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Avid cooks and culinary professionals love to use lemons to ramp up the flavor profile for a wide variety of dishes. Think Shrimp Scampi and Chicken Piccata. However, a lemon car leaves a bitter taste that can cost you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.
Buying a car is often a battle of wills. On the one hand, we have a dealer sales rep who needs to meet a quota. On the other hand, we have the customer who would rather listen to fingernails scratching a chalkboard than hear the sales pitch coming from a sales rep. The worst part of dealing with a sales rep is you might get stuck driving off the lot with a new or used lemon.
Only a few days have passed and you suspect that a lemon sits in the garage or deep into the basement. Can you recover the money spent on the purchase of a lemon product? The answer is maybe, but you have a fighting chance because of federal and California-enacted lemon laws.
Lemons laws are statutes passed by states and the federal government to protect consumers that have bought defective products. At the legal foundation of lemon law is a phrase that requires manufacturers to replace a defective product or refund a customer’s money if the manufacturer cannot repair a defective product after a reasonable number of attempts. Although lemon laws mostly target defective cars, trucks, motorcycles, RV’s and other motor vehicles, several state lemon laws protect consumers against the purchase of defective appliances.
California is one of the few states that provides lemon law protection for both leased and purchased vehicles. With over 150,000 vehicles sold each year in California ending up on the lemon list, the state’s comprehensive lemon law is one of the toughest against auto dealers and manufacturers in the United States. Furthermore, in most states, general consumer protection laws protect consumers against lemon fraud, while California devotes an entire section within its legal code to lemon laws.California is one of the few states that provides lemon law protection for both leased and purchased vehicles. With over 150,000 cars, trucks, motorcycles and RV's sold each year in California ending up on the lemon list, the state’s comprehensive lemon law is one of the toughest against auto dealers and manufacturers like Ford, GM, Tesla, Nissan, Hyundai etc. in the United States. Furthermore, in most states, general consumer protection laws protect consumers against lemon law fraud, while California devotes an entire section within its legal code to lemon laws.
The expansive language written for lemon laws covers a wide range of products. However, consumable products such as produce and clothing do not fall under lemon law protections in California. If a manufacturer is unable to repair a product after a reasonable number of repair attempts, the manufacturer must replace the product or give the consumer a refund.
California lemon laws contain several important features that protect consumers against lemon fraud.
- Ensure an adequate number of repair facilities
- Repairs should not take more than 30 days
- Limit the number of repair attempts to shorten the dispute resolution process
- Consumers receive a refund or a replacement vehicle that subtracts any trouble-free use value
- Payment of consumer attorney fees
Consumers in California receive lemon law protections for leased and purchased vehicles, as well as new and used cars that come with a warranty.
Although every state has some form of lemon law on the books, the laws vary in coverage and the legal responsibilities shouldered by dealers and manufacturers. At the federal level, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act gives consumers a legal remedy if they cannot use their state lemon laws to recover the cost of owning a lemon.
The federal lemon law protects consumers that buy a good that has a price tag of at least $25. An express warranty must come with the good for the good to be eligible for lemon law protection. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act defines repeated issues with a product to constitute a breach of an express warranty. Repeated issues that lead to two or three attempts at repairing a product makes a consumer eligible for federal lemon law relief.
Getting a lemon car issue resolved can take a considerable amount of time. Consumers have to deal with several repair attempts that can span weeks, if not months to unfold. Then, you have the back and forth with both the car dealer and the manufacturer of a lemon. If the dealer and/or the manufacturer refuses to make things right, then you should file a formal complaint with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Send the NHTSA your email address, the vehicle make and model, and most importantly, the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). Filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau might not get you a response from the dealership or the manufacturer, but at least you pass on your story to other consumers that are considering buying the same make and model of motor vehicle from the same auto dealership.
State lemon laws typically offer consumers more protections against the purchase of defective products than the lemon laws passed at the federal level. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act provides consumers with a legal alternative if a state lemon law does not reimburse the purchase price of a lemon or offer consumers a replacement vehicle that is the same make and model, but not necessarily the same year.
The federal lemon law differs from state lemon laws in several ways.
Because state and federal lemon laws change frequently to offer more legal protections against unethical sellers, consumers have a considerable number of questions they want answered. Here are five common questions asked about lemon laws.
Fortunately, consumer protection laws at the state and federal levels protect consumers against purchasing inferior products that qualify as lemons.
I had reached out to Mr. John Miser for some legal assistance regarding a situation I was having with a vehicle. He responded promptly and was very professional. John took the time to explain the process to me and he kept me informed the entire time. Everything was successful. Thanks John for everything!
Sheronda R.
We love sharing our knowledge to help educate others.
Considered the last option on your list of remedies for resolving a lemon car complaint, contacting an experienced consumer protection attorney can motivate the car dealer and/or manufacturer to resolve your complaint. A California-licensed consumer protection attorney can help you organize the documents that you need to submit, as well as apply pressure to the dealer and/or manufacturer to take immediate action.
Most consumer protection lawyers get paid on a contingency fee basis, which means you do not have to pay any upfront legal costs to get your lemon car complaint resolved.
