MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Two-thirds of lemon cars started to show symptoms of problems within one month of purchase, with brake problems as the most commonly reported issue, according to a YourMechanic survey.
Survey results were self-reported by 522 respondents in the U.S. Survey respondents defined a "lemon" as a newly purchased vehicle that presented several manufacturing defects potentially affecting the safety, value or use of the car.
"The results proved why it's important to get a pre-purchase inspection before every vehicle purchase — even for those bought from a dealership," according to YourMechanic, a mobile auto repair network.
According to the survey results, among the car owners who reported they had purchased a lemon:
- 65 percent of the lemon cars came from a dealership; 44 percent purchased from a used car dealership and 21 percent from a new car dealership.
- 35 percent of respondents purchased directly through a private owner.
About 68 percent of the lemon cars started to show signs and symptoms within one month of purchase with 20 percent noticing symptoms within six months and 12 percent after one year of purchase.
The most commonly reported problem included an issue related to brakes, according to YourMechanic.
Additional parts that frequently caused problems among survey respondents included: the starter, suspension system, engine, radiator, transmission, battery, carburetor and heating/cooling system.
In a second survey, YourMechanic asked consumers who had recently purchased a used car whether they had an inspection completed of the vehicle before completing the purchase.
About 72 percent of respondents who purchased within the last three years did not have a third-party conduct a pre-purchase inspection while 76 percent of respondents said they did not know a third-party service was available to conduct an inspection.
