Lemon Law for California

Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act popularly known as the California lemon law has been established to protect the interests of consumers if they buy a defective vehicle from a manufacturer or a dealer. It is really upsetting to end up buying your dream car that develops serious defects. And if in such an event, the dealer or the manufacturer fails to repair the defects within a ‘reasonable time’ the CA lemon law comes in effect forcing them to replace the faulty vehicle with a new one or compensate you for the total value of the vehicle along with all other expenses incurred during the warranty period.

Unless your vehicle is eligible, you cannot get a refund or replacement under the California lemon law. What makes your car eligible to be qualified as a lemon? Here are some basic eligibility criteria for qualifying to take advantage of the CA lemon law:

• If the manufacturer or the dealer is incapable of repairing the defect after 2 attempts in the event of a normal defect or after two attempts in case the defect is safety related

• If the manufacturer or the dealer is incapable of repairing the defect within 30 days.

Only after the car has met the above-mentioned criteria the owner of the defective vehicle can start taking legal action with the help of CA lemon law attorney.

If you’ve been dogged with your vehicle problems and think that you have a lemon car, you should know that your consumer rights are protected under the CA lemon law. To get the best possible settlement and compensation, however, it’s extremely helpful to keep thorough records that will help you easily prove that you have followed the procedures necessary to classify your vehicle as a lemon. Here are some lemon law tips:

• Keep a logbook (notebook or a computer spreadsheet) to make a notation every time you speak to or visit the dealer or manufacturer.

• Write down every communication, the date and time, as well as the name, title, and phone number of the person to whom you spoke and outline the information and instructions you were given.

• Keep track of your vehicle’s performance noting the times and dates when the problems occur.

• Note the days your vehicle is unavailable, either because it isn’t in working condition or because it is in the shop for repair.

• Keep all of the repair records and maintenance orders – even those that may not pertain to the recurring problem with your vehicle. Don’t leave your vehicle at the dealership without a copy of the work order.

• Keep every piece of written correspondence. Hold on to a copy of every letter and email you send, as well as proof of delivery (delivery documentation). It’s important to understand your state’s lemon law as some states require that you contact the manufacturer via certified mail.

If you feel that you have a lemon car, but haven’t kept a logbook, don’t panic. Just find a professional lemon law attorney.

Under the CA lemon law, if the vehicle manufacturer participates in a state-certified arbitration program, the vehicle owner must request arbitration in order to seek relief (although the owner can accept or reject the arbitrator’s decision).

On the arbitration hearing both you and the manufacturer’s representative will speak before the arbitrator. You will speak first. The manufacturer’s attorneys can question you; and you can question them when they speak.

Though the arbitration hearing is less formal than an actual court proceeding, you must come prepared to present your case. You must bring the records that outline all of the work done on your defective vehicle and all of the diagnosed problems; an odometer reading; copies of correspondence with the manufacturer and/or dealer; statements from mechanics or other experts; appraisals or estimates of the resale value of the vehicle with its defects; and a variety of financial records. All these records will help you prove to the arbitrator that the lemon law claim you are making is true, and that the defect negatively impacts the use, value, or safety of the vehicle. It is also important that your records are in chronological order and ready to present to the arbitrator in an organized fashion.

You will receive a notification on the outcome of the arbitration hearing. Possible decisions include:

• An additional repair attempt
• A replacement vehicle
• A refund of the purchase price
• Reimbursement for towing, car rental, and so forth
• No award

If you are dissatisfied with the arbitration decision, you can either go to court or, after an additional repair attempt, re-file your arbitration case. Whether you choose to go into arbitration again or go to court, it’s in your best interest to have a lemon law attorney represent you.

