The California lemon law is arguably the most important consumer protection statute ever enacted by the State of California. It essentially requires that automobile manufacturers either repurchase or replace cars and trucks that are malfunctioning and which they were not able to repair within a reasonable number of attempts. This type of legally-mandated repurchase of a lemon vehicle under the CA lemon law is generally called a California lemon law buyback.
The best way to find out if you have a valid legal claim under the California lemon law is to talk with an attorney with experience litigating the lemon law in California. At the law firm of San Diego lemon lawyer Michael R. Vachon, Esq. we are expert California lemon law litigators, we can answer all of your CA lemon law questions, and we can tell you whether or not you have a valuable claim under the California lemon law statute.
Call (858) 674-4100 today to speak to an expert San Diego lemon law lawyer. We accept lemon law clients throughout California, and lemon law consultations are always FREE!!
The lemon law has nothing to do with the sour, yellow citrus fruit, and doesn’t come from groves of lemon trees, but if you own a malfunction lemon vehicle the legal remedies in California’s lemon law can turn your lemon into lemonade.
The California Lemon Law’s Rules
If you’re an automobile owner looking for information about the California lemon law’s rules, you’ve come to the right place. However, please bear in mind that this Web site contains merely a summary of the California lemon law’s requirements. If you have any questions whatsoever about the lemon law of California that are not answered here, you can always call San Diego, California lemon lawyer Michael R. Vachon, Esq. anytime for a free California lemon law consultation.
So what are the California lemon law’s requirements? In California, the lemon law statute essentially states that a vehicle manufacturer must repurchase any car truck that is still under warranty, which has suffered several malfunctions that impair the use, value, or safety of the vehicle, and which the manufacturer is unable to repair within a “reasonable number of attempts.”
The California Lemon Law’s “Use, Value, or Safety” Rule
The California lemon law’s requirement that vehicle defects must impair the “use, value, or safety” of the automobile means that only more serious vehicle malfunctions can cause a car or truck to be legally deemed a lemon. Defects that affect the brakes, mirrors, steering, engine, transmission, and suspension typically qualify as defects that impair the use, value, or safety of the vehicle in all cases. However, under the lemon law, California vehicle purchasers are also entitled to take their individual circumstances into account when considering whether a defect renders an automobile a lemon under California law. Thus, there are vehicle defects that may render a car or truck a lemon for some people, but not for others, due to the particular circumstances of the owner. The best way to find out if you have a potential claim under the California lemon law is to call an expert California lemon law attorney.
San Diego lemon law attorney Michael R. Vachon, Esq. provides free lemon law consultations, and call tell you whether a defect impairs the “use, value, or safety” of your vehicle under the rules of the California lemon law. Call (858) 674-4100 for a FREE California lemon law consultation.
The California Lemon Law’s “Reasonable Number of Repair Attempts” Requirement
If the defect impairs the use, value, or safety of the vehicle, then the California lemon law requires that the manufacturer repair it within a “reasonable number of attempts.” So what is a “reasonable” number? Many non-lawyers who read the CA lemon law statute come to the mistaken belief that the California lemon law requires a minimum of two repair attempts for a defect likely to cause death or bodily harm or four repair attempts for the same malfunction within the first 18 months (or 18,000 miles) of vehicle ownership. This standard is set forth in California’s lemon law statute, which also presumes that a vehicle that has been out of service for repair for 30 or more days during the first 18 months (or 18,000 miles) of ownership is a lemon. However, the California lemon law statute makes clear that these listed standards are merely presumptions for determining when a vehicle is a lemon. That means that in the trial of every lemon law case the jury – and not the judge, the advocates, or the lemon law statute – gets to determine whether there has been an unreasonable number of attempts.
Accordingly, the best way to figure out if your lemon vehicle has been in for an unreasonable number of repair attempts is to contact an attorney specializing in California lemon law lawsuits. The Law Office of Michael R. Vachon, Esq. specializes in lemon law cases, and can tell you whether or not your vehicle would likely be adjudicated to be a lemon under California law. Call the Law Office of Michael R. Vachon, Esq. at (858) 674-4100 today to see if your lemon automobile satisfies the California lemon law’s requirements.
California Lemon Law for Used Cars
Did someone tell you that there is no California lemon law for used cars? If so, they were wrong. Although a quick scan of the California lemon law statute might cause one to believe that there is only a California lemon law for new cars and trucks, the California lemon law statute was amended shortly after it was enacted by the Sacramento legislature to include used cars and trucks as well, so long as the manufacturer’s warranty still applies to these vehicles.
Accordingly, there is a CA lemon law for new cars, and a CA lemon law for used cars.
Click here to read more about the lemon law for used cars.
Find Out Whether Your Are Entitled to a California Lemon Law Buyback!!
If you own or lease a lemon automobile that has a chronic malfunction affecting its use, value, or safety, and the manufacturer and the selling dealership have not been able to repair it within a reasonable number of attempts, then under the California lemon law statute the manufacturer must promptly offer to repurchase or replace your vehicle. This “repurchase or replacement” requirement is generally referred to as a California lemon law buyback.
The best way to find out whether you are legally entitled to a California lemon law buyback is to call and discuss your lemon vehicle with a qualified CA lemon law attorney. So call San Diego, CA lemon law attorney Michael R. Vachon, Esq. today. California lemon law consultations are confidential and always FREE!!
Other Sources of California Lemon Law Information
The State of California provides additional California lemon law information for people seeking official California lemon law info and materials. In particular, the California Attorney General has a Web site with a summary explanation of the California lemon law’s requirements. Click here for a link to the California Attorney General’s Lemon Law page. However, one of the drawbacks of the Attorney General’s California lemon law page is that it provides information only, and doesn’t tell lemon vehicle owners how they can use the requirements of the California lemon law to maximize the monetary value of their potential California lemon law claim.
Also, the California Department of Consumer Affairs has a Web site discussing the arbitration provisions of the California lemon law statute. Click here for a link to the Cal. Dept. of Consumer Affairs California Lemon Law Arbitration Programs page. However, the utility of this page is also minimal since (as set forth below) most lemon law attorneys in California (including the San Diego, CA lemon law attorney author of this site) believe that arbitration is typically not in a consumer’s best interests in California lemon law disputes.
By far the best way to find out about your California lemon law legal rights is to call an expert California lemon lawyer. So please, call the Law Office of Michael R. Vachon, Esq. today at (858) 674-4100. We specialize in litigating California lemon law lawsuits, and we will give you straight answers to your CA lemon law questions. If you have a case, we will tell you. If you don’t, we will tell you that too.
Call San Diego lemon law attorney Michael R. Vachon, Esq. today. Remember California lemon law consultations are always FREE!!
Know your legal rights under the California lemon law!