CA Lemon Law – Know More to Cope Better

Nothing is worse than buying a new vehicle and finding that the vehicle is faulty. In stead of feeling dejected, angry or depressed about the bad purchase, you do have what is known as the CA Lemon Law or California’s Lemon Law, by your side to help you either get the value of the vehicle refunded or get the vehicle replaced with new one. However, the CA Lemon Law is not as simple as it seems. The process is complicated and you might need the help of specialized CA Lemon Law attorneys to bail you out of the sticky situation. However, you need to have some basic idea about CA Lemon Law, before you set out to buy a vehicle, if not for anything else, to get back your rightful dues, in case something goes wrong.

The CA Lemon Law is an integral part of the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, designed specifically to protect the lay consumer from losing money, in case of purchase of a faulty vehicle. What does the CA Lemon Law say? It essentially states that in case you find yourself in a situation where you have bought a faulty vehicle you can always take it to the manufacturer or his representative to get it repaired. As per the warranty clause which covers the purchased faulty vehicle, the manufacturer would try ‘reasonable number of times’ to repair the vehicle. In case he is unable to do so to your satisfaction, he is liable to either return you the money with which you bought the vehicle or replace the faulty vehicle with a new one. Additionally, the refund amount not only consists of the purchase money but also cost of components installed by the manufacturer of the car, sales tax, registration fees and all other repair and other costs that has been incurred due to the defect in the vehicle. It is up to you, as a consumer, to opt either for a replacement or take the refund.

The CA Lemon Law is valid for the entire period during which the car is covered by warranty. For example the car which you bought carries a five year warranty and the vehicle starts to show up various faults after the third year. The manufacturer is liable to either replace or refund you the money as discussed above, after they have carried out to repair the fault ‘reasonable number’ of times.

The CA Lemon Law is clear about the ‘reasonable number’ of times the car maker has to try to fix the problem. The law says that ‘reasonable’ means when attempts are made to correct a serious defect more than twice  or the same problem recurs that has already been attended to more than 4 times. It is also valid if the owner of the car has contacted the maker at least once directly or the car is incapable of being driven due to repairs for 30 days after purchase.

Since matters related to CA Lemon Law are usually debatable, there are a few points to remember. Firstly the law dos not apply if the car has been mishandled or abused. Also, start taking legal action as soon as you detect the flaws in your new car. Any delay in such matters should be avoided.