What You Should Know About California’s Vehicle Lemon Laws

It’s relatively easy to get a new car under warranty repaired or replaced by the manufacturer, but if you bought a used car that is still under warranty, things could be a bit more difficult.

And to prevent this difficulty and safeguard the rights of used car buyers in California, the used car lemon laws of the state stand effective. These are meant to protect the customers who discover some serious or unfixable issues in the vehicle that they buy or lease.

However, this is not all that you need to know.

In fact, you need to study California’s used car lemon laws in detail and understand what is really important, according to the State of California’s ‘Department of Consumer Affairs’ .

Here are some important points that you really need to keep track of:

Also Read : Why Take A Used Car For Inspection Before Buying It?

In Case It’s A New Vehicle

• The lemon laws for cars apply issues that significantly weakens the usage, safety or value of the car which is still covered by the manufacturer’s warranty.
• However, the problem needs to be identified within the first 18,000 miles on the vehicle or the first 18 months.
• And the lemon law even applies to used cars purchased, if they are still covered by the original manufacturer’s warranty.

The Number Of Repair Attempts:

• Manufacturers are offered a ‘reasonable’ number of attempts to repair the vehicle before it is officially labled a ‘lemon’.
• Generally, they are offered four repair attempts, but if the troubles are potentially lethal such as faulty brakes etc., they could be offered just two attempts to repair the same.
• If the car is kept at the service station for more than 30 days in a row or otherwise, and is still not repaired, you are entitled to get a refund for the vehicle or a suitable replacement.

When It Cannot Be Repaired:

• If the manufacturer is not able to fix the problem even after a reasonable number of attempts, you can ask for a fair refund of the money, or the replacement of the vehicle with a new, identical one.
• If they offer you a refund for the new car, they can use a fixed formula for the amount refunded. This may include a deduction of the amount refunded based on the mileage on the car. For instance, if the car has been driven for 6,000 miles, the manufacturer can deduct a certain percentage of the original price of the vehicle.
• If it is, however a used car, California’s lemon laws are not quite specific for the amount of refund you get. You need to approach the manufacturer and settle the deal on a fair sum.

If The Manufacturer Or Dealer Pushes Back:

• There could be a case when the manufacturer or the dealer pushes back and does not respond to your request. They could assert that the troubles caused in the vehicle are due to your mishandling and the lemon laws for cars do not apply in a case like this.
• The dealer may also proclaim that the occurring troubles are not covered by the warranty, or the vehicle did not get enough chances to get fixed.
• In any such case, the documents that you got with the vehicle and the ones obtained during its repair attempts support your case. Therefore, it is important to keep all these documents and records organized and safe with

If There Is Any Dispute:

• If there is any kind of dispute with respect to the repair, replacement or refund according to the used car lemon laws, the manufacturers may participate in a state-certified arbitration program and would also call you for the same.
• When you go to the arbitration, you can either accept or reject the arbitrator’s decision made for your vehicle.
• If you accept the decision, it must also be accepted by the manufacturer. But if you reject it, you have the right to take the matter to the court.
• If you take the matter to court, you can get the assistance of a dedicated lemon law attorney for used cars in California. Not only will the attorney will help you in the negotiations but also offer assistance during the court proceedings etc.

Thus, California’s auto lemon laws are designed to offer protection to the buyers of used or new cars against faulty manufacturing or uninvited troubles in vehicles purchased by the public.

Also Read : How to choose used car inspection agency

If you too are about to buy a used car in California, you need to consult a lemon law expert and get a lemon car inspection done. For instance, you can contact ‘Car Inspectors’ and get the best assistance in relation to the lemon laws. This will greatly reduce the chance of  being subjected to any kind of vehicular troubles and also provide the legal protection you need in case something happens.