It's a horror story that's all too common in California. You buy a brand new pimp-mobile from the dealership - complete with leopard-skin interior, pink fuzzy dice, a new purple and lime-green paint job, and jacked-up tires. Furthermore, it comes with a three-year warranty.
You're cruising down the freeway testing out the retractable roof when all of a sudden... "Pop! Bang! Whoosh! Hiss!"...Your car breaks down.
Should you be frustrated? Of course. But should you worry that you just paid thousands of dollars for a brand new car that doesn't run? Nope. Fortunately, California, like most states, has laws to protect car buyers in such instances.
Highfalutin' lawyers refer to it at the "Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act". Us normal people refer to it simply as "Lemon Law".
California's Lemon Law states that if a car manufacturer or an authorized dealer or representative can't repair a serious defect of a new vehicle under warranty after a reasonable number of attempts, then the manufacturer must either promptly replace the car or give the buyer back his or her purchase price.
The decision to get a new vehicle or get your money back is completely up to you. If you choose to get your money back though, it will not include the costs of items that were installed by either the dealer or yourself after the car was shipped from the manufacturer. (If you asked the dealer to install the fuzzy dice - you're stuck with them.) However, you will be compensated for any incidental costs associates with getting your car fixed such as towing and car rental fees.
You should also know that you may be charged for your limited use of the car up until the time when you first brought it in to get it repaired. Generally, this works out to 1% of the vehicle's purchase price for every 1,200 miles that you drove it.
Like most benefits that the law gives you, there are several catches.
First off, this law only applies as long as the warranty on your vehicle remains valid. Once the warranty expires on your car, you are on your own.
Secondly, you need to remember that it is the manufacturer that has the responsibility to set things right in this instance. The authorized dealership just has to try and repair the vehicle and is not ultimately responsible for replacing it or getting you your refund.
In other words, if your car is produced and assembled by the X Company in Michigan, but you bought the car from Joe's X dealership in California, you need to contact the X Company in Michigan to ultimately set things right. You can go to Joe's dealership in California to try and get the repairs done if Joe is an authorized representative of X cars, but it is the X Company that must replace the car under state Lemon Law provisions if Joe can not fix the vehicle in a reasonable number of attempts. Joe has no responsibility to you other than to try and fix the car.
It does not matter if Joe's dealership goes out of business, the X Company in Michigan would still be on the hook to either replace your car or refund your money. So ultimately, you would need to contact them.
In fact, you need to be on the lookout for scams where a dealership will try and take your broken car still under warranty and offer to "trade it in" for a more expensive vehicle. That is not a fulfillment of California's Lemon Law, but simply a way for the dealership to make a handy profit.
The third item to remember is that any repair attempts must be done by an authorized dealer, and not an independent repair shop in order for the Lemon Law provisions to apply.
The fourth thing to keep in mind is that this law does not apply to any damages caused by you through negligence or abuse of your vehicle. If you never bother to put oil in your car, and then suddenly decide to do 95 mph up and down the streets of San Francisco, don't expect California's Lemon Law to bail you out when you either smash into a telephone pole or cause your engine to explode.
You also remember that this law doesn't apply until after a "reasonable" number of attempts to fix your car have been attempted.
Just what exactly constitutes a "reasonable" number of attempts is somewhat open to interpretation and will always vary with each case.
However, the law will likely presume more often than not that the "reasonable" threshold has been reached if any of the following conditions apply during the first 18 months or 18,000 miles on your vehicle (whichever comes first): (1) a vehicle is repaired twice for a problem that is likely to result in serious injury (such as brake failure or steering problems); (2) the same problem needed to be worked on at least four times and you have previously notified the manufacturer about it; or (3) your car has been in the shop for more than 30 days over the course of the time you have had it in order to deal with any of its problems.
California Lemon Law applies to any new vehicle that is used primarily for personal and home use (including boats and motorcycles, etc.). It also applies to used vehicles still operating under the original manufacturer's warranty.
Business vehicles can also be covered by Lemon Law provisions under certain circumstances. You may wish to consult an attorney in these circumstances.
If you purchase a vehicle that is no longer covered by the manufacturer's warranty, you may still have other protections apart from California's Lemon Law if your purchase came with an express, or written, warranty. You may wish to consider consulting an attorney in such cases.
So when you have hundreds of people angry and honking their horns at you because your new $20,000 car suddenly stalls right in the middle of the freeway, don't worry. Just use the Lemon Law to make lemonade.
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[Note: This article is to be used as an educational guide only and should not be interpreted as a legal consultation. Readers of this article are advised to seek an attorney if a legal consultation is needed. Laws may vary by state and are subject to change, thus the accuracy of this information can not be guaranteed. Readers act on this information solely at their own risk. Neither the author, handelonthelaw.com, or any of its affiliates shall have any liability stemming from this article.]
