California Lemon Law

California Lemon Law

The California Lemon Law (officially known as the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, found in California Civil Code sections 1790 et seq.) is a law designed to protect consumers who purchase or lease warranted motor vehicles. If a motor vehicle is determined to be a "lemon," the motor vehicle's warrantor must repurchase or replace the motor vehicle from the buyer.

The following will discuss the California Lemon Law's applicability to motor vehicles. The Lemon Law applies to all warranted consumer goods. The Lemon Law's applicability to consumer goods is almost identical to its applicability to motor vehicles.

In order to have a valid California Lemon Law claim, the following elements must be met:

1.) The vehicle must be used some of the time for personal, family or household purposes. If a vehicle is used exclusively for business purposes, the Lemon Law may not apply, but other laws may provide certain remedies.

2.) The vehicle must have problems covered by a warranty. There is a simple rule: no warranty means no Lemon Law case.

3.) The warrantor must be unable to repair the vehicle's warranty problems after a reasonable number or repair attempts. What constitutes a reasonable number of repair attempts will vary depending on the problem. For example, if a vehicle's brakes fail, two repair attempt may be enough to establish a reasonable number. Generally, safety-related concerns will require fewer repair attempts than those which are not safety-related.

Also relevant to determining whether there has been a reasonable number of repair attempts is the number of days the vehicle is out-of-service due to warranty repairs. The more days out-of-service, the better the chance of establishing a reasonable number of repair attempts.

There is a common misconception concerning the Lemon Law, that it only applies to vehicles that are less than one year old and have less than 12,000 miles on them. This belief is not true! The Lemon Law applies to vehicles regardless of how old they are or how many miles they have. As long as the vehicle is having warranty problems, the Lemon Law may apply.

Even if the warranty has expired, the Lemon Law may apply. If the vehicle is still having problems that were complained about during the warranty period, a valid Califoria Lemon Law claim may exist.

4.) The vehicle must contain a non-conformity covered by the warranty that substantially impairs the vehicle's use, value or safety to the buyer/lessee. The Lemon Law, generally, will not apply to vehicles with trivial or minor defects. Nevertheless, each case must be judged independently taking into account the particular needs and expectations of the particular vehicle's owner/lessee.

If the above-mentioned elements are met, the vehicle is a lemon. The vehicle's owner/lessee will be entitled to a replacement vehicle or a refund of the vehicle's purchase/lease price.

If you would like more information concerning the Lemon Law, you may contact Barnes & Farrell.

The Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act is commonly known as lemon law and provides protection for consumers who buy or lease new motor vehicles. In California, lemon law applies to defective cars, trucks, motorycles, boats, RV's and even appliances. If you've purchased a lemon, a San Diego lemon law attorney can help you with your case. Lemon law attorneys handle cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay nothing up front for them to handle your case. You pay only if you win. Contact a San Diego lemon laCalifornia’s Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, commonly referred to as the California Lemon Law, was passed by our state legislators and governor in order to provide relief to consumers who purchase or lease problematic vehicles. Generally, the California Lemon Law applies to vehicles which the automobile dealerships have been unable to repair the vehicle within the manufacturers warranty period after being given a reasonable number of opportunities.

A “vehicle repurchase” means that you get a refund of the monies your have expended to buy or lease the vehicle. Down-payment, monthly payments, license fees, rental car and towing expenses. Also your loan or lease will be paid off in-full by the manufacturer. The manufacturer will get a deduction under the California lemon law for some of your use of the vehicle, however, only for the use before the vehicle became a lemon (We will calculate that for you.)

A “vehicle replacement” It means that you receive the same vehicle you currently own/lease except that it will be a brand new one in the current model year. Your present loan (or lease) stays in place (subject to financial institution approval) and you simply continue to make the same loan (or lease) payment on the new vehicle as you did on the “lemon” vehicle. Your only expense (if any) is a payment for the use of your vehicle before it became a lemon.

“How do I know if I qualify?” “How do I know if I have a California lemon law case?” This is the most important part of your choice of lemon law lawyer firm. We know what makes up a California lemon law case against the automobile manufacturer by our experience in settling/winning thousands of lemon law cases over 20 years.

Would you like to know if you have a lemon law case? Need an answer quick? Call us right now at 1-800-CA-LEMON (1-800-225-3666). You won’t have to wait days for an answer. You only have to provide us with the information we need by fax or e-mail today - and you will know if you have a pursuable case within 24 hours!

Would you like to have your potential lemon law case assessed on-line? Use the convenient “free on-line case review” link to the left of this text. We will respond back to you within 24 hours.

You will be pleased to know that under our California Lemon Law, the auto manufacturer is required to pay our billed attorneys fees and costs in your case. The attorney can also recover costs of the California lemon law case/claim.

“Do I have to go to court?” With our firm (as opposed to many other law firms), going to court is rarely required. Out of every 1,000 cases we settle without ever having to see a courtroom, less than 3 will require going to court to enforce our clients California lemon law rights. We go the mile – and beyond – to enforce our clients California lemon law rights.

“There are literally dozens of lemon law firms advertising on the internet, how do I choose the right one?”
Answer? - You utilize the legal services of the largest lemon law firm in the state of California – Us!

“How long does it take for the manufacturer to agree to settle the lemon law case?” Many of our California lemon law cases settle in just 7-10 days. The majority settle in 30-45 days. Some will require longer periods of time to convince the manufacturer (sometimes employing a lawsuit) to settle the case on the offending vehicle. In these instances our experience on seeing the case through is vitally important to you the consumer. No one wants their case to be “dropped” by their lawyer part-way through a case just because the filing of a lawsuit is required. We will see your case through to it’s best conclusion.

“I may want to speak directly with the lemon law lawyer face-to-face. Can I do this?” “Can I get a free consultation?” Absolutely! Our firm has offices in key cities throughout California, and we meet clients to discuss their potential California lemon law case on an appointment basis. You may also choose to have us handle everything over the phone after we have reviewed your faxed-in (or e-mailed) documents, as thousands of our clients have over the past 20 years. The choice is always yours!

“I don’t want to front any money, nor be responsible to pay attorneys fees if my case isn’t won. How do you address this?” When you choose California’s largest lemon law firm, there is no money up front, no up-front retainer checks written, no money due during the duration of your case, and no attorney’s fees responsibility if we are unable to recover for you in your lemon law case. When you choose the largest lemon law firm in the state, you don’t have to take risks.

Need more information about filing a California Lemon Law Case? Please “click” on the topics on the left side of this web page, or simply call us. Calling our law firm will introduce you to a level of personalized and professional service you will welcome. We know ending up with a lemon vehicle is both frustrating and time-consuming. It’s time to have the lemon law experts step in.