Purchasing a lemon either new or used can be truly devastating to personal finances. Repeated car repairs can become massively expensive, and the constant breakdowns could cost you your job and seriously disrupt your life. Luckily, you have recourses under the law and there are ways to prevent yourself from going too far into the hole by acting quickly and noticing the signs that your car is deficient early while there's still time to negotiate a return with the dealership.

If your car breaks down or has some sort of relatively serious problem in the first few weeks of driving it, start worrying. Early breakdowns are not normal, and should not be tolerated in any new car. There are both Federal and State lemon laws that can help you get some of your money back if you need to incur a certain number of repairs during a short period of time during which your car is still under warranty. If your car is determined to be a lemon after an investigation, you will likely be entitled to a full refund or a replacement car.

The rates of lemon production have decreased a great deal in recent years, but there are still flaws that can crop up during the manufacturing process. Take early breakdowns and repairs seriously. If one happens in the first few months of driving your car, you should immediately investigate your state lemon laws and be sure to keep extensive records of the problems that you're having with your car. The sooner that you start the process, the less money that you will lose repairing a bum automobile.