If you have leased a new vehicle it can be covered by California lemon law. CA lemon law presumes that a leased vehicle is a lemon if:

• It has manufacturer’s defects affecting its use, safety or value

• The  defects have occurred during the first 18 months from the original owner’s delivery date or the first 18,000 miles on the odometer (whichever period ends first) unless your vehicle is covered by a longer warranty; if you have a longer warranty, Lemon Law protects you for the entire warranty period

• It has been taken in four times for the same problem or if it has been out of service for 30 days due to a series of unrelated problems; or if the problem is likely to cause death or serious bodily injury, the vehicle has been taken in two times for repair

• You have notified the manufacturer of the need for repair (if the notification is required in your owner’s manual)

According to CA lemon law if your leased vehicle is a lemon you may be awarded a replacement vehicle of the same year, make, and model. You may also qualify for a monetary compensation, which can include:

• Down payment and lease payments

• Sales tax

• Registration fees

• Finance charges paid on your lease

• Towing and vehicle rental costs

• Incidental costs

• Attorney’s fees

The amount of the monetary reward may be reduced by a deduction for the total mileage on the vehicle and is calculated by dividing the miles drive at the time of the first repair attempt by 120,000, and multiplying by the purchase price.

Remember organization is the key to presenting a convincing lemon law case. The more organized your evidence is, the more likely your lemon law attorney is to win your case. So you’d better keep all of the paperwork you received every time you brought your vehicle to be serviced as well as catalog the days the vehicle spent in the shop and out of your possession.

It is important to know about your consumer rights under the California lemon law. If you qualify as an aggrieved party you are entitled to get a refund or another vehicle of the same brand and high quality. There are many details to be considered if the plaintiff desires a favorable verdict.

The first step in restoring your losses is the manufacturer’s arbitration that is voluntary in California. It is important for the consumer to know that he/she does not have to use it to enforce the Lemon Law. Very often in the course of the arbitration process, the manufacturer may make an offer to the consumer to “resolve” his/her CA lemon law claim. However, such an offer may not follow the requirements of the Lemon Law and may provide the consumer with substantially less than the Lemon Law would otherwise provide the consumer. So the consumer would better get help from a CA lemon law attorney.

Your lemon lawyer will work on your behalf to get the compensation you are entitled to — typically in the form of a refund, a replacement vehicle, or a cash settlement. Your lemon law attorney will ask you for all of your repair orders and correspondence that pertain to your lemon. Your lawyer will conduct a thorough investigation of your vehicle’s repair history, then present the manufacturer with a statement outlining your case and demanding full recovery. Manufacturers usually settle very quickly knowing that the cost of going to court will be much higher. However if they don’t settle your lemon law attorney will sue the manufacturer and resolve your lemon law case.

When you buy a new vehicle you expect its proper performance. But your “new car experience” is spoiled when you have to leave it at dealership’s shop to fix a problem. And when the same problem is happening over and over again, after a number of repair attempts you realize that your vehicle has an unrepairable defect and feel very disappointed with your purchase. Now you think of getting rid of your defective car.

You should know that there is California lemon law that will protect your consumer rights. It enables you to get a refund or replacement and you are to decide what to choose.

Most people think that in order to have their lemon vehicle repurchased or replaced under the CA lemon law, they are required to “go to court.” But “going to court” is the last step in the process. It happens when all other means of “settling” a case have failed.

In a lemon law case only an experienced and qualified lemon law attorney can provide the consumer with valuable information about the consumer rights, as well as guide the consumer through each step of the lemon law process. Lemon laws vary from state to state so it is very important that the lawyer is specialized in your state’s Lemon Law.

If you have problems with the car you have bought you should not delay having it repaired. A malfunctioning car can become a reason of serious accidents. Why jeopardize your life?

Very often manufacturers and dealers give a consumer an endless runaround with a defective vehicle. Sometimes they repair items that do not actually fix the problem, telling him or her that there is nothing wrong with the vehicle and even that the problem is actually part of “how that vehicle runs.”

Unless the consumer contacts a lemon law attorney, these distractions can go on for years and stick the consumer with a defective vehicle. Lemon law attorneys are much experienced on cutting through all the distractions and getting the consumer the reimbursement and possible reward they are entitled to under the California lemon law.

