Groups demand more information
on auto lemons

"WASHINGTON – Consumer advocates say this 'lemon laundering' is widespread, a claim the auto industry denies, and want the Federal Trade Commission to require that automakers tell consumers about their duds.

'If you are going to put your family in this car and travel at 70 mph down the road you want to know if there is a history of problems,' said Rosemary Shahan, founder of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, a Sacramento, Calif.-based group working to improve lemon laws.

Under the system proposed by the consumer groups, a used car buyer could check the vehicle's identification number on an Internet database to find out if the manufacturer had bought back the vehicle from an unsatisfied customer. The groups would like each search to be free or cost no more than perhaps $2."

– Associated Press, December 4, 2000

 

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