I'm not sure how the Lemon Law works in VA, but in GA, it is designed so that you don't need a lawyer. That being said, you need to do everything the Lemon Law requires to a T. Look it up on your state government website.
In GA, once you meet the definition of a lemon (one repair attempt for a serious safety defect, or three repair attempts for other defects, or a cumulative total of 25 days out of service), you can file a final repair attempt with FCA. This should be done in writing, via overnight delivery. In GA, you should also fax a copy to the State Attorney General's office, who administers state lemon law. Once received, FCA has 7 days to respond in writing to you. In my case, they set up an appointment at the dealer with a factory rep there to go over the issue. They then have 14 days to resolve the issue. If not resolved after that time frame, in GA, you are allowed to request either a repurchase of the vehicle, or a replacement vehicle. Check your state laws because in GA, a repurchase requires that you are responsible for mileage that you have put on the vehicle. They basically deduct a per mile amount from the amount that you receive when your vehicle is repurchased. If you select the replacement method in GA, no per mile amount is assessed and there should be no out of pocket expense to the customer (taxes, fees, etc.) if you select an exact replacement. In my case, I selected a vehicle with more options, so I simply paid the difference in MSRP between the 2 vehicles (basically...I paid a little less because FCA did some good-will stuff for me) and the difference in taxes.
At no point in time did I feel like FCA was ignoring me, or trying to take advantage. I simply followed the lemon law process outlined by the state Attorney General to the letter, and everything worked out great. I am a happy FCA customer.
