For many people a new car represents, next to their home, the biggest purchase they will ever make. When the car ends up in the shop time after time there is plenty of reason to think that it may be one of the 150 thousand new cars produced every year that is a lemon. If you live in California, a very aggressive California lemon law is in place to protect you.
Like most states, the California lemon law covers new cars that have serious defects that can’t be fixed in a set number of tries. If the car can’t be fixed by the manufacturer or the manufacturer’s representative then you have every right to expect a refund or a replacement.
When is a car a lemon in California?
Consumer purchases in California are covered by the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act; this act is the lemon law. A car is presumed to be a lemon if, within 18 months or 18 thousand miles:
* Two attempts have been made to fix a problem covered by warranty that is serious enough to result in death or serious injury.
* There has been an effort to repair the same problem covered by warranty four times
* The car has been unavailable to the owner for 30 days as a result of repair, and
* The problems are not a result of abuse
The importance of records:
There really is no way to determine in advance if your new car is a lemon, as a result you should maintain impeccable records of all work done on the car. Many manufacturers will go out of their way to fix the problem or replace the car; unfortunately there are many that won’t. This is precisely why complete records of the repair and the dates the car was in the shop are so very important.
The California lemon law is there to protect car buyers that end up with a car that has a defect that simply can’t be rectified. For complete information on the law you are invited to visit the web site of Lemon Law America.
