At RockPoint Law, lemon law is our core practice. A lot of Garland works early, at the plants and the warehouses, and gets there on LBJ or the Bush Turnpike in a car that has to start at 5 a.m. whether it feels like it or not. So when a new vehicle keeps going back for the same fault, and the dealer keeps handing it back to you not fixed, it's good to know Texas gives you a way out.
Three quick questions. No cost, no obligation.
Sending this does not create an attorney-client relationship. A case evaluation is a first step, not legal representation.
The claim goes to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, and where it can end up is the manufacturer taking the vehicle back. And if it's a van or a pickup your company bought in its own name, that can qualify too, as long as the complaint names the right owner (that part matters more than it sounds).
Our Texas attorney: Aaron K. Waldo, Texas Bar No. 24107954, licensed in Texas since 2018.
The rules a Garland driver or business owner meets on the way through a claim, from the first repair order to the settlement table, with the section each comes from.
| Key figure | What it means | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| A businesscan be the owner | A person entitled to enforce the warranty who bought at retail or leased from a license holder. "Person" includes a partnership, a corporation, and any other legal entity. | Secs. 2301.601(2), 2301.002(27) |
| Presumptionnot a gate | Four repairs, two for a safety hazard, or 30 cumulative days create a presumption that the manufacturer has had a reasonable number of attempts. | Sec. 2301.605 |
| After expirythe duty continues | The duty to repair carries on past the warranty for a defect you reported while it was running. | Sec. 2301.603(b) |
| 6 monthsto file | From the earliest of warranty expiry, 24 months or 24,000 miles after original delivery. A car used mostly for DART station runs usually hits 24 months first. | Sec. 2301.606(d) |
| $35starts the case | A lemon law proceeding begins on the date TxDMV receives the fee. Pay it when you file. | 43 TAC Sec. 224.232(e)(2) |
| Nonbindingmediation | A case advisor tries to settle the complaint, and both sides must take part in good faith. You can turn an offer down. | 43 TAC Sec. 224.238 |
| One agreementcan cut remedies | Contract terms that cut back lemon law remedies are void, except in a settlement you sign. | Sec. 2301.607(g) |
| Disclosureon a buyback | A vehicle repurchased or replaced under a TxDMV order carries a disclosure statement through its next retail sale. | Sec. 2301.610 |
Garland drivers are covered by the Texas Lemon Law. A new car, truck or van can qualify when the same warranty defect survives four repair visits, or two if it is a serious safety hazard, or when it has been out of service for repair for a cumulative 30 days, all inside 24 months or 24,000 miles and the warranty. The manufacturer can then be ordered to repurchase or replace it. The complaint is filed with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles for $35, and a TxDMV hearings examiner decides any case that doesn't settle.
The law is Subchapter M of Chapter 2301 of the Texas Occupations Code, and TxDMV runs it under its rules in 43 TAC chapter 224. Garland has no ordinance of its own on this, and neither does Dallas County. Our Texas lemon law guide covers the statute section by section.
Garland has a large industrial base, and plenty of the vans and pickups on its roads belong to a business rather than a person. That alone doesn't rule a claim out. The statute defines an owner as a person entitled to enforce the manufacturer's warranty who meets one of several conditions, such as buying at retail from a license holder or leasing from one (section 2301.601(2)). The same chapter defines a person to include a partnership, a corporation and any other legal entity (section 2301.002(27)).
What trips businesses up is paperwork that doesn't match. TxDMV's complaint rule asks for the owner's name, the selling dealer, the delivery date and the mileage at purchase, first report and filing. File in the name on the title and the purchase contract, and have whoever drove the vehicle ready to describe the fault.
Where Subchapter M doesn't reach, the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act may. A consumer who finally prevails on that claim may be allowed costs and attorney fees by the court under 15 U.S.C. section 2310(d)(2).
Texas sets three repair-history tests in section 2301.605(a). Meet one and the law presumes the manufacturer has had a reasonable number of attempts. The presumption can be rebutted, and section 2301.606(b) lets the manufacturer argue abuse, neglect or unauthorized modification, or that the defect doesn't substantially impair use or market value.
Each card has a Garland example and a self-check to run against your own repair orders.
