Lemon Law for California

Although the special provisions discussed above apply to new motor vehicles, Song-Beverly has many general rules that apply to any consumer product sold with an express written warranty. As a result, there is important coverage for motorcycles, the living quarters of a mobile home, used vehicles sold with a dealer’s express written warranty, “lemon” vehicles repurchased by the manufacturer and sold to consumers with an express written warranty covering the defect, and vehicles sold with a service contract.

A full description of warranty rights is beyond the scope of this message, but you should be aware that coverage is not identical to the coverage for new motor vehicles. For example, a warrantor who is unable to conform a consumer product to its express warranty within a reasonable number of attempts is required to replace the goods or refund the purchase price less an amount attributable to the consumer’s use. Unlike the special rules on new motor vehicles, however, there is no set formula for determining the charge for the consumer’s use before the discovery of the defect, and the Lemon Law presumption does not apply.

• Often times, your new car isn’t suspected of being a Lemon until it is too late (out of warranty, over the mileage limit, etc). If you keep a record of every repair visit, starting with the first one, you will protect your rights under Consumer Laws. Our Repair Logmakes it easy to record every Repair Attempt.

• Document everything! This includes notes, who you talk to, what is said, dates and times. Put your complaints in writing and keep a copy for yourself. Be sure to obtain a copy of any Warranty Repair Orders. Demand a copy if necessary and if the dealer will not give you one, be sure to document the fact. When you pick up your car, obtain an Invoice. The dealer may claim that you are not entitled to an Invoice because there were no charges (you were not invoiced for any repairs). It is up to you to prove repair attempts! The final Invoice shows what was or was not repaired.

• Make absolutely sure the dealer records your complaint on the Repair Order exactly as you describe it. You must make sure to describe the defect exactly the same on each repair visit or you may forfeit your rights under the “reasonable attempts to repair for the same defect” clause.

• Be sure that the date, time in, and odometer reading are recorded as well as the date and time you picked up the car. In most States you are covered by the Lemon Law if the vehicle has been in the repair shop for an accumulative number of days during the coverage period.

• If your car fails in the middle of the desert or in the middle lane of rush hour freeway traffic, record the date and time, the amount of time you had to wait for assistance, whether or not you had to rent a car, and your general overall feelings. The emotional trauma dealing with a defective vehicle has a lot of bearing on your case should you need to go to arbitration or court.

New vehicles may contain hidden mechanical flaws or defects in workmanship, caused by design flaws or by an error during the automotive factory build process. These errors can range from parts being installed incorrectly to a tool that was used to build the car not being removed or a batch of materials with structural or chemical flaws.

Consumer protection legislation typically labels vehicles as “lemons” if the same problem recurs despite multiple repair attempts (such as three times in a row over a short period, where previous attempts have not fixed the problem) or where defects have caused a new vehicle to be out of service for a prolonged period (typically thirty days or longer) for repairs.

The primary objective of these lemon laws is to force manufacturers to buy back defective vehicles or exchange them. Depending on the jurisdiction, a process similar to vehicle title branding may also be used to warn subsequent purchasers of the history of a problem vehicle. This portion of a vehicle’s history is, however, often not retained with the vehicle title when exporting vehicles to another jurisdiction.

If you purchased a used car there are two situations in which you may be qualified for cash or other lemon law benefits:

Situation #1: You may be entitled to compensation for breach of warranty if you had one of the following warranties:

 Any warranty left from the manufacturer when you purchased your vehicle (for example, almost all vehicles sold with fewer than 36,000 miles will have this. But if the warranty is longer, you may have even more time).

 Your vehicle was “Certified” by the Manufacturer (in which case it came with a short Manufacturer’s Warranty, typically 1 year).

 You purchased an Extended Warranty backed by the Manufacturer (typically 5 years or longer).

Normally, these types of cases fall outside the scope of the state lemon law but are covered under special federal lemon laws.

