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With most consumer products, the process of obtaining a refund can be as simple as contacting customer service and asking for your money back. This easy option is generally available when dealing with cellphones, clothes and other consumer goods essential to daily living.
Well, most essentials… but not your vehicle. It is much more difficult to obtain refund or reverse a sale for your vehicle than it is for most other consumer goods. However, under the Song-Beverly Act (otherwise known as the “lemon law”), the auto manufacturer has an affirmative duty to repurchase or replace a defective vehicle if they are unable to conform it to the applicable warranties.
Unfortunately, the auto manufacturer often fails to acknowledge that the vehicle is a lemon, let alone to fulfill its obligation to buy it back.
What The California Lemon Law Is For
The California Lemon Law is intended to protect consumers who buy or lease defective vehicles. Under the lemon law, a car is determined to be a lemon when the car’s defect substantially impairs its use, value or safety, and the defect cannot be remedied within a “reasonable” number of repair attempts.
When you file a claim under the California Lemon Law, you are afforded the opportunity to get your money back. Depending on the facts of your case, the auto manufacturer may also be required to pay additional monetary penalties for its wrongdoing. These financial payments are known as “civil penalties.” If you suspect that your vehicle is a lemon, please see our guide below to gain a better understanding of the process of submitting a California lemon law claim.
A major component to any lemon law case is the frequency and nature of the repair visits. Generally, your repair visits need to occur during the manufacturer’s warranty period to obtain relief under the lemon law. If your repair visit is covered by the warranty, you should have paid nothing out-of-pocket.
When bringing your car in for repairs, make sure to report all concerns that you are experiencing with your vehicle. Repair order documents should detail all of the issues reported and all of the work performed on your vehicle during those visits.
In most cases, you should receive a copy of your repair order at the end of each repair visit. If you did not receive get your repair orders at the end of your visit, contact the dealership where the repair was performed and request copies.
During your consultation, you will be asked about your vehicle (its year, make and model) and about the problems you have experienced. If you are experiencing a particular problem with your vehicle, the same or similar problem may exist in many other vehicles of the same make or model.
If you contact our office, you can ask any questions you may have about your vehicle and your California Lemon Law rights. Knight Law Group has helped tens of thousands of Californians get help with their lemon vehicles and obtain the recovery they deserve. Our multilingual lemon law team can further explain the ins-and-outs of the lemon law process.
Please keep in mind that additional documents may be requested from you after the initial consultation with our office.
The documents you may need to pursue your lemon law claim typically include your repair orders, proof of your vehicle purchase, your vehicle warranty, financing documents (if you financed your vehicle), registrations, proof of insurance and receipts of any expenses related to the problems with your vehicle (car rentals, alternate transportation, etc.).
Remember, each case is unique. You may be asked to gather documents other than those listed here. If you are unsure about the documents you need or where to find them, do not hesitate to reach out to our office. Once you submit your documents to Knight Law Group, your documents will be reviewed thoroughly to determine if the firm can help you with your claim.
Choosing a California lemon law attorney is a major decision. The right lemon law representation will make the difference between getting what you deserve versus getting less than what your case is worth. In making a decision, you should ask yourself (and the firm) the following questions:
Knight Law Group has achieved record-breaking results in its California lemon law cases, securing multi-million dollar trial verdicts in 2017 and 2018 and negotiating favorable settlements for our clients.
Once you retain Knight Law Group to represent you, our firm will file a lemon lawsuit on your behalf. Not all cases go to trial, as settlement can happen at any time during the process. While most of our cases do not go to trial, Knight Law Group will take whatever action is necessary to obtain maximum recovery under the law. Our trial experience against auto manufacturers in California lemon law cases is unparalleled. As long as auto manufacturers fail to fulfill their affirmative duties to California consumers, we will continue to fight for our clients’ lemon law rights.
