Lemon Law

The California’s lemon law provides legal remedies if they have experienced repeated problems with their car, van, truck, motorcycle, boat or RV. Under California’s lemon law, also known as the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, regardless of whether you have purchased or leased the vehicle, if during the manufacturer’s warranty period, you take your new or used vehicle in for repairs and give the dealer a reasonable number of attempts to repair your vehicle and your vehicle is not properly repaired, you may be entitled to your money back or a new replacement vehicle.

A reasonable number of attempts depends on the specific problems your vehicle is experiencing. The more serious the problem is, especially if it is a safety issue, the lower the number of “reasonable” attempts at repair is required. A safety related problem may require only two attempts to be considered “reasonable”. Another factor is the total number of days your vehicle has been in service. Generally you will have a valid lemon law claim if your car has been at the dealer for total of 30 days or more.

Under California’s lemon law, when the manufacturer repurchases your car, you will receive a refund of your down payment, monthly payments, registration payments, out of pocket expenses, payoff the remaining balance on your loan or lease. The manufacturer is entitled a usage offset based on the number of miles you had on your vehicle when the problems first began.

Further, the manufacturer often must pay your legal fees and costs.