One nonconformity has been in for repair four or more times and still exists. Any authorized agent or franchised dealer can perform the work, meaning a visit to a dealer on the LBJ frontage and another in Richardson both count. Every attempt has to come before the warranty ends, or before 24 months or 24,000 miles from original delivery, whichever is first.
When the defect is a serious safety hazard, two repair visits are enough. Section 2301.601(4) keeps that label narrow: a life-threatening malfunction that substantially impedes your ability to control or operate the vehicle, or creates a substantial risk of fire or explosion. Steering that goes heavy at speed could fit. A slow touchscreen wouldn't.
A nonconformity that substantially impairs use or market value still exists, and the vehicle has been out of service for repair for a cumulative total of 30 or more days inside the window. The days can be spread across several visits. Under section 2301.605(c), time when the manufacturer or distributor lent you a comparable vehicle is left out. The statute doesn't say whether days for unrelated repairs add up, so the safest record ties each day to the defect you're claiming.
All three tests share one window: the warranty, or 24 months or 24,000 miles from original delivery, whichever ends first. The six months to file then run from the earliest of three dates. If you ride the DART Blue Line to work and keep the car for weekends, the two-year date usually comes first. If you drive LBJ every day, the odometer can win by months.
Three visits for an ordinary defect don't end a claim. The tests create a presumption, and a presumption is a shortcut. The standard itself is in section 2301.604(a): a manufacturer that can't fix a qualifying defect after a reasonable number of attempts owes a repurchase or replacement. That case is harder, and the evidence has to carry more weight.
Timing works in your favor too. Under section 2301.603(b), the manufacturer's duty to repair continues after the warranty expires if you reported the defect while it was running. So a fault first written up in month 22 is still owed a repair in month 26. Keep taking the car back, and get every visit written up.
Three visits, or thirty days that almost add up? We read the record for free.
This is a self-check against the statutory test, not legal advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
A Garland claim is filed with a state agency, not at the Dallas County courthouse. Under section 2301.607(a), the TxDMV process has to run its course before a refund or replacement is available through any other route. Here's what happens, stage by stage.
The complaint must be in writing and signed (43 TAC section 224.232(b)). The fee comes from section 2301.712, and the manufacturer repays it if you prevail. The case starts the day TxDMV receives the fee.
A case advisor checks that TxDMV has jurisdiction and that the complaint meets the minimum requirements, and asks you for more if needed (43 TAC section 224.234). Then the manufacturer is asked to respond, and a copy goes to the selling dealer and any other dealer involved (section 224.236).
Before any hearing is scheduled, the case advisor tries to settle the complaint through nonbinding mediation, and both sides must take part in good faith (43 TAC section 224.238). The advisor has to qualify as an impartial third party under Chapter 154 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code. If nothing settles, the advisor refers the complaint for a hearing.
TxDMV lists seven main hearing locations. The two in the Metroplex are Carrollton, a TxDMV site, and Fort Worth, a TxDOT site. Hearings are set for four hours, and you present first. The final order follows within 60 days of the record closing (43 TAC section 224.264). After a rehearing motion, judicial review goes to a district court of Travis County (section 2301.609).
OAH posts a list of decisions and final orders. Entries name the parties and the vehicle, and a lot of them sum up the complaints in a few words, things like hard shifting, a check-engine light that keeps coming back, a water leak. If you read a few orders on your own make and model you'll get a feel for how examiners weigh repair records and the manufacturer's defenses. And don't worry, your own file stays out of view while it runs, because section 2301.612 keeps information filed under the lemon law out of the public record until a final order resolves the complaint.
Pretty much all of Garland is in Dallas County, except for a sliver that's in Collin County. A separate lawsuit that grows out of a warranty dispute, such as a Magnuson-Moss claim, would go to a Dallas County court or federal court, and federal court needs at least $50,000 in controversy. Our Dallas lemon law page covers those courts. None of them gets involved in the lemon law claim itself until TxDMV's done with it.
A settlement is the one agreement that can give up what Subchapter M provides. Section 2301.607(g) voids any contract term that excludes or modifies a lemon law remedy, unless it's part of a settlement between you and the manufacturer, converter or distributor. So before you sign, check the offer against what an examiner could order:
If a deal is reached after the complaint has gone to OAH, OAH asks for a written request to dismiss, copied to the other side.
