California Lemon Laws for New Vehicles
The California Lemon Laws act as a legal guideline in the event a new vehicle with a serious warranty defect causes a dispute between a manufacturer and the consumer. The Better Business Bureau will use the California Lemon Laws to determine the eligibility of a consumer complaint when acting as a third party negotiator between manufacturer and consumer.
Requirements
The California Lemon Laws are very versatile, while they specifically deal with new passenger vehicles there are parts that directly apply to motorcycles and the non-motorized part of a motor home. The California Lemon Laws will protect a vehicle for the first eighteen thousand miles on the odometer or the first eighteen months. The starting period shall begin with the delivery date and continue until either one of these periods (mileage or time) expires.
Malfunction
A serious warranty defect is one that prevents the vehicle from functioning according to its warranty standards, causes the vehicle to be unsafe when it is used or drastically reduces the market value of the vehicle. Under California Lemon Laws a manufacturer must have the opportunity to permanently repair such a warranty nonconformity but the consumer is not obligated to deal with an unreasonable number of attempts. That is, a consumer is required to allow for at least four warranty defect repair attempts.
If it seems the warranty nonconformity will remain irreparable then the consumer is entitled to a California Lemon Laws remedy of compensation. In addition, outside of the reasonable number of attempts, a vehicle may be considered a lemon if it is out of service due to repairs arranged by the manufacturer for more than thirty cumulative days.
Party At Fault
The manufacturer is considered the responsible party for delivering compensation to the vehicle owner unless they can prove the warranty defect is the vehicle owners fault in any way.
Compensation
Vehicle owners are entitled to a replacement vehicle or to a refund. The replacement vehicle must be comparable to the original vehicle the consumer chose to buy while certain adjustments may be allowed if a refund is to be dispensed (i.e. use, consumer expenses).
How To File
Step 1. The California Lemon Laws necessitate that a consumer be able to prove a vehicle has a serious warranty nonconformity. Therefore, it would be in the vehicle owner’s best interests to organize a file of all the paperwork owning the vehicle generates. Each original document should have an additional copy ready for dispersal.
Step 2. Vehicle owners should make a habit of keeping a written log early in