The CA Lemon Law, also known as Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, states that if a purchased vehicle turns out to be defective within the warranty period then the consumer is entitled to get a refund or replacement. The Lemon Law keeps the manufacturer liable for all the defects and problems in a defective vehicle. In case the manufacturer fails to fix the problem right even after reasonable number of attempts, defective vehicle must be either replaced or the consumer’s money must be refunded.

Very often manufacturers try to discourage the vehicle owners from pursuing claims for defective vehicles putting out false propaganda that a consumer doesn’t have a lemon law claim unless four repair attempts have been made for the same defect within the first 18,000 miles or 18 months. This is simply incorrect.

The correct standard is whether the manufacturer has been given a reasonable opportunity to repair the vehicle within the warranty period. The reasonable number of repair attempts depends on the seriousness of the defect. If the defect is serious and can threaten the safety of car occupants, two repair attempts within the first 18 months or 18,000 miles are usually deemed reasonable.

There is a California lemon law presumption that the consumer should give the manufacturer a reasonable opportunity to repair the vehicle and if there have been four or more repair or 30 days of downtime in the first 18,000 miles and 18 months but the vehicle still is not repaired, then the consumer has a lemon law case.

However, meeting this lemon law presumption is not a necessary element of a lemon law case. Practically, most lemon law cases go forward without the lemon law presumption. This is only a guideline and each case must be analyzed by a professional lemon law attorney to determine if the manufacturer has had a reasonable opportunity to repair within the warranty period. If this is done, the manufacturer has to replace the vehicle or give a refund.

You have bought a new car and there is something wrong with it, but you have a car warranty and just take it to the dealer for repairs. However, the problem occurs again and again and you realize that your car may be a lemon. You should not put up with that fact as driving a lemon car can be life-threatening.

It is time to research your local lemon laws. If you live in California you should get detailed information about CA lemon law as lemon laws vary from state to state. You can either thoroughly examine Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act or have a consultation with a lemon law attorney to determine if the problem is your mechanic or your car.

In case your car is really a lemon the California lemon law is there to protect you. You are entitled to receive a replacement vehicle or monetary compensation.  But you should have documented all of your repair attempts. Then you should send a letter to the manufacturer and if he rejects your request to replace or refund, your lemon law attorney will do the following:

1.    Arrange an arbitration with the car manufacturer with all of the evidence necessary which may include but is not limited to your purchase documents, repair orders and any correspondence with the manufacturer and/or dealership; or

2.    File a civil lawsuit against the car manufacturer/dealership on your behalf for the protection of your CA Lemon Law rights under the CA lemon law.

When you send a lemon law claim letter to the manufacturer you usually get a negative response. This is because car companies are sure that if they deny every claim then most people who complain will probably go away. And unfortunately most people usually do so.

Car companies also think that most of the rest of the lemon law cases will also go away if they stretch out the process for as long as they can. They think so because of the following reasons:

1) Many people can’t or won’t come up with the money they need to retain an attorney. Or they’ll be scared of going to court and back out.

2) Some people may decide that going through the lemon law complaint process isn’t worth the effort and usually just sell the car privately.

3) Some people may think that before the case gets to court something could happen to the car. They could move to another state or have an accident which the company can then blame all the problems on.

4) Car companies know that if they stretch out the process long enough, people will put thousands of more miles on the car, the value of the car will then be reduced because the car is older and has been used more. So, if you put on another 30,000 miles on the car they get to deduct 30,000 more miles worth of depreciation from the price they pay you in the settlement. In other words, the longer the car is used the less they have to pay for it in the end.

5) Most people will end up taking a low-ball offer for their lemon law attorney fees and a couple of thousand dollars.

Car companies are fully sure that time is on their side and if they wait it out, they can get rid of about 95% of lemon law cases without even getting close to the courthouse steps. As a matter of fact they are counting on this.