If you want the documents in order, see how to file a lemon law claim. And for what actually happens on hearing day, our Fort Worth lemon law page walks through the discovery deadlines and exhibits.
Nobody needs to take a day off to go sit in a law office over a Garland lemon law claim. The steps before a hearing all happen online, by phone and in writing: you file the complaint with TxDMV online, the case advisor mediates by phone and by letter, and the prehearing conference is a phone call.
We do the legwork, which means gathering the repair orders, checking the delivery date and mileage on each one, writing the notice to the manufacturer, filing the complaint and paying the fee, and dealing with the case advisor. Send us what you've got from your phone, before your shift or after it, whenever.
Most of the work happens before anyone sets a hearing date, and many claims settle at mediation. If no final order has issued by the 151st day after filing, you may go to court instead, and that date stretches if you ask for or cause a delay, so answer the case advisor quickly. Once a final order is signed, the Government Code sets the outside dates below. For the documents one by one, see how to file a lemon law claim.
Start with two definitions. The vehicle has to be new: under section 2301.002(24) that means never sold at retail before, "regardless of the mileage," and TxDMV treats a demonstrator never titled as new. The claimant has to be an owner under section 2301.601(2), which can be a lessee or a business as well as an individual buyer. Then pull three dates: original delivery, warranty expiry and the day the odometer passed, or will pass, 24,000 miles.
Every visit builds or weakens the record, depending on what the order says. Read it before you leave: your complaint in your words, the date in, the date out and the mileage. If the shop couldn't reproduce the fault, ask for the order anyway. A fault that shows up on a cold start before a morning shift, or at 70 mph on LBJ, rarely shows up in a service lane at noon, so keep your own log.
Section 2301.606(c) has two parts: the manufacturer, converter or distributor must get written notice of the defect, and it must have an opportunity to cure. If the manufacturer asks to inspect the vehicle or send it to a particular dealer, keep a record. The complaint form asks for the date the manufacturer first got written notice and the date and result of any inspection it did (43 TAC section 224.232(b)(2)(I)-(J)).
The complaint goes in through TxDMV's online system, or by mail, with the $35 fee paid at the same time. A case advisor checks jurisdiction and the minimum requirements, may ask you for more, sends the complaint to the manufacturer and copies the dealers involved. Then comes nonbinding mediation. Answer the advisor's requests quickly: a delay you ask for or cause extends the 150-day period.
If mediation fails, OAH mails a hearing notice, and the examiner holds a prehearing call about witnesses, exhibits and any inspection. On the day, you present first because the burden of proof is yours. The examiner can order repurchase, replacement or repair, or dismiss the complaint, in a written final order within 60 days after the record closes. A repurchased vehicle is restored and resold with a disclosure statement and a new 12-month, 12,000-mile warranty (section 2301.610).
The slips that hurt Garland claims are usually small. A repair order that reads "no problem found" with no mention of what the driver reported. A letter sent to the dealership's general manager instead of the manufacturer. A pickup titled to a company, with the complaint filed in an employee's name. A car used mostly for station runs, where the owner watched the odometer and missed the 24-month date.
Plenty of owners file on their own, and TxDMV's process is designed so they can. Nobody can tell you how an examiner will rule. We can make sure the record is complete, the notice reached the right company, and the dates hold up.
If the manufacturer can't fix a qualifying defect after a reasonable number of attempts, section 2301.604(a) requires it to reimburse your reasonable incidental costs and either replace the vehicle with a comparable one or accept its return and refund the full purchase price, less a reasonable allowance for your use. TxDMV's rule has the examiner accommodate your request between the two "to the extent possible" (43 TAC section 224.260(a)(2)).
The starting figure is the total purchase price, without interest, finance charges or insurance premiums. A buyback includes taxes, title and license fees, and the $35 filing fee goes back on top. Where a lender holds a lien, the refund is paid to you and the lender according to each one's interest under section 2301.604(b). On a company vehicle financed through a commercial lender, get the payoff figure early, since it shapes what the business actually receives.
TxDMV presumes a useful life of 120,000 miles, and either side can offer evidence for a different figure. An invented example: a $48,000 minivan first written up for the defect at 5,000 miles, reaching a hearing at 17,000 miles.
That shows how the formula works, not what your case is worth. The split point comes straight off a repair order, one more reason to read each order before you sign it. Our Texas buyback calculator runs it on your own numbers.
