Lemon-aid.

• Position: TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

We call buying a bad automobile getting a lemon; it's deceivingly beautiful in the store, but sour once you bite into it.

The precise definition of a "lemon" varies by state, but in general includes vehicles that have serious problems that remain uncorrected despite attempts to fix them. The car can also be a lemon if it has a series of different problems that make it unavailable to the purchaser for a long period of time, often 30 days.

Consumers purchasing "lemons" can seek legal remedies under the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act or the Uniform Commercial Code. The Uniform Commercial Code is one of a number of acts that attempt to harmonize the law of sales and other commercial transactions in all 50 states.

A third alternative for purchasers of defective cars is to turn to the state lemon law. Designed to offer additional legal remedies for consumers, all 50 states have lemon laws. Under these laws, once an automobile is determined to be a lemon, usually by an independent arbitration board, the manufacturer is required to buy it back. Most states use an informal dispute resolution process for consumers as an alternative to going...