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California Lemon Law...
The
California Lemon Law
(officially known as the
Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty act, found in
California Civil Code sections 1790 et seq.)
is a law designed to
protect consumers who purchase or lease warranted
motor vehicles. If it is determined that a motor
vehicle is a "lemon", the motor vehicle's
warrantor must repurchase or replace the motor vehicle
from the buyer.
In
order to have a valid Lemon Law claim, the following
elements must be met:
1.)
The vehicle must be used
some of the time for personal, family or household
purposes. If a vehicle is used exclusively for
business purposes, the Lemon Law will not apply, but
other laws may provide certain remedies.
2.)
The vehicle must have
problems covered by a warranty. There is a simple
rule: no warranty means no Lemon Law case.
3.)
The warrantor must be unable to repair the
vehicle's warranty problems after a reasonable number
of repair attempts. What constitutes a reasonable
number of repair attempts will vary depending on the
problem. For example, if a vehicle's brakes fail, two
repair attempts may be enough to establish a
reasonable number. Generally, safety-related or
drivability concerns will require fewer repair
attempts than those which are not safety-related or
affect drivability. However, only one unsuccessful
repair attempt is never sufficient to establish a
lemon law claim.
Also
relevant to determining whether there has been a
reasonable number of repair attempts is the number of
days the vehicle is out-of-service due to warranty
repairs. The more days out-of-service, the better the
chance of establishing a reasonable number of repair
attempts.
There
is a common misconception concerning the Lemon Law,
that it only applies to vehicles that are less than 18
months old or have less than 18,000 miles. This belief
is not true! The Lemon Law will apply to a vehicle
regardless of how old it is or how many miles is has,
so long as the vehicle is having problems that are
under warranty.
Even
if the warranty has expired, the Lemon Law may apply.
If the vehicle is still having problems that were
complained about and never properly repaired during
the warranty period, a valid Lemon Law claim may
exist.
4.)
The vehicle must contain
a problem covered by the warranty that substantially
impairs the vehicle's use, value or safety to a
reasonable person in the position as the Buyer. The
Lemon Law, generally, will not apply to vehicles with
trivial or minor defects. Nevertheless, each case must
be judged independently taking into account the
particular needs and expectations of the particular
vehicle's owner/lessee.
If
the above mentioned elements are met, the vehicle is a
lemon. The vehicle's owner/lessee will be entitled to
a replacement vehicle or a refund of the vehicle's
purchase/lease price.
Vehicle
Warranties: California
has very specific rules on what defines a warranty. A factory
warranty is something that is given
to the consumer at the time of sale. The warranty can
be a "new car warranty", a "used car warranty", or a "certified
pre-owned" warranty. What all of these warranties is
that they are provided and administered by the automobile
manufacturer.
The
next category of vehicle warranties are "dealer
warranties". These "warranties" have no connection
or affiliation with the "factory warranty", and are
between the BUYER and the SELLING DEALER. The
manufacturer has no liability for the selling dealer
internal warranties.
The
final category of vehicle warranties are "extended
warranties". These "warranties" are valid in many
other states, but NOT
in California. California has its own rules that
govern these "warranties". In fact, these are not
warranties at all. In California, these must be called
"mechanical breakdown policies", "service contracts"
or other titles that do NOT use the word "warranty",
as you cannot
purchase a
warranty in California on a motor vehicle. Many
automobile dealerships mislead consumers by calling
these contracts "warranties", but they are not, and
have no
applicability to California Lemon Law. So, it does
not matter what a dealer calls it – if the word "warranty"
is not on the face of the application form, then it is
NOT a warranty.
Consumer
rights in the California Lemon Law:
All
consumers have the same rights under our California
lemon law, whether the vehicle was purchased or
leased, is new or used, as long as it’s covered by a
warranty. Consumers should realize that automobile
manufacturers, though they will often make gestures of
goodwill in an attempt to bolster customer loyalty,
are at heart still businesses.
They are there to make money - not give it back.
Though automobile manufacturer’s should buy back
offending vehicles that meet lemon law state statute
guidelines automatically by reviewing the
dealer-submitted warranty repair claims, most of the
time they do not. In most all cases, application of
the California lemon law is a consumer-driven
event. Consumers will hire lemon law attorneys to
ensure that the manufacturer conforms to their legal
duties.
The Law Offices of William R. McGee
California's Largest Lemon Law FirmSM
1-800-225-3666
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