Maryland Used Car Lemon Law: 24 Months, 18,000 Miles and the As-Is Limit

Maryland's lemon law only helps a used-car buyer when the car is still young: it covers defects reported in the first 24 months or 18,000 miles after the original delivery, whichever comes first, and those rights pass to a later owner while the warranty lasts. For everything older, the rule doing the real work is Maryland's limit on "as is" sales. A seller can't disclaim the implied warranty on a titled car unless it is more than 6 model years old and has more than 60,000 miles, and even then only with the MVA's form. That second rule covers a lot more of the cars people actually shop.

I read the statutes and two Attorney General brochures on Saturday evening, October 17, 2026. The as-is limit surprised me, since most states let a dealer sell nearly anything as is with a checked box. Treat this as general information and get a Maryland lawyer for your actual dispute.

What the Maryland lemon law covers

The definitions in Commercial Law 14-1501 count as a consumer the buyer of a new car, anyone the car is transferred to during the warranty, and anyone else entitled to enforce it. The "manufacturer's warranty period" is the earlier of the first 18,000 miles or 24 months from original delivery. It covers Maryland-registered passenger cars, motorcycles, multipurpose vehicles and trucks rated 3/4 ton or less. Motor homes are out, and so are fleet purchases of five or more cars.

Section 14-1502 spells out the second-owner rule: the rights "inure to a subsequent transferee of a new motor vehicle for the duration of the applicable warranties." The Attorney General's used-car brochure says the same in plainer words: the law can apply to you if the original owner bought the car less than 24 months ago and it has under 18,000 original miles. So a 2025 SUV with 11,000 miles might qualify. A 2022 with 40,000 won't.

How the claim works, step by step

Maryland is stricter on paperwork than most states. You have to report the problem during the warranty period by written notice to the manufacturer, sent certified mail with return receipt requested, and then the manufacturer gets 30 days from receiving it to fix the car. The law presumes a reasonable number of attempts if the same defect was repaired four or more times, the car was out of service a cumulative 30 or more days, or a brake or steering failure was repaired once and the car still fails Maryland's safety inspection. The defect has to substantially impair both the use and the market value of the car.

If it can't be fixed, you choose a comparable replacement or a refund of the full purchase price, including license and registration fees, minus a use allowance capped at 15 percent of the price and any damage beyond normal wear. Section 14-1503 lets you recover the excise tax from the MVA. You have 3 years from original delivery to sue, and bad faith by the manufacturer can add up to $10,000 under 14-1504. The AG's lemon law brochure has sample letters, which I'd use rather than writing your own.

Older used cars: the 6-year, 60,000-mile line

Commercial Law 2-316.1 makes any attempt to exclude implied warranties on consumer goods unenforceable. The exception for cars is narrow. It only applies to a titled vehicle that is over 6 model years old and has been driven more than 60,000 miles, and the seller has to give notice on a form the MVA prescribes. Both conditions have to be true. A seven-year-old car with 45,000 miles, or a four-year-old car with 90,000, still carries the implied warranty when a dealer sells it.

The AG's brochure puts it bluntly: a Maryland dealer may only sell a car "as is" if it's more than six years old and over 60,000 miles, and you may be able to make the dealer pay for repairs if you can prove the defect existed at the sale. That proof part is where people lose, so get a pre-purchase inspection in writing. Private sales are usually as is, per the same brochure. Our as-is explainer covers the federal Buyers Guide that sits on top of all this.

No cooling-off, but a financing window

Maryland has no cooling-off period. The AG says a buyer "has no right to cancel a car purchase." The one exception the brochure describes is spot delivery: if your financing wasn't final when you drove away, the dealer has 4 days to tell you in writing it fell through, and you then have 2 days to bring the car back and cancel or line up other financing.

Maryland also requires a safety inspection before the MVA will title and register a used vehicle. Under Transportation 23-107, a certificate is good for 90 days, or for a car in a dealer's inventory, 6 months or 1,000 added miles, whichever is first. A pass is a snapshot, not a warranty. It says nothing about a transmission that slips at 70 mph.

Buybacks and title history

When a lemon is returned and then sent to a Maryland dealer, 14-1502(g) requires the manufacturer's written disclosure of the return and the defect, and the seller has to give you a copy before the sale and send the signed copy to the MVA. That's a decent paper trail, but it's built around the dealer sale, so don't assume a car that has changed hands since then still has the form. Our buyback title brand guide covers what to look for. Also read our Maryland salvage and rebuilt title rules, the Maryland flood title brand post and the private-sale title transfer guide. Buying across the line? The Pennsylvania lemon law post shows how different the next state over is. Run the VIN through NMVTIS too.

CarVins is a licensed CARFAX and AutoCheck reseller and isn't affiliated with CARFAX, AutoCheck or Experian. In mid October 2026 a report costs about $5.50 as a guest or $4.50 for members, or about $6.75 for the CARFAX and AutoCheck pair, versus $39.99 to $44.99 at retail. Confirm the figure at checkout before you pay.

Sources

• Md. Code, Commercial Law 14-1501 to 14-1504 and 2-316.1; Transportation 13-119 and 23-107 (mgaleg.maryland.gov), read Oct. 17, 2026
• Maryland Attorney General: A Consumer Guide to Buying a Used Car (rev. Jan. 2023); Righting Your New Car's Wrongs
• 16 CFR Part 455 and NMVTIS