California Lemon Law

The California lemon laws provide remedies if a consumer has repeated, substantial problems relating to the safety, value, or use of her or his vehicle. Minor defects alone, however, are not sufficient for consumers to take advantage of these laws. The California Lemon Law is designed to protect car buyers from purchasing or leasing a lemon. The California Lemon Laws cover cars, trucks, SUVs, RVs, motorcycles, and boats. A used vehicle, if it was purchased or leased with a remaining portion of the new car warranty, may also qualify under the lemon laws. But a used vehicle, which at the time it was purchased or leased, did not have any remaining portion of the new car warranty, does not qualify under the lemon laws. The California Lemon Law also requires that the automobile manufacturer pay for the consumer's hourly attorney's fees on a meritorious claim. This makes the law economically feasible for those who would otherwise not be in a position to hire an attorney.

To qualify under the California Lemon Law or the federal Lemon Law, you must generally have a product that suffered multiple repair attempts under the manufacturer’s factory warranty. Lemon Law compensation can include a refund, replacement or cash compensation. California law only states that a consumer must allow the manufacturer a reasonable number of attempts to repair the vehicle's defects. The lemon law "presumption” which helps to define whether a “reasonable” number of attempts to repair the vehicle's defects have been made, is merely a legal device which is only meaningful if negotiations with the manufacturer fail, and you must resort to suing the manufacturer in court.

The California Lemon Law primarily applies to vehicles that were tendered for repair at least two times for a serious safety problem or that were tendered for repair for any other defect at least three times or that are out of service for a total of thirty or more days. California Lemon Law attorneys can help you to attempt to resolve your case prior to the need to file a lawsuit; arrange arbitration with the lemon manufacturer if they utilize a state-certified arbitration program, file a civil lawsuit against the manufacturer and/or dealership on your behalf for the protection of your California lemon law rights and pursue your Lemon Law case against the manufacturer to get a refund of your money, replacement vehicle or cash compensation, if applicable.

The California lemon law “presumption” is met if you purchased or leased a new car, truck, motorcycle, or motorhome, and it is for personal or small business use, and if starting during the new car warranty period, for example within the first 36,000 miles and first 36 months, you brought the vehicle to a dealer for repair of the same or similar problem related to safety, value, or use four or more times; or two or more times for a problem that is likely to cause death or serious bodily injury; or it was out of service for a total of more than 30 days during the first 18 months or 18,000 miles, and the problem is still not fixed.

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