What is a lemon?
Warranty
In order to qualify under California Lemon Law, your vehicle must have demonstrated problems while under its’ original manufacturers warranty. Each manufacturer sets its’ own terms for its’ warranty period.
Examples of Some Standard Warranties:
Mercedes Benz – All new Mercedes–Benz vehicles are protected by our New Vehicle Limited Warranty, covering defects in material or workmanship for 48-months or 50,000 miles, whichever comes first.
General Motors – The Bumper-to-Bumper Limited Warranty covers most GM vehicles registered in the U.S. and Canada from the date the vehicle is first delivered until it reaches 3 years or 36,000 miles (whichever occurs first, see dealer for details) on Chevrolet and GMC vehicles; and 4 years or 50,000 miles (whichever occurs first)
Opportunity to Repair
You must allow an authorized service center (usually at an authorized dealership for your brand of vehicle) an opportunity to repair your defective vehicle. Of course, if the service center is unable to fix the problem and you have taken the car in on numerous occasions, there is a high likelihood that you have yourself a lemon.
It is also important to have documentation of each time you have taken your vehicle in for repair. These are called the service records and offered to you when you pick up your vehicle. If you do not have a copy of these records, you can go to the service center that repaired your vehicle and request a copy of these records. This is the best evidence of how many times you have taken your vehicle in for repair.
Presumption
California Lemon Law has a presumption in place to protect consumers. A presumption is a set of facts that if met will make it much easier for the consumer to get the manufacturer to take back their car or offer a replacement. The presumption in California states that a car is a lemon if one of the following has occurred within the first 18 months or 18,000 miles of a lease or purchase (whichever happens first): (1) Your vehicle has been at a service center for more than 30 days over that period of time OR(2) Your vehicle has been in for the same verified safety related issue twice OR(3) Your vehicle has been in for the same verified non-safety related issue four times
Lemon Law Process
Once we review these documents, we can give you our evaluation regarding the likelihood of success and the necessary steps needed to pursue a claim against the manufacturer.
Give us a call at 833-4-Lemon 1
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Remedies
Repurchase
In our experience, the best solution for our clients is to have the manufacturer take the car back and give our clients a full refund. A repurchase is where the manufacturer takes back your car and refunds you the monies you have expended on either a lease or purchase (minus the fair use value for you using your car prior to it having any issues).
Replacement
Often times, our clients like the vehicle they are driving and just want one that is operating like promised. In this scenario the manufacturer will take back the defective car and offer a replacement.
Cash Settlement
Cash is often times offered by the manufacturer if they are able to resolve the issues with the vehicle and rather pay off our clients’ for their troubles. A cash settlement includes an offer of money to the client in exchange for resolving their disputes with the manufacturer.