Professional legal help was never cheap and CA Lemon Law attorneys are no exception. The kind of preparation that is needed to file your claim, defend you and the complicated nature of the provisions of the law, make the attorney fees expensive.

But what is CA Lemon Law and why did it come into existence? The CA Lemon Law, also known as the Californian Song Beverly Consumer Warranty Act was established to protect the interests of the consumer and compensate him if he has purchased a faulty car, be it new or used. The law comes under effect when the manufacturer or the dealer has failed to rectify the fault, detected during the time during which the car was under warranty. Failing to do so is treated as a breach of contract by the legal eagles.

Once the manufacturer or dealer fails to keep his commitment to repair the vehicle after trying a reasonable number of times, he has to deal with CA Lemon Law attorneys and has to pay him the requisite fees as well as all charges related to the legal proceedings.

If you need help from a CA Lemon Law attorney, you need to get some fundamental facts right and be prepared accordingly. Here are some key points to consider:

• The CA Lemon Law is applicable to repairs which the dealer or the maker was incapable of carrying out despite trying to do so several times within the warranty period. The vehicle is then legally termed as being a ‘lemon’.
• As an owner you can only press charges and bring a CA Lemon Law claim on a maker or a dealer provided the car was in the garage of the maker for 30 consecutive days for carrying out the warranty repairs.
• If the vehicle purchased falls under the purview of the CA Lemon Law, the owner can claim the payments made towards the purchase of the car, along with additional costs of repairs, towing charges, rental charges, if any.
• As an owner, you can also choose to replace the faulty vehicle with a new one from the manufacturer. In such an event the manufacturers can deduct the mileage done already by the faulty vehicle.
• You can find local CA Lemon Law attorneys if you do online research.

Knowing about the existence of CA Lemon Law is not enough. If you want to consult an attorney for this purpose, it is a wise decision to know more about the legal requirements before you approach the lawyer to help you out.

The CA Lemon Law has been established to safeguard the interest of and compensate a consumer if he buys a defective vehicle from a manufacturer or a dealer. There is nothing worse than ending up buying your dream vehicle that develops serious defects within the warranty period itself. The CA Lemon Law comes in effect if in such an event, the manufacturer or the dealer fails to repair the defects within a ‘reasonable time’. According to the provisions of the CA Lemon Law, the dealer or maker is obliged to replace the faulty vehicle with a new one or compensate you for the total value of the vehicle along with all other expenses incurred during the warranty period.

But even if you know about the provisions of the CA Lemon Law, chances are that you may not know what makes your car eligible to be termed as a ‘lemon’? Unless your vehicle is eligible, you cannot seek legal recourse from the provisions of CA Lemon Law. Here are some basic eligibility criteria for qualifying to take advantage of the CA Lemon Law:

• If the manufacturer or the dealer cannot repair the defect even after four attempts in the event of a normal fault or after two attempts in case the fault relates to a safety aspect of the vehicle.
• The manufacturer or the dealer is incapable of repairing the fault within 30 days.

Only after the car has met with the criteria as mentioned above, it can be termed as ‘lemon’ and the owner of the faulty vehicle can start taking legal action with the help of CA Lemon Law. What kind of defects in the car does the CA Lemon Law include?

They are defects that seriously jeopardize the use, value and safety of the person who owns the car or has taken the car on lease.

Earlier and even now there are a lot of debates over the aspects of reasonable attempts to repair the car as well as the warranty period. As a result the CA Lemon Law has undergone a recent amendment which has cleared the confusion regarding ‘warranty period’ – it is 18 months or 18000 miles, whichever is earlier. Before this amendment was incorporated the warranty period was for 12 months or 12000 miles.

It is important to note that the CA Lemon Law cannot help you if the car has been damaged or abused intentionally or illegally. During the warranty period the manufacturer or the dealer is bound to try his best to repair the fault. In the event of failure, despite such attempts, you can take legal recourse to settle your claim by either opting for replacement or a full refund of the value of the car.

You have purchased a new or a used car. While the car is still under warranty, it starts to give your severe problems which cannot be fixed by your dealer. You could have heard about CA Lemon Law which can rescue you from such a situation, but do you know whether your car qualifies to be called a Lemon? Unless you know this important information, you might be, like several others, blame your misfortune for the bad purchase and try to make unnecessary compromises with the situation. Of course, the CA Lemon Law is designed to protect hapless consumers like you, and through this law, you may have your car replaced or get refund of the value.  Unfortunately, not many people are aware of their rights and obligations. They simply approach the dealer for a solution, who conveniently turns a blind eye. The customer simply sits on the matter and does not pursue it further.

Therefore, you ought to know whether your car is qualified to be called a Lemon. Your car is a Lemon when despite repeated attempts to rectify a recurring fault the car still develops the same problem over and over again. The problem is so severe that it is coming the way of your safety. When the car is inoperable due to such irreparable faults and the dealer is unable to fix it, your car is a Lemon.

Having understood this far, you need to know when the CA Lemon Law is applicable in your case. You should know that the law becomes applicable if the problems recurs within a specified period of time (about one year) or before the car has covered a specific number of miles from its date of purchase. The law stipulates that you as a consumer can claim full refund of the value or ask for a replacement of the vehicle. The choice is yours.