The Maine Lemon Law (Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 10 § 1161)

Maine’s lemon law is codified at Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 10 § 1161 to § 1169. It is notably consumer-favorable: the consumer elects refund or replacement, the presumption thresholds are low (3 attempts, 1 for a serious braking/steering failure, or just 15 business days out of service), and disputes resolve through a fast, manufacturer-funded Attorney General arbitration program.

The core promise

Section 1163 requires the manufacturer, when it cannot conform the vehicle to the express warranty after a reasonable number of attempts, to replace the vehicle or refund the purchase price. Critically, “the consumer may reject any offered replacement and receive instead a refund” (§ 1163(2)) — so the remedy is effectively consumer-controlled.

Who’s covered

Section 1161 covers a motor vehicle designed for conveyance of passengers or property on public highways, purchased or leased in Maine. Leased vehicles are covered under § 1168 with parallel lessee rights.

Excluded:

• Commercial vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 8,500 lbs or more used primarily for commercial purposes.
• Governmental entities and businesses registering 3 or more vehicles.

The 3-year / 18,000-mile Rights Period

The Rights Period runs the express-warranty term, 3 years from delivery, or the first 18,000 miles, whichever occurs earliest. This is a distinctive combination: a long 3-year window paired with a low 18,000-mile cap (lower than the common 24,000) — well-suited to Maine’s lower-than-average annual mileage. Compare Ohio’s 12-month/18,000-mile and Massachusetts’s 1-year/15,000-mile windows.

The presumption: 3 attempts, 1 for braking/steering, or 15 business days

Section 1163(3) presumes a reasonable number of attempts where, within the Rights Period:

• The same nonconformity has been subject to repair 3 or more times and persists; OR
• The same nonconformity resulted in a serious failure of the braking or steering system and was subject to repair 1 or more times; OR
• The vehicle has been out of service for repair a cumulative 15 or more business days.

Two features stand out: the braking/steering one-attempt rule (like Idaho’s, narrower than the general serious-safety rules of Georgia or Hawaii), and the 15-business-day out-of-service threshold — among the most consumer-favorable in the country (half the common 30-day standard). See repair-attempt presumption.

Notice and the 7-business-day final repair

After the consumer gives written notice of the desire for a refund or replacement (to the manufacturer, or to the dealer as its agent under § 1163(6-A)), the manufacturer has a final 7-business-day opportunity to repair (§ 1163(3-A)), at a reasonably accessible facility.

The consumer-elected remedy and the 10%-of-price offset cap

The consumer chooses refund or replacement, and may reject a replacement for a refund. The refund includes the full purchase price (or lease payments and finance charges), collateral charges (sales tax, registration), and towing/storage/alternative-transportation costs — less a reasonable allowance for use.

Maine’s use offset (§ 1161(4)) is the lesser of:

• One-third of the IRS business-mileage rate × actual mileage (plus mileage beyond 20,000), OR
• 10% of the vehicle’s purchase price — a consumer-favorable cap.

Attorney fees

Section 1167 provides that a court may award fees in a successful lemon-law action (discretionary) — but § 1169(5) makes fees mandatory for a prevailing consumer in a Superior Court arbitration appeal (“must be awarded reasonable attorney’s fees and costs”). And because a lemon-law violation is a UTPA violation under § 1166, the UTPA’s mandatory § 213 fees are available too. See attorney fees.

The Attorney General arbitration program (§ 1169)

Manufacturers must submit to the state-certified arbitration program, administered by the Department of the Attorney General, when a consumer requests it within the Rights Period. A decision issues within 45 days; the program is funded by a $1-per-new-car fee (so essentially free to the consumer). Either side may appeal to Superior Court for a trial de novo within 21 days. Distinctive remedies: $25/day continuing damages if the manufacturer failed to provide a comparable loaner, and double damages if the manufacturer’s appeal lacked a reasonable basis or was frivolous. See state arbitration board.

How Maine compares

Feature	Maine	Idaho	Hawaii	Arizona	Georgia
Enforcement	AG arb (mandatory) OR court	Court (after ID mechanism)	State arb (SCAP) OR court	Court (after BBB if mandatory)	State arb OR court
Same-defect attempts	3	4	3	4	3
Safety-defect attempts	1 (braking/steering)	1 (braking/steering)	1 (any serious)	(none)	1 (any serious)
OOS threshold	15 business days	30 business days	30 business days	30 cal days	30 days
Rights Period	3 yr / 18,000 mi	2 yr / 24K (3-yr window)	2 yr / 24K	2 yr / 24K	24 mo / 24K
Remedy election	Consumer	Mfr, consumer veto	Consumer	Consumer	Consumer
Use offset cap	10% of price	÷120,000-mi formula	1%/1,000 mi	yes	yes
UDAP treble	No (actual + restitution)	Discretionary	Automatic	None	Discretionary

Maine stands out for mandatory AG arbitration, the 15-business-day OOS threshold, the consumer-elected remedy, and the 10%-of-price offset cap.

Bottom line

The Maine Lemon Law is consumer-favorable: a 3yr/18k Rights Period, a low 3-attempt (and braking/steering one-attempt) presumption, a remarkably short 15-business-day OOS threshold, a consumer-elected refund/replacement with a 10%-of-price offset cap, and fast manufacturer-funded AG arbitration. Pair it with the UTPA (mandatory fees) and Magnuson-Moss. Request arbitration within 3 years of delivery.

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