Delaware lemon law: when your car is a lemon and how to claim
In Delaware, a new car counts as a lemon after 4 repairs for the same problem or more than 30 calendar days in the shop within the first 12 months. First, send the manufacturer a written notice: the free letter below does it.
Checked against official sources: Oct 22, 2026
Your next 4 steps in Delaware
Keep every repair order
Get a written repair order at every visit, with the date, mileage and days in the shop. In Delaware, a car is presumed a lemon after 4 repairs for the same problem or more than 30 calendar days in the shop.
Send the manufacturer a written notice
Send the manufacturer direct written notice of the defect and give it a chance to repair it. Write your notice letter ↓
Let the manufacturer make its final repair attempt
If the manufacturer asks for one more repair after your notice, take the car in and get a repair order.
Ask for a refund or replacement, use arbitration, or call a lawyer
If your manufacturer has a dispute program that meets the state’s rules (check your warranty booklet), you may have to use it first. See the Arbitration section below. If you win, the court can make the manufacturer pay your lawyer (see What you can get), so many lemon law lawyers charge nothing up front.
When a car is a lemon in Delaware
Within the warranty term or 1 year from delivery (whichever ends first), your car is presumed a lemon if: (1) substantially the same defect was repaired 4 or more times and still exists; or (2) the car was out of service for repairs a total of more than 30 calendar days, counted from the first day you bring it in and the shop writes up the problem. The defect must substantially impair the car's use, value, or safety. The presumption only works against the manufacturer if it first got direct written notice from you (or someone for you) and had a chance to fix the defect.
Period: The manufacturer's express warranty term or 1 year from original delivery, whichever ends first. There is no mileage limit in the law.
Is your car a lemon in Delaware? A quick check
Notice to the manufacturer
Send the manufacturer direct written notice of the defect and give it a chance to repair it. The law does not require a specific delivery method such as certified mail.
Arbitration
Maybe — check your warranty booklet for an arbitration program (e.g. BBB AUTO LINE). Delaware has no state-run program. If the manufacturer's informal dispute program has an annual certificate of approval from the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Unit, you must use it first; if not, you can go straight to court. Certified programs must hold hearings in Delaware and decide within 65 days. The Consumer Protection Unit lists American Honda Motor Company as a registered manufacturer.
What you can get
Your choice of a comparable new replacement acceptable to you or a repurchase; you have the unqualified right to refuse a replacement and demand a refund. A refund covers the full purchase price, including credits and allowances for any trade-in, plus related purchase costs such as sales tax, registration fees, and dealer preparation fees. The manufacturer may subtract a use allowance of no more than purchase price × (miles driven before you first reported the defect ÷ 100,000), plus an allowance for damage beyond normal wear and tear not caused by the defect.
Attorney fees: Yes, at the court's discretion. The court may award you costs and reasonable attorney fees in a lemon law suit (6 Del. C. § 5005).
Free lemon law notice letter
Most states require you to tell the manufacturer in writing and give it a last chance to fix the car. Fill this in, download the letter, sign it and mail it to the manufacturer. Keep a copy.
Send it by certified mail with return receipt so you have proof, and keep the receipt.
Who to contact
- Office
- Delaware Department of Justice, Consumer Protection Unit
- Phone
- 800-220-5424
What the law covers
- New vehicles
- Yes
- Used vehicles
- No
- Leased vehicles
- Not specified
- Which vehicles
- New passenger motor vehicles bought or leased in Delaware or registered by the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles. The living quarters of motor homes are excluded.
- Who can claim
- The buyer (not someone buying to resell), anyone the car is transferred to while the manufacturer's express warranty is still in effect, and anyone else entitled to enforce the warranty.
Used cars in Delaware
The Attorney General says the Delaware Lemon Law applies only to new vehicles. Delaware has no separate used-car lemon law.
Good to know
- A violation of the lemon law is also an unlawful practice under Delaware's Consumer Fraud Act (6 Del. C. § 2513).
- If the manufacturer replaces a car it financed, it cannot make you sign a new loan with worse terms than the original.
Questions about Delaware's lemon law
How many repair attempts make a car a lemon in Delaware?
Within the warranty term or 1 year from delivery (whichever ends first), your car is presumed a lemon if: (1) substantially the same defect was repaired 4 or more times and still exists; or (2) the car was out of service for repairs a total of more than 30 calendar days, counted from the first day you bring it in and the shop writes up the problem. The defect must substantially impair the car's use, value, or safety. The presumption only works against the manufacturer if it first got direct written notice from you (or someone for you) and had a chance to fix the defect.
How long does Delaware's lemon law cover a car?
The manufacturer's express warranty term or 1 year from original delivery, whichever ends first. There is no mileage limit in the law.
Do I have to notify the manufacturer in Delaware?
Send the manufacturer direct written notice of the defect and give it a chance to repair it. The law does not require a specific delivery method such as certified mail.
Do I have to go to arbitration in Delaware?
Delaware has no state-run program. If the manufacturer's informal dispute program has an annual certificate of approval from the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Unit, you must use it first; if not, you can go straight to court. Certified programs must hold hearings in Delaware and decide within 65 days. The Consumer Protection Unit lists American Honda Motor Company as a registered manufacturer.
What can I get under Delaware's lemon law?
Your choice of a comparable new replacement acceptable to you or a repurchase; you have the unqualified right to refuse a replacement and demand a refund. A refund covers the full purchase price, including credits and allowances for any trade-in, plus related purchase costs such as sales tax, registration fees, and dealer preparation fees. The manufacturer may subtract a use allowance of no more than purchase price × (miles driven before you first reported the defect ÷ 100,000), plus an allowance for damage beyond normal wear and tear not caused by the defect.
Does Delaware's lemon law cover used cars?
The Attorney General says the Delaware Lemon Law applies only to new vehicles. Delaware has no separate used-car lemon law.
Car not covered, or the period has passed? Federal warranty law may still help, and small claims court can handle smaller repair bills.
Federal warranty lawSources
- Delaware Code Title 6, Chapter 50 – Automobile Warranties (Delaware General Assembly)
- Delaware Department of Justice – Delaware Lemon Law
- Delaware Department of Justice – Consumer Protection Unit
Last checked: Oct 22, 2026.
Law: Delaware Lemon Law (Automobile Warranties), Del. Code Ann. tit. 6, §§ 5001–5009