The California lemon law, also known as The Song Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, is the law the protects consumers when they purchase a vehicle or RV that the manufacturer is unable to repair under warranty.
There are three main ways to qualify for the lemon law:
- Implied warranty- this means your car or RV wasn’t up to normal standards within the first year after purchase. For example, if you went out and purchased a new car and within a month of owning it you have catastrophic engine failure.
- Express warranty- you take your car or RV in multiple times for the same issue and the dealer can’t fix it. For example, you keep feeling like your truck is hesitating every time to step on the gas, and you take it in to the dealership over and over again and the dealership keeps making repairs under warranty, but the issue never really goes away.
- 30 day rule- the dealership has your car or RV for over 30 days for the same repair. This is the weakest of the three types of lemon law claims and for good reason. The lemon law has a provision that if there are circumstances outside of the manufacturer’s control causing the delay, then their obligation is to repair it as soon as the circumstances causing the delay have ended. This defense kicks in a lot when there are backordered parts so it’s best to build a strong lemon law case with the 30 day rule and at least one of the implied warranty or express warranty provisions.
One thing to keep in mind- just because you technically qualify doesn’t mean you automatically have a good case. Factors such as the number of days at the dealership for repairs, number of repair visits, and how significant the issue is plays a huge part in how strong your case is.
Find out if you have a case and how much your case is worth! Take advantage of a free consultation from Orange County’s leading lemon law attorney by calling 714-804-5546, or fill out our contact form and an attorney will be in touch with you as soon as possible!
