Owner-operator Larry A. Ward of Ohio bought his first brand-new truck in 1997. He says things started to go wrong immediately. Steer tires pulled to the right. Gauge lights flickered and died. The dashboard fell into his lap. The horn honked by itself.

Again and again the dealership fixed the latest problem, under warranty, and bid Ward farewell, only to guide him back into the bay a few days later.

“The truck was down there in the shop every weekend for the first year,” Ward says. “My friends joked that I not only bought a new truck but a 12-door garage and a crew of mechanics to go with it.”

Ward’s home and the dealership are in neighboring towns, but in the first six months, driving between them put 3,000 miles on his odometer. He outlasted three warranty managers and numerous mechanics. The last time his wife, Brenda, mailed copies of all their service documentation, the postage came to $21.

Yet, years after declaring his new truck a lemon, Ward still drives it. He says he has no choice.

“Everything on this truck has been replaced three or four times except for my steering column, and that’s been replaced only once,” Ward says. “I suppose it’s been a year and a half since it’s shut me down. The back windows still leak, and the windshield still leaks. I think this is my fourth windshield. But here I am still driving it because I can’t afford to do anything else.”