With a refund or replacement, 43 TAC section 224.262 pays back reasonable, verifiable costs from loss of use, starting with alternate transportation and towing. DART fares and ride receipts count if you kept them. A replacement is a new vehicle from the same product line, of the same model year or newer, priced MSRP against MSRP less the use allowance. Where the vehicle qualifies for neither, the examiner can still order repair work, and a lease can be ended under section 2301.608(c). Subchapter M has no fee-shifting provision. A court may award fees on a winning Magnuson-Moss claim.
The total purchase price less finance charges and the split use deduction, with the $35 fee returned and any lien paid from it
A comparable new vehicle from the same product line, priced MSRP against MSRP, with the use allowance on your side
Where a buyback or replacement isn't justified, an order to do the warranty work or take other steps
Transit fares, rentals, tows and other provable costs of losing the vehicle, repaid with a refund or replacement
Not under Subchapter M itself; possible from a court on a Magnuson-Moss win, and narrowly under TxDMV's cost rule
Outcomes depend on the facts of each case, so no attorney can tell you in advance what yours will be.
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VolvoTxDMV's list of covered new vehicles includes cars, trucks, vans, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, motor homes, towable RVs and neighborhood electric vehicles. Repossessed vehicles, non-travel trailers, boats and farm equipment are outside it. Used ones are another matter. They get a repair route instead, which is down at the bottom. Choose a type below and have a look.
If you bought it or leased it new, it's covered. "New" means never sold at retail before, whatever the mileage, so a car with a few thousand demonstrator miles can still qualify if it was never titled. Same three tests for a minivan with a sliding-door or transmission fault, nothing special there. See our practice areas.
Garland counts more than 300 manufacturers, and a lot of the vans and pickups they run get bought in the company's name. Which is fine, because a business can be an owner. For trucks with a body or equipment fitted before sale, our Fort Worth lemon law page explains converters, and our diesel emissions lemon law guide covers emissions faults.
Covered, yes. The statute takes in vehicles with two or more wheels, and TxDMV lists motorcycles among the new vehicles it protects. Nothing changes about the four-visit, two-visit and 30-day tests for a bike. See our motorcycle lemon law guide.
Motor homes and towable RVs are both covered. A towable has no odometer, so the mileage limits generally don't apply, and the use deduction runs in days against a presumed 5,475-day life. See our RV and motorhome lemon law guide.
EVs are covered the same way. A used vehicle can't be ordered bought back, but under section 2301.204 the owner can complain about a defect covered by the manufacturer's warranty, with no filing fee, if it was reported before the warranty ran out (43 TAC section 224.232(f)). See our electric vehicle lemon law guide.
Real results from real clients who trusted
RockPoint Law with their lemon law claims.
I contacted RockPoint Law in July 2025 and by mid Jan 2026, I had received my settlement proceeds. A mid 5-figure loan was paid off and the manufacturer took possession of the vehicle. Not having that car payment and the mandatory full coverage freed up about $900/month. If you're on the fence about calling RockPoint Law, let it go. The relief you will feel when it all works out will be soooo worth it.
Read moreWas having nothing but issues with the DEF system in my Ram 3500. I didn't have high hopes because 3500 trucks are generally excluded from lemon law. The entire process from the time I contacted RockPoint Law to the time I received my settlement was under 6 months! Their response times were well above expectations.
Read moreMy Telluride's transmission would jerk so hard between gears that my coffee would spill. Dealer had it four times. When I called RockPoint Law, they asked the exact technical question I'd been researching for weeks. We got a buyback with reimbursement for my deductible and rental costs. They speak fluent mechanic before they speak lawyer.
Read moreTurbo failure on my EcoBoost F-150. Dealer replaced it once, then denied the second. Steven Nassi compared my case to known manufacturing defects for that engine. Other lawyers just saw 'engine trouble.' Steven built the argument around the known defect pattern. Secured a full refund.
Read moreOur minivan's sliding door would just stop working. Not a great feature with little kids. Tried to get it fixed under warranty three times. Final straw was when it almost closed on my son's arm. Leo was our attorney and got us a great outcome. They handled everything from start to finish.
