California Lemon Law

[MarvBear]

Information from NADA Title & Registration Textbook 2004

 

California Lemon Law

 

California’s consumer warranty law requires the manufacturer of a new motor vehicle leased or sold with a manufacturer’s written warranty to repair the vehicle during the warranty period so that it conforms to the warranty. The vehicle may be a car, van, truck, or the chassis and cab portions of a motorhome, and must have been bought or used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes; or, the vehicle may have been bought or used for business and personal, family, or household purposes by a person, including a partnership, limited liability company, corporation, association, or any other legal entity, to which not more than five motor vehicles are registered in this state. The law applies to new and used vehicles that are covered by the original manufacture’s warranty. The consumer is required to provide written notice of the nonconformity to the manufacturer. If the manufacturer or dealer cannot fix the vehicle to conform to the warranty within a “reasonable” number of repair attempts during the entire period that the warranty is in effect, the California “Lemon Law” requires the manufacturer to replace the vehicle or reimburse the buyer or lessee for its purchase price, whichever the consumer prefers. However, the Lemon Law does allow the manufacturer to recover a mileage offset for the consumer’s use of the vehicle prior to the first repair attempt. In addition, the Lemon Law presumes that a vehicle is a “lemon” if all of the following criteria are met: (1) The manufacturer or its agents have made four or more attempts to repair the same problem (only two repair attempts when the nonconformity results in a condition likely to cause death or serious bodily injury), or the vehicle has been out of service for more than 30 days (not necessarily of at the same time) while being repaired for any number of problems. (2) The four repair attempts or 30 days out of service have occurred within 18 months of the vehicle’s delivery to the consumer or 18,000 miles on the odometer, whichever occurs first. (3) The problems are covered by the warranty, substantially reduce the vehicle’s use, value or safety to the consumer, and are not caused by abuse of the vehicle. (4) If required by the warranty materials or by the owner’s manual, the consumer has directly notified the manufacturer about the problem(s). If all of these criteria are met, it is presumed that the vehicle is a lemon. However, this is a rebuttable presumption, and the manufacturer is entitled to prove that no problems exists, that a reasonable number of repair attempts has not been made, or that the problem does not substantially impair the vehicle’s use, value, or safety. Note that if the manufacturer provides a certified arbitration program, the buyer or lessee must submit the dispute to the program before he or she can sue the Lemon Law presumption in a lawsuit against the manufacturer. For additional information please contact the Department of Consumer Affairs at (800) 952-5210