance Warranties and Service.
19.
StokesRaymond C. (1974), “Consumer Complaints and Consumer Dissatisfaction,” The Food and Drug Law Institute, Phoenix, Arizona.
20.
UdellJon G. and AndersonEvan E. (1968), “The Product Warranty as an Element of Competitive Strategy,”Journal of Marketing32 (Summer), 1–8.
21.
Uniform Commercial Code §§2–314, 315.
22.
Uniform Commercial Code §§2301–12, 1976.
23.
WarlandRex H., HerrmannRobert O., and WillitsJane (1975), “Dissatisfied Consumers: Who Gets Upset and Who Takes Action,”Journal of Consumer Affairs6 (Winter), 148–63.
24.
WhitfordP. (1968), “Law and Consumer Transaction: A Case Study of the Automobile Warranty,”Wisconsin Law Review, 1032.