Read moreMy family's cross-country road trip turned into a nightmare when our brand-new SUV broke down in three different states. Each dealership kept giving us the run-around. RockPoint Law tracked every failed repair, hotel receipt, and even our unused theme park tickets. They got us a full buyback plus $8,200 for the vacation that fell apart.
Read moreThe active suspension in my Ram 1500 started making a loud 'clunk' on every bump. Dealer replaced one part but the noise just moved to another corner. After the third repair, I was done. Natalie Nassi said, 'A repeated failure of a major chassis component is a clear impairment to value and use.' She didn't see a noise; she saw a failed system.
Read moreMy car is basically my mobile office. When the electrical system fried two laptops and killed my productivity, I reached out to RockPoint Law. Unlike the dealer who treated me as a nuisance, RockPoint Law saw how it impacted my ability to work. They secured a full refund on the vehicle plus $6,500 for lost income and equipment.
Read moreThe manufacturer told me I was out of luck. RockPoint Law told me otherwise — and proved it! Their lemon law experience turned my nightmare into a fair resolution. What impressed me most was their transparency — no false claims, just hard facts and harder work. Worth every penny and then some!
Read moreFrom the moment I walked into their office shaking with frustration, the team at RockPoint Law put me at ease. They listened patiently to my whole story, then laid out a clear game plan. Six weeks later, I was holding a check that made all those repair shop trips worth it. True professionals who deliver!
Read moreWe had two vans with the same transmission failure. RockPoint Law consolidated both claims, lined up build dates, and pushed for an extended coverage fix. Both vans were repaired, and we got downtime reimbursed.
Read moreThe hands-free liftgate on my SUV would randomly open in my garage, denting the door. I felt crazy complaining about a 'convenience feature.' Our attorney reframed it: 'An uncontrolled operation of a motorized component is a safety and property damage risk.' The team used my security camera footage as evidence. We got a solid settlement.
Read moreDefective vehicles are our core practice. A Garland claim runs online and by phone until the hearing, so a client in Rowlett or Sachse gets the same attention as one who lives near our Dallas office.
The same attorneys who handle claims nationwide handle them here. Two minutes on who we are and how we work.
Doing a Garland claim on your own versus doing it with an attorney. Flip the switch and you'll see the same four moments go one way, then the other.
TxDMV wants the problem fully described on the order and confirmed by the owner. Now say the order records no complaint, or a vaguer one than what you told them. That visit can drop off the count, and the first-report mileage gets pushed later, which lowers the refund.
Mediation is nonbinding, and a settlement you sign is the one agreement section 2301.607(g) permits to reduce your remedies. So an offer that counts finance charges in the price, or skips the half rate, can look fair on paper and still fall well short.
For a car used mostly for short trips and station runs, the 24-month date usually comes first. If you're sitting there waiting for 24,000 miles, you can sail right past the real six-month deadline and not even notice.
The complaint asks for the owner's name, and the owner is the one the statute describes: a person, which includes a company, entitled to enforce the warranty. File in the driver's name when the truck's titled to the business, and you're inviting an argument you really don't need.
We put each repair order up against your dated log. Whichever ones understate the fault get flagged, and we ask the dealer to correct them while people still remember the visit.
Before you answer the case advisor, we redo the math ourselves, the price and the split deduction and the fee and the lien payoff. Then that number goes right next to the offer so you can see the gap, if there is one.
Your paperwork gives us warranty expiry, the two-year date and the projected 24,000-mile date, and we file, with the fee paid, well before the earliest one comes up.
We confirm who holds title and who can sign for the business, plus who's going to testify about the fault. Then it's filed in the owner's name, and the driver's ready to go as a witness.
The Census Bureau estimates Garland had 249,625 residents on July 1, 2025, which puts it 13th among Texas cities. And all but 167 of those people live in Dallas County; everybody else is in a little corner of Collin County. The city's economic development office lists Garland ISD, the City of Garland, Kraft Heinz, Sherwin-Williams and Epiroc as its top employers, and it counts more than 300 manufacturers. Kraft by itself has been operating in Garland since 1949, going by the city.
