There are few things more frustrating than a defective vehicle, but it’s especially aggravating if you just bought a car that was supposed to be new or certified pre-owned.
That’s why California has something called the Lemon Law claim intended to protect consumers. However, the law may only give you a limited time to file your claim.
Article Summary
What is California Lemon Law Claim
The California Lemon Law, formally called the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, allows consumers to sue a manufacturer in the event their bought or leased vehicle turns out to be a lemon: or condition that substantially of the vehicle, or.
What Vehicles Are Covered?
The California Lemon Law covers various types of vehicles, including:
- New cars, trucks, and SUVs
- Certified pre-owned vehicles under the manufacturer’s warranty
- Commercial than 10,000 lbs total gross weight, if it’s the only commercial vehicle owned by a business with no more than five total vehicles registered with the Secretary of State within one state.
California Statutes of Limitations for Lemon Law Claims
The most important factor in deciding whether you should make a lemon law claim is probably the statute of limitations. In California, you have four years to make a lemon law claim after you discovered, or should have discovered, that your car was a lemon.
That period most likely gives you plenty of time to go through the repair and buyback process to see if your car is still not drivable because of repeated problems.
Warranty Coverage Period
Technically, the statute of limitations is four years, but you also must have a claim under the manufacturer’s warranty. This is because the defect in the vehicle must manifest itself while the warranty is in place in order for you to qualify for a claim under the lemon law. Each manufacturer is different, but it is usually in the range of three years or 36,000 miles up to five years or 60,000 miles.
Multiple Repair Attempts
At the heart of every lemon law claim is the ‘reasonable number of repair attempts’. Even though the law does not say what that number is, it is universally accepted that:
When possible, and when a part break or system failure could cause serious injury or death, at least two attempts should be made to correct the defect.
At least four attempts should be made to repair any other substantial defect.
Secondly, a motor vehicle is considered to be a ‘lemon’, triggering a claim, if it is out of service for more than 30 cumulative days due to repairs.
Record Keeping
Whenever you make a repair attempt or contact the manufacturer about the problem, write a letter describing the complaint and how it limited your use of the car. Write up a detailed list of the ‘actually existing’ defects, and date each entry.
Then save copies of every repair invoice and receipt, every email and letter you got from the dealership and manufacturer, and every photo, video or detailed description of its working defect.
Steps To File a Lemon Law Claim
The experienced lemon law attorneys at Young & Young APC recommend that you complete the following steps if you believe your vehicle is a lemon:
Notify the Manufacturer
Step 1: Write to the vehicle manufacturer to inform them about this persistent defect. This is vital as it once again gives the car-maker one more chance to put things right.
Seek Arbitration
Instead, a drawback to going to court is that many manufacturers offer alternative dispute resolution programs to resolve lemon law cases on a non-judicial basis. Other than time and cost considerations, which can be significant, you should review the specifics of the arbitration program to see if the decision is binding or not binding.
File a Lawsuit
Assuming that arbitration fails or is unavailable, you can then file a lawsuit. Because lemon law claims are complicated, representation by a lawyer at this point comes in handy.
Potential Outcomes to Your Lemon Law Case
Should your claim be successful, you can expect one of the following outcomes:
- Vehicle Replacement: The manufacturer provides you with a comparable vehicle to replace the lemon.
- Ref get your money back, in the form of the purchase price (down payment, remaining balance on your loan, registration fees, even towing or rental car expenses).
- Another huge advantage of the California Lemon Law is that, if your claim succeeds, the manufacturer has to cover your attorney fees.
Exceptions and Special Circumstances
With few exceptions, if you buy a lemon in California, you are protected by the California lemon law. There are some common exceptions to this important consumer concept. Here are four of them:
Used Vehicles
You may in fact have a lemon even if the vehicle you purchased from the seller is ‘used’ (if it is still covered by the manufacturer’s warranty). But even when a vehicle is ultimately determined to be a lemon, the resulting claims may relate only to the residual value of the vehicle, a prorated amount of the purchase price, or other potential remedies.
Auctioneers who fail to properly disclose information about vehicles being sold may be subject to civil penalties and fines. And claims for used vehicles may be more limited than claims for new vehicles, so it’s especially important to have good documentation, as well as appropriate legal advice.
Commercial Vehicles
Other classes of commercial vehicles with gross weights below 10,000 lb (approximately 4540 kg) and subject to other business entity requirements are similarly covered, though such cases are likely to raise several exceptions.
Aftermarket Modifications
These are important points when your vehicle was altered because modifications sometimes affect your lemon law claim. If alterations whether additions or removals could be linked to the cause of the defect, the vehicle could be disqualified from lemon law protections.
Likewise, depending on where you live, having your lemon law buyback money allocated toward a repurchase could impact your ability to buy a lemon in the future. The bottom line is, always consult with an attorney about your lemon law case, not least to see how a modification past, present or future might affect it.
Knowing how much time you have to file a lemon law claim in California and exactly what actions you need to take is vital so that you do not fall out of the statute of limitations and lose your rights under the lemon law.
Final Words
You have four years to file a lemon law claim but make sure your lemon vehicle’s defect is recorded while it is still under warranty. Keeping accurate records and alerting the manufacturer and an expert in California lemon law are the best ways to navigate the process. With careful attention to the process and help from an experienced attorney, you can get a reasonable outcome for your defective vehicle.