Situation #2: When No Manufacturer’s Warranty Exists If you do not have a manufacturer’s warranty of any kind you may be entitled to compensation for violations of consumer protection laws that fall outside of the lemon laws. The following is a list of some of the problems and/or issues which may be present in your vehicle.

 Prior history of mechanical problems known to the seller: Laundered Lemon.

 Previously salvaged or wrecked.

 Fraudulently rolled back odometer.

 Rental car, police car, taxi, or similar.

 Stolen, stripped and rebuilt.

 Involved in a flood.

Lemon Laws vary from state to state, so accurate information on the scope and restrictions of Lemon Laws in a particular state should be obtained from an attorney practicing in that state.

Factors in maintenance and modification which can contribute to motor vehicle accidents include:

Poor Maintenance of Brakes - Obviously, brake failure can be a significant factor in causing an accident, as an unexpected brake failure may leave a driver unable to slow or stop in order to maintain control of a vehicle, or to avoid a collision.

Poor Maintenance of Tires - Tire blowouts from old, worn, or improperly patched tires can result in an accident.

Dangerous Modifications - Sometimes drivers will make after-market modifications to their cars, without regard for the laws or vehicle safety regulations. Sometimes the modifications will diminish the safety of their vehicle, will impede their ability to properly observe the roadway, or will increase the danger to others as a result of collision. Excessively bright headlights or foglights, for example, can blind oncoming drivers. Where after-market modifications are performed by a company, that company may also face liability if the modifications contribute to an accident or injury.

Older vehicles may be subject to axle failure, suspension failure, or a steering mechanism failure. When such failures occur on newer vehicles they may suggest a design or manufacturing defect in the vehicle. Routine maintenance and inspection can help prevent a mechanical failure from causing or contributing to accident or injury. Drivers should also heed manufacturer recall notices.

Nothing can replace the loss of a loved one. But when the loss was caused by the poor design of a vehicle or component, the victim’s family can achieve justice, peace of mind, and perhaps even prevent a similar tragedy from happening to someone else. In cases involving accidents caused by defective vehicles obtaining justice requires experience, determination, and a readiness to go all the way through trial.

The manufacturer of a product has the legal responsibility to see that it is safe in normal use. Yet every year, defective products cause hundreds of accidents, some of them fatal.
In a products liability case, the insurance company for the manufacturer wants to limit both their liability for the accident in question and the number of other potential claims involving the same type of defect. For those reasons, the insurance company and their lawyers will resist providing fair and complete compensation to the victim of the accident.

We carefully analyze all aspects of the case to identify the true reasons for the product failure. We call in design, engineering, and materials experts who can provide expert testimony in court. We quantify the loss to our client and aggressively prepare for trial. Our objective is to maximize the compensation our client receives.

Implied warranties are not written or spoken, but automatically apply when you purchase a car (unless the car is sold “as is”). There are two types of implied warranties: the implied warranty of merchantability and the implied warranty of fitness.

Implied Warranty of Merchantability

The implied warranty of merchantability assures that an automobile will work as expected, given its age and condition. This usually means that the car is in average condition for the price paid and is fit for safe and reliable transportation. It does not guarantee a perfect car.
State laws hold dealers responsible if cars they sell don’t meet reasonable quality standards. These obligations are called implied warranties - unspoken, unwritten promises from the seller to the buyer. However, dealers in most states can use the words “as is” or “with all faults” in a written notice to buyers to eliminate implied warranties. There is no specified time period for implied warranties.

When the dealer offers a vehicle “as is,” the box next to the “As Is - No Warranty” disclosure on the Buyers Guide must be checked. If the box is checked but the dealer promises to repair the vehicle or cancel the sale if you’re not satisfied, make sure the promise is written on the Buyers Guide. Otherwise, you may have a hard time getting the dealer to make good on his word. Some states, including Connecticut, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and the District of Columbia, don’t allow “as is” sales for many used vehicles.

