California Lemon Law Protects the Consumer

2007-03-08 10:33:40

( Legal )



Next to your home, your most expensive investment is your car. Naturally, you expect it to perform satisfactorily according to your dealer or manufacturer's claims.

Unfortunately, there are many consumers who encounter "lemons" or substandard vehicles which spend more time in the shop rather than on the road, despite numerous attempts to correct the defect.

California Lemon Law Rights

This law states that if a dealer or manufacturer fails to fix the defects of a vehicle after a reasonable number of attempts, you as the car owner have the right to demand a replacement vehicle or get your money back.

If the dealer or manufacturer fails or refuses to provide you with a satisfactory offer of reimbursement, you can file a lawsuit. If you win, you not only get reimbursement for your car, but also for attorney fees and other lawsuit expenses.

Eligibility of Cases Under the California Lemon Law

Your car doesn't have to be brand new to be entitled to California lemon law rights. Second hand cars are also eligible, as long as the dealer or manufacturer has provided you a service warranty. California lemon law also covers RVs, motorcycles and boats.

California lemon law states that you are supposed to get a replacement or refund when the manufacturer has failed to repair your vehicle after "reasonable" number of attempts within 18 months or 18,000 miles. This is regardless of the nature and number of defects, as long as you can account for the total or cumulative number of days the car was under repair.

Even if your warranty period has run out at the time you filed the suit, you can still pursue your case as long as the first repair for the defect had been done within the warranty period.

Limitations of the Law

Lemon laws have limitations too, and the California lemon law is no exception.
The lemon law only protects consumers who bought old or new cars that have warranties from the dealer or manufacturer. The law cannot apply to a car which you bought under "as is" circumstances. In such cases, you had agreed to purchase the car even if you were aware of its condition.

Only repairs done by the dealer or manufacturer and under the warranty are covered by the law. If you used an independent shop to repair the defects, you cannot sue under the lemon law.

Details of your case are subjected to interpretation by the jury, and you carry the burden of proof concerning the repair problems. The dealer or manufacturer can always turn things around and say that the defects resulted from your own negligent or malicious actions.

As a responsible car owner, keep track of all the details of your car's repairs. Retain the receipts and repair schedules to show proof of what was repaired and for how long or how often.

In case you need to sue, there are many good lemon law lawyers to choose from.


All rights Reserved © Tradenet Services srl
Do not duplicate or redistribute in any form.