If you're like most people, you probably don't really recognize the difference between an arbitration and a court hearing.

What is Arbitration?

Arbitration is defined as "the process by which the parties to a dispute submit their differences to the judgment of an impartial person or group appointed by mutual consent or statutory provision.

If you think your car might be a "lemon," start by doing a quick checklist of the problems.

So, if your car makes odd noises, but otherwise drives just fine, you might not have a car that falls under your state's Lemon Law. But, if you are having major problems, like with the engine, drive axle, brakes, steering or radiator, you might want to start a paper trail.

While you love your new convertible, you can't live with it any longer. You've been to the dealer with car guarantee problems over and over again. The time may have come to give up on using the warranty to solve your dilemma. It's time to look into your state's lemon law.

First, it was the guarantee on the stereo system. Next, the windshield wiper motor died on a rainy day.

The automobile lemon laws were designed to protect car buyers from irreparable manufacturers' defects in automobiles that should be ordinarily be covered under warranty.

So How Did The Lemon Laws Come About?

Consumer demand for lemon law protection started to swell from around 1972, when more than one million people were found to have paid for vehicles that had problems that dealers could not, or would not, repair.

The automobile lemon law is designed to protect consumers from irreparable manufacturer's defects in vehicles that should be covered by a car service contract.

Back in 1972, when purchaser demand for consumer protection started to swell, more than 1 million people were found to have paid for vehicles that had many problems that dealers could not, or would not, repair.