Three states - Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Washington - require different disclosures than those on the Buyers Guide. If the dealer fails to provide proper state disclosures, the sale is not “as is.” To find out what disclosures are required for “as is” sales in your state, contact your state Attorney General.

Dealers and manufacturers are often reluctant to pay on a lemon law claim, even if it is justified. Here are some common explanations that dealers and manufacturers offer for why they refuse to either replace your defective vehicle or refund your purchase price.

Lemon laws were introduced to simplify the process of a consumer getting relief after he or she buys a habitually defective vehicle from an auto manufacturer. Prior to the passage of such laws, consumers were essentially at the mercy of the manufacturers, who simply do not want to refund money or offer replacement vehicles for those that are defective.

The lemon laws in all 50 states make it clear that the consumer has the right to request a refund or a replacement vehicle should their auto qualify as defective under their state’s lemon law statute. And yet, time and again, manufacturers and dealers offer excuses and explanations as to why they cannot or will not offer relief.

Here are some of the most common reasons offered to consumers as to why a refund or replacement cannot be offered:

-The defect is not significant - The defect need only “substantially affect” the value, use or safety of the vehicle. It need not be a “significant’ defect; even something small can affect one of those three things. Whether or not a defect affects safety, value or use isn’t really a dealer call, anyway. These things are best determined by either arbitration boards or judges.  

-Abuse or neglect - As far as we know, all 50 states have clauses in their refund or replacement that void the law if the vehicle has been subject to abuse, neglect or unauthorized modification by the owner. Again, that shouldn’t really be a judgment call by the dealer, although abuse and neglect are pretty easy to prove. 

Still, this accusation probably works a good portion of the time. Don’t fall for it. If you haven’t abused or neglected the vehicle, you have a valid claim. 

Buying an automobile is not a process most people enjoy. Cars are expensive, and if you choose poorly, you are stuck with the car for quite some time. So you want to buy one that’s comfortable, suits your needs and is mechanically reliable. Fortunately for buyers, every state now has some version of a lemon law, designed to protect buyers from vehicles that are both mechanically unreliable and seemingly unrepairable. If a vehicle spends a month or so being repaired during it’s warranty or needs three or more repair attempts to fix the same problem, most states require the manufacturer to either replace it or refund the purchase price.

But what about used cars? Buyers of used cars are generally on their own, but some states, such as California, have passed separate laws protecting buyers of used cars. Not every state has such protections, as that sort of legislation is still in its infancy. There is a small amount of protection available, however. Most, if not all, states have strict regulations regarding how manufacturers dispose of vehicles that have been determined to be lemons. These vehicles, returned to the manufacturers by their original owners, are usually repaired and resold. And most states require that these vehicles be prominently branded as such, usually on the title. In addition, most states also require that any dealer selling such a vehicle must disclose the vehicle’s history to any potential buyer.

What if something goes wrong?

Unfortunately, something often goes wrong, and that problem usually involves what is known as a “laundered lemon.” While most states do require strict declaration of a vehicle’s history and that the title be marked, not all states do. Some dealers have been known to buy a known lemon, title it in a state that has no such requirements, and then transfer it back to a state that requires that lemon law vehicles be branded as such. The stop in the other state usually strips, or “launders” the vehicle’s history as a known problem.

And the buyer gets stuck. There have been numerous cases in the past few years of people innocently buying used vehicles from dealers that turned out to have notorious history as lemons. When the buyers inquired about the history of these cars, they were often told “We bought it at an auction; we don’t know.” That may or may not be true, but the buyer has no way of knowing.

While the used car market still carries a “buyer beware” mentality, there are some things a buyer can do. Them most important thing would be to do a check on the car’s Vehicle Identification Number, or VIN. There are several companies, such as Carfax, that can use the VIN to trace the car’s history. It only costs a few dollars to use the service, but if it spares you thousands of dollars in repair costs, then the money is well spent.