Nobody wants to deal with a vehicle that is a “lemon.” It can be frustrating and time consuming. The good news is that California’s Lemon Law are favorable to consumers and help hold vehicle manufacturers liable.
Having an experienced lemon law attorney on your side is one of the most important things in recovering the money you are owed. There are several hoops that must be jumped through in order to obtain a successful result. Even with California law on your side, most manufacturers will not easily refund the purchase price of your defective car.
Below are a few tips for what to do if you think you have a claim under California’s lemon laws.
- You must take your vehicle to be repaired a “reasonable number” of times before the vehicle is considered to be a lemon. It is very important that you use a mechanic certified by the manufacturer to perform the repairs under the warranty. You don’t want the manufacturer to be able to allege that the local, non-certified mechanic you used caused the problems.
- If you are wondering what a “reasonable number” of repair attempts is in order to call the vehicle a lemon, you are not alone. This area of the lemon laws is a little vague because it is a subjective standard. The court will typically look at the severity of the defect to determine what is a reasonable number of repair attempts. For example, if the defect is a safety issue, such as faulty brakes, the driver should not be expected to continue to put himself in harms way after two repair attempts. However, if the defect is not a safety issue, then four repair attempts to repair the problem may suffice. It should be noted that if the manufacturer refuses to repair the defect, then the court generally considers the repair requirement to be met by the consumer. Additionally, if the defective vehicle is out of service for 30 or more days during the first 18,000 miles of 18 months, whichever is earlier, it is considered a lemon.
- If you believe that your car is a lemon, start collecting your paperwork. You will need all the documentation from every repair attempt which should include the invoice detailing the issues exhibited by the car, any repairs which were performed, and the outcome of the repairs. The invoice will also have the date, time and other pertinent details about the vehicle. Other important documents to collect would be your personal notes, photos, vehicle history and anything else that may be relevant to your case.
Following the above steps will help you and your attorney successfully pursue your lemon law case. If you think your vehicle may qualify for a lemon law lawsuit, contact the Law Offices of Alex Cha & Associates today. We are highly experienced in handling lemon law matters and we can answer all your questions. Schedule your appointment today.