South Carolina lemon law: when your car is a lemon and how to claim

In South Carolina, a new car counts as a lemon after 3 repairs for the same problem or 30 calendar days in the shop within the first 12 months or 12,000 miles. First, send the manufacturer a written notice: the free letter below does it.

Checked against official sources: Oct 22, 2026

12 mo / 12,000 milemon law period

3 triesrepairs for the same problem

30 calendar daysout of service

Maybecheck your warranty booklet for an arbitration program (e.g. BBB AUTO LINE)

3 years from deliverydeadline to sue or file

Get your letter ↓

Your next 4 steps in South Carolina

Keep every repair order
Get a written repair order at every visit, with the date, mileage and days in the shop. In South Carolina, a car is presumed a lemon after 3 repairs for the same problem or 30 calendar days in the shop.
Send the manufacturer a written notice
Before using the lemon law, you must send the manufacturer written notice of the need for repair so it gets a final chance to fix the car, if the manufacturer clearly told you about this requirement when you bought it. Write your notice letter ↓
Let the manufacturer make its final repair attempt
After you send written notice, the manufacturer gets a final chance: it has 10 business days to name a repair shop, then up to 10 business days to fix the car.
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.

When a car is a lemon in South Carolina

Your car is presumed a lemon if the same defect was repaired 3 or more times within the warranty term and still exists, or it was out of service for repairs a total of 30 or more calendar days during the warranty. After you send written notice, the manufacturer gets a final chance: it has 10 business days to name a repair shop, then up to 10 business days to fix the car.

Period: The defect must appear within the first 12 months or 12,000 miles, whichever comes first, and you must report it during the warranty.

Is your car a lemon in South Carolina? A quick check

Notice to the manufacturer

Before using the lemon law, you must send the manufacturer written notice of the need for repair so it gets a final chance to fix the car, if the manufacturer clearly told you about this requirement when you bought it. All required notices must go by registered, certified or express mail (S.C. Code § 56-28-50(B), (E)). The Department of Consumer Affairs offers a sample 'Notice of Final Opportunity to Repair'.

Write your notice letter below.

Arbitration

Maybe — check your warranty booklet for an arbitration program (e.g. BBB AUTO LINE). If the manufacturer has a dispute program that meets the FTC rules (16 CFR Part 703), you must use it before you can get a refund or replacement; it is free to you and its decisions bind the manufacturer. If you are unhappy with the result, you can then sue. The law lets the state set up an arbitration board for manufacturers without a program, but no such board is mentioned on the Department of Consumer Affairs site.

Deadline to sue or file in South Carolina

You must sue within 3 years of the date of original delivery (S.C. Code § 56-28-70).

What you can get

The manufacturer chooses either to replace the vehicle with a comparable one, or to take it back and refund the full purchase price as delivered, including finance charges, sales tax, license and registration fees and similar government charges. It may deduct a use allowance: the full purchase price times the miles driven before your first report of the defect, divided by 120,000.

Attorney fees: A court may award a consumer who wins the costs and expenses of the case, including attorney fees based on actual time spent, unless it finds that inappropriate (§ 56-28-50(D)).

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.

South Carolina law says to send this notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by registered mail, return receipt requested, or by express mail (S.C. Code § 56-28-50(B), (E)). Keep the receipt.

Who to contact

Office: South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs
Phone: 800-922-1594

Official page · Official lemon law guide

Forms

What the law covers

New vehicles: Yes
Used vehicles: No
Leased vehicles: Yes
Which vehicles: New private passenger vehicles (cars, vans, small trucks) and motorcycles, including three-wheel motorcycles, sold and registered in South Carolina. Demonstrators count as new. The living portion of recreational vehicles and off-road vehicles are excluded. The vehicle must be normally used for personal, family or household purposes.
Who can claim: The buyer (not for resale) of a vehicle covered by the manufacturer's warranty, and anyone else entitled by the warranty to enforce it. The Department of Consumer Affairs says leased new vehicles are covered.

Used cars in South Carolina

South Carolina's lemon law does not cover used vehicles. You can file a complaint about a used vehicle you bought or leased with the Department of Consumer Affairs.

Used car rules in every state

Good to know

Motorcycles, including three-wheel motorcycles, were added in 2016 (2016 Act No. 157).
A repurchased lemon can be resold only if the manufacturer reports it to the Department of Consumer Affairs and gives the next buyer a 12-month/12,000-mile warranty; every later buyer must be told (§§ 56-28-100, -110).
The final repair attempt is time-limited: 10 business days to name a shop and 10 business days to fix it.

Questions about South Carolina's lemon law

How many repair attempts make a car a lemon in South Carolina?

How long does South Carolina's lemon law cover a car?

The defect must appear within the first 12 months or 12,000 miles, whichever comes first, and you must report it during the warranty.

Do I have to notify the manufacturer in South Carolina?

Do I have to go to arbitration in South Carolina?

If the manufacturer has a dispute program that meets the FTC rules (16 CFR Part 703), you must use it before you can get a refund or replacement; it is free to you and its decisions bind the manufacturer. If you are unhappy with the result, you can then sue. The law lets the state set up an arbitration board for manufacturers without a program, but no such board is mentioned on the Department of Consumer Affairs site.

What can I get under South Carolina's lemon law?

Is there a deadline to file a lemon law claim in South Carolina?

You must sue within 3 years of the date of original delivery (S.C. Code § 56-28-70).

Does South Carolina's lemon law cover used cars?

South Carolina's lemon law does not cover used vehicles. You can file a complaint about a used vehicle you bought or leased with the Department of Consumer Affairs.

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 law

Sources

Last checked: Oct 22, 2026.

Law: South Carolina Lemon Law (Enforcement of Motor Vehicle Express Warranties), S.C. Code Ann. §§ 56-28-10 to 56-28-110