Commercial Vehicles Under Pennsylvania Lemon Law

Pennsylvania’s Lemon Law covers vehicles used primarily for personal, family, or household use that are designed to carry not more than 15 persons (73 P.S. § 1952). Commercial-use vehicles are generally excluded.

For commercial-use vehicles, UTPCPL and Magnuson-Moss provide alternative remedies.

Who’s covered

PA Lemon Law tends to focus on:

• Vehicles with mixed personal and commercial use.
• Self-employed individuals.
• Small business vehicles with significant personal use.

Pure commercial-fleet vehicles fall outside coverage.

Common commercial-vehicle defect categories

Same patterns as for personal vehicles.

Where UTPCPL applies

UTPCPL’s definition of “consumer” is broad. UTPCPL provides:

• Actual damages.
• Treble damages for “knowing” violations.
• Mandatory attorney fees.

Consequential damages — lost business

Lost business income may be recoverable as consequential damages.

Substitute vehicle costs

Recoverable as incidental damages.

What manufacturers typically argue

• “Purely commercial; Lemon Law doesn’t apply.”
• “Operator abuse.”
• “Overloading.”

What you should do

1. Determine usage pattern.
2. Pull every repair order.
3. Quantify lost business income.
4. Document substitute-vehicle costs.
5. Get a free case review.

For PA commercial cases, UTPCPL is typically the primary avenue.

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