Plant and warehouse shifts start early around here, and a car that won't start at dawn can cost you the shift, plain and simple. A lot of the miles people put on run along I-635, I-30 and the President George Bush Turnpike. TxDOT's 635 East project covers the 11 miles of I-635 between US 75 and I-30, and TxDOT says that road carries about 230,000 vehicles a day, which is a lot of cars. Garland's got rail too, for what it's worth: the DART Blue Line stops at Forest/Jupiter (DART says that one serves Kraft Heinz-Garland and the manufacturers near it) and at Downtown Garland on Walnut Street. Whether you're a train person or a car person decides whether your warranty window closes on the calendar or the odometer.
The franchised new-car dealers are out along the LBJ Freeway frontage in Garland and on into Mesquite. A vehicle bought back or replaced under a TxDMV order carries a disclosure statement through its next retail sale, with a TxDMV toll-free number for asking about the defect, and TxDMV publishes an annual report of those vehicles by brand and model (section 2301.611). So if you're shopping used on that same frontage road, ask for any disclosure statement before you sign anything.
We take claims from Garland and from the cities around it, like:
We don't have an office in Garland, to be upfront about it. Our Texas office is at 325 N Saint Paul St., Suite 3100, in downtown Dallas, and Garland clients rarely need to go there anyway. The quickest way to get started is the online intake form. We review every request and respond as soon as we can, or you can call (516) 550-3323. And if you want to meet in person, you can hop on the DART Blue Line at Downtown Garland or Forest/Jupiter and it'll take you into downtown Dallas.
Fair warning about the figures below. They come out of the settlement record our firm publishes for lemon law, across brands, so they're firmwide results, not Garland or Dallas County outcomes. They're on the page to give you some sense of what a well-documented defect claim can be worth when it's handled properly, and that's all, they aren't a forecast for yours.
Recovery on a vehicle with engine, electrical and suspension defects.
Recovery on a Macan with suspension, drivetrain, electrical and HVAC problems.
Recovery after electrical, engine and suspension failures on an electric pickup.
Figures are drawn from our firm's published settlement record and are not specific to Garland or Dallas County matters. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future case. See more RockPoint Law settlements
I had a really good experience with RockPoint Law. The whole process was a lot easier than I expected and everyone I dealt with was helpful and responsive. Whenever I had a question, I was able to get an answer without feeling like I was chasing anyone down. They handled everything and kept me updated along the way. Definitely glad I reached out to them.
Saw RockPoint Law and wasn't sure. Called anyway because I was at my wit's end. Natalie Nassi answered and she remembered me from somewhere else. Same calm voice, same no-nonsense approach. She took my case and handled everything. Manufacturer bought the car back. Name on the door changed but Natalie didn't. That's what matters to me.
Saw RockPoint Law online and wasn't sure because I hadn't heard of them. But I was desperate. My car had been in and out of the shop for months. Called them up and the person I spoke with was so easy to talk to. No legal mumbo jumbo, just straight talk. They took my case and got me a buyback. New name but they know what they're doing. Would recommend.
Honestly wasn't sure about RockPoint Law since I hadn't heard of them before. But I was desperate. My car had been in the shop five times for the same problem and nobody could figure it out. Service advisor started avoiding my calls. I found RockPoint online, called, and the person I talked to was really down to earth. They took my repair orders and handled the whole thing. A few months later, the manufacturer bought the car back. New name but they got it done. Would use them again in a heartbeat.
Saw RockPoint Law pop up when I was googling lemon law help. Wasn't sure about the name but figured I'd give it a shot. My Jeep Gladiator had a death wobble at highway speeds—front end would shake violently. Dealer replaced the steering stabilizer twice, still shook. The person I talked to at RockPoint was super calm and explained everything clearly. They handled the claim and Jeep bought the truck back. Glad I didn't let the new name scare me off. They got the job done.
Three details about the vehicle, and how to reach you.
No cost, no obligation. Contacting RockPoint Law does not create an attorney-client relationship.
A dedicated team that stands with you through every step of your Lemon Law claim.
What Garland drivers and business owners ask before they file, answered from the statute, TxDMV's rules and its published guidance.
Texas law applies, with nothing extra from the city or Dallas County. The claim runs under Chapter 2301, Subchapter M, administered by TxDMV.
Texas law applies, and there is nothing extra at the city or county level. A Garland driver's claim runs under Chapter 2301, Subchapter M of the Texas Occupations Code, sections 2301.601 through 2301.613, and the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles administers it under its rules in 43 TAC chapter 224. That is true whether you live near the downtown square, off Forest Lane or in the small slice of Garland that the Census Bureau places in Collin County. The complaint goes to TxDMV, not to a local court. A new vehicle can qualify after four repair visits for the same defect, two for a serious safety hazard, or 30 cumulative days out of service for repair, inside the warranty window. The manufacturer can then be ordered to buy it back or replace it.
Six months from the earliest of warranty expiry, 24 months or 24,000 miles after delivery. Which comes first depends on how you drive, so work out both dates now.
Six months, counted from whichever of three dates comes first: the day the express warranty ends, the day 24 months have passed since original delivery, or the day the odometer passes 24,000 miles. That is section 2301.606(d). Which date wins depends on how you drive. Someone who rides the DART Blue Line to work and uses the car for errands may reach the two-year mark with 14,000 miles on it, so the calendar starts the clock. A commuter on I-635 and the Bush Turnpike can pass 24,000 miles well before the second anniversary. Work out both dates now. TxDMV's rule also says a lemon law proceeding starts on the date the department receives the $35 fee, so pay it when you file, not afterward.
It can, if the business is an owner under section 2301.601(2). "Person" includes a corporation or partnership. File in the name on the title and the contract.
It can, if the business fits the statute's definition of an owner. Section 2301.601(2) defines an owner as a person entitled to enforce the manufacturer's warranty who, for example, bought the vehicle at retail from a license holder, or leased it from one. Section 2301.002(27) defines a person to include a partnership, a corporation and any other legal entity. So a new van or pickup bought in a Garland company's name is not shut out because a company owns it. The paperwork has to match, though. TxDMV's complaint rule asks for the owner's name, the selling dealer, the delivery date and the mileage history, and those should all line up with the title and the purchase contract. Tell us at the start who is on the title.
The claim isn't over. The tests create a presumption, not the only route. A record without one is harder but can still show the attempts were enough.
The claim is not over. The four-repair, two-repair and 30-day tests in section 2301.605 create a presumption that the manufacturer has had a reasonable number of attempts. They are a shortcut, not the only door. Section 2301.604(a) asks whether the manufacturer could not fix a qualifying defect after a reasonable number of attempts, and TxDMV's rule tells examiners to apply the presumptions where they fit. A record without a presumption is harder, because you have to show the attempts were enough on the facts. The warranty itself matters too: under section 2301.603(b), the duty to repair continues after the warranty expires for a defect reported while it was running. Keep taking the car back, get each visit written up, and have the record read before you decide.
No. Mediation is nonbinding. Read any written offer closely, because a settlement you sign is the one document that can cut back your lemon law remedies.
You do not have to accept anything. Under 43 TAC 224.238, a TxDMV case advisor tries to settle the complaint through nonbinding mediation before a hearing is set, and both sides must take part in good faith. The case advisor has to qualify as an impartial third party under Chapter 154 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code. Before that, the advisor sends your complaint to the manufacturer, copies the selling dealer and any other dealer involved, and passes you whatever the manufacturer sends back. If nothing settles, the complaint goes to a hearings examiner. Read any written offer closely. Section 2301.607(g) voids contract terms that cut back your lemon law remedies, except in a settlement agreement you sign, so the settlement is the one document that can.
TxDMV decides, and Garland isn't on its list. The two Metroplex sites among its seven are Carrollton and Fort Worth. Hearings run four hours.
TxDMV decides that, and Garland is not one of the places it lists. The department's Office of Administrative Hearings names seven main hearing locations, and two are in the Metroplex: Carrollton, at a TxDMV site, and Fort Worth, at a TxDOT site. Its stated practice is to hold hearings in or near the complainant's city of residence, while warning that some travel may be required. The hearing notice gives the date, time and place. Before the hearing day, the hearings examiner holds a prehearing call about the location, witnesses and exhibits. Hearings are set for four hours, and at an in-person hearing TxDMV's rules let you bring the vehicle so the manufacturer can inspect and test drive it. Our Fort Worth page covers what to bring and the discovery deadlines.
The problem in your words, the date in, the date out and the odometer reading. Read it at the counter, and get an order even when the fault couldn't be reproduced.
It should describe the problem the way you described it, and TxDMV says the owner should confirm that description. Read the order at the counter before you sign or drive away. Check four things: the complaint in your words, the date the car went in, the date it came out, and the odometer reading. If the technician could not reproduce the fault, ask for an order that says so, because a visit with no paperwork is hard to count later. TxDMV also suggests keeping a log of when the problem happens, with the date, time and location. For a car that stalls on cold mornings before an early shift, or only at highway speed on LBJ, that log can show a pattern the shop never saw on a short test drive.
The statute doesn't say. It counts a cumulative total of 30 days out of service for repair, minus loaner days. Tie each day to the defect you're claiming.
The statute does not answer that in so many words, so be careful with anyone who says it does. Section 2301.605(a)(3) creates the presumption when a defect that substantially impairs the vehicle's use or market value still exists and the vehicle has been out of service for repair for a cumulative total of 30 or more days inside the warranty window. The days do not have to be in a row. Section 2301.605(c) then takes out any period when the manufacturer or distributor lent you a comparable vehicle while a franchised dealer repaired yours. Whether unrelated repairs add up is an argument about the facts, not a rule you can count on. The safest record ties each day in the shop to the defect you are claiming.
It could be. A TxDMV buyback carries a disclosure statement through its next retail sale, and TxDMV publishes an annual report by brand and model. Ask the seller.
It could be, and Texas builds in a way to find out. When TxDMV orders a vehicle repurchased or replaced, section 2301.610 requires the manufacturer, through its franchised dealer, to issue a disclosure statement that stays with the vehicle through its next retail sale. The statement carries a TxDMV toll-free number for asking about the defect behind the order. The manufacturer must also restore the vehicle to factory specifications and give a new 12-month, 12,000-mile warranty. Section 2301.611 has TxDMV publish an annual report of repurchased and replaced vehicles by brand and model. Ask the seller for any disclosure statement before you sign. A used car is not eligible for its own buyback, but repair help under warranty performance may apply while the factory warranty runs.
Price without interest or finance charges, less full-rate miles to the first report and half-rate miles after, plus the $35 fee. A lender shares in the refund.
TxDMV's rule starts with the total purchase price and leaves out interest, finance charges and insurance premiums. It then deducts a reasonable allowance for your use, based on a presumed useful life of 120,000 miles. Miles from delivery to your first report of the defect are charged at the full rate. Miles after that report, up to the hearing, are charged at half rate. Take an invented $48,000 minivan first written up at 5,000 miles and heard at 17,000 miles. The first 5,000 miles cost $2,000. The next 12,000 miles would cost $4,800 at full rate, so half is $2,400. The deduction is $4,400, leaving $43,600, and the $35 fee is added back. A lender with a lien shares in the refund. That is arithmetic, not a forecast.
Yes. OAH posts a list of decisions and final orders. Your own file stays private until a final order resolves the complaint.
Yes. TxDMV's Office of Administrative Hearings posts a list of decisions and final orders on its website. Each entry names the parties and the vehicle, and many list the complaints in a few words, such as a transmission that shifts hard or a check-engine light that keeps returning. Reading a few orders on your make and model shows how examiners handle repair records, the manufacturer's defenses and the use deduction. Your own case stays private while it runs. Section 2301.612 says information filed with the department under the lemon law is not a public record until a final order resolves the complaint. So what you send TxDMV is not posted while mediation or the hearing is still going on. A final order in your case can later appear on that list.
No. The complaint, mediation and prehearing call happen online or by phone, early or late if you work shifts. The hearing is set by TxDMV.
No. RockPoint Law has no office in Garland. Our Texas office is in downtown Dallas, roughly 13 miles southwest, and a Garland client rarely needs to visit it. The complaint is filed with TxDMV online. The case advisor handles mediation by phone and in writing, and the prehearing conference is a call. You can send repair orders, the purchase contract and your log by upload and go through them with us by phone or video, early or late in the day if you work shifts. The day that usually needs you in person is the hearing, and TxDMV sets its place. If you would like to meet face to face anyway, the DART Blue Line runs from Downtown Garland and Forest/Jupiter stations into downtown Dallas.
Tell us the vehicle and what the dealer has already tried. No fee unless we recover for you.†
Vehicle back at the dealer again? Tell us what it's doing and how many times it has been in, and we'll check it against the Texas tests and your six-month deadline. No cost†, no pressure, and no fee unless we recover for you.
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