Disclaimer: I am not an attorney. For legal advice, consult your legal professional.

In light of merchants and sellers practicing deceptive douchebaggery (an Apple dealer, for instance, quoting $1,200.00 to repair a MacBook Pro that was one year out of warranty), it’s a good idea for consumers to check their state statutes.

The state of Maine has a very rigorous implied warranty law.

“It stipulates that regardless of manufacturer warranty, any item purchased new in this state must function normally for the normal expected lifespan of the item under normal usage, and the onus is on the manufacturer or reseller to prove abuse. For computers that is typically 3-5 years. It’s taken seriously enough here that there is a form on the attorney general’s website you can fill out to trigger an automatic complaint. This complaint is actually followed up on, and the consequence for outright refusal is loss of the right to operate in the state.” (With thanks to redditor /u/ijustwanttobejess).

If you download the actual statute, it’s very enlightening. The official summary:

A. Maine’s implied warranty law applies to all new or used consumer goods that are sold by merchants, except for used cars.
B. Used car dealers are allowed to disclaim implied warranty rights and typically do so on the car’s Used Car Information window sticker.
C. The Maine implied warranty law offers the following protection: if you have been sold a seriously defective product or component, even if the product has exceeded its express warranty period, then both the seller and the manufacturer can be required to repair it for you free of charge. In order to prove a breach of implied warranty you must be able to prove within the first four years from date of sale, that:
(1) The item has a serious manufacturer’s defect;
(2) You have not abused the item; and
(3) The product (or defective component of the product) is still within its useful life
(useful life will normally extend at the most four years from the time of sale).
D. It is an unfair trade practice for a merchant (except a used car dealer) to attempt to disclaim verbally or in writing your implied warranty rights and to thereby limit your rights to an express warranty.
E. Implied warranty rights and express warranty rights are often automatically transferred to second buyers.
F. If an item is defective, you should take it back to the dealer and let the dealer arrange the repairs. You should not have to be responsible for returning it to the manufacturer.

What’s more, the question of “useful life” is treated in detail (there’s more in the full document, this is just an extract)

Appliance              Low       High      Average
Dishwasher             5         14        10
Dryer, electric        12        16        14
Freezer, standard      10        22        16
Furnace, warm-air, oil 7.5       40        20
Microwave oven         5         14        11
Range, electric        10        30        17
Refrigerator           10        20        17
Washer                 12        14        13
Water heater, electric 10        18        14

To cite a personal example, if I toddle down to the local home-improvement store and buy a fridge, by law there’s no real reason for me to buy that extended warranty that they offer – the store, not the manufacturer, is responsible for making sure that fridge works right for at least the low end of its expected life, which is 10 years.

As they say, the devil is in the details, and lodging a complaint with the Attorney General for failure to honor implied warranty is, to me, the “thermonuclear option” – it’s there to protect consumers from gross negligence or insouciance. As a result, for the last two referigerators we bought I did get that extended warranty, because most repairmen I have spoken with have been united on the fact that ice-makers are mostly crap, and are prone to break down regularly. Both times that warranty paid for itself multiple times over in saved repair costs. It’s faster than going the legal route, saves endless hassle, and is worth the small extra expense. But that’s the only appliance I’ve ever used one for.

I chuckled to read that used-car dealers are exempt from voiding implied warranty, but there’s a certain amount of sense in that. Even the honest ones (there may be one or two) have no way of knowing what might let go next week on that sweet deal they just sold you.

But the takeaway here is that depending on your state, you may not be without recourse when a dealer thinks they have you by the short hairs. Check your state statutes, because forewarned is forearmed.

The Old Wolf has spoken.