The
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 it is
determined that a motor vehicle
is a "lemon," the
motor vehicle's warrantor must
repurchase or replace the motor
vehicle from the buyer.
In
order to have a valid 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 will not
apply, but other laws may
provide certain remedies.
2.)
The vehicle must have defects
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
of 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 attempts may be enough to establish a reasonable number. Generally, safety-related or drivability concerns will require fewer repair attempts than those which are not safety-related or affect drivability. However, only one unsuccessful repair attempt is never sufficient to establish a lemon law claim.
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 18 months old and
have less than 18,000 miles.
This belief is not true! The
Lemon Law will apply to a
vehicle regardless of how old it
is or how many miles is has, so
long as the vehicle is having
defects that are under warranty.
Even
if the warranty has expired, the
Lemon Law may apply. If the
vehicle is still having defects
that were complained about and
never properly repaired during
the warranty period, a valid
Lemon Law claim may exist.
4.)
The vehicle must contain a
problem 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.
