When the Lemon Law doesn't apply, the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices–Consumer Protection Act often does. It gives Texas consumers the right to recover damages — including attorney's fees — for warranty breaches and seller misrepresentations.
Diminished value damages — the difference between what you paid and what the vehicle was actually worth in its defective condition at purchase — plus attorney's fees.
The DTPA operates as a consumer protection backstop — broader in some ways than the Lemon Law, with its own deadlines and a federal parallel that extends your window further.
When a manufacturer fails to honor the written warranty you received at purchase.
A breach of express warranty occurs when a manufacturer fails to repair your vehicle pursuant to the written warranty — commonly known as the bumper-to-bumper warranty. This happens when a defect is not repaired after a reasonable number of attempts, not resolved within a reasonable time, or when a repair that should be covered is outright denied.
A warranty denial typically occurs when the dealer or manufacturer refuses to cover the repair by citing an exclusion — lack of maintenance, modification, neglect, abuse, and so on. In these situations, the consumer is being blamed for the problem. If that happens, the burden shifts: the manufacturer must prove the defect was caused by something you did or failed to do, such as not changing the engine oil on schedule.
Protections provided by law that exist whether or not they appear in writing.
In addition to any written warranty, Texas law provides implied warranties that accompany most consumer purchases automatically. Two are relevant here:
Applies to new products only. Requires that the product be merchantable — fit for the purpose for which it was intended — at the time you purchased it. If your vehicle was defective the day you drove it off the lot, this warranty was already breached.
Requires that any repair work performed be done in a competent, professional manner. Shoddy repair attempts that fail to fix the underlying defect may constitute a breach of this warranty.
Damages are calculated on the value gap created by the defect — not on repair costs.
If you have a valid DTPA claim, you may be entitled to damages and attorney's fees. Damages typically take the form of diminished value — the difference between what you paid for the vehicle and what it was actually worth in its defective condition on the date of purchase.
The amount of diminished value damages is determined by four factors:
Two statutes — one state, one federal — with different windows. Together they give us maximum flexibility.
The statute of limitations is two years from the date of breach. As a general rule, if the claim is filed within two years of the first reported defect, the claim will be considered timely.
We bring a parallel claim under the Federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act alongside every DTPA matter. Although both statutes are similar, the FMMWA carries a four-year statute of limitations from purchase — meaning that if your claim falls outside the DTPA window, the federal statute may still give us a viable path.
Read the FMMWA →Many vehicle owners who don't qualify under the Lemon Law still have a strong DTPA or federal warranty claim. There is no cost to you — attorney's fees are recoverable from the manufacturer if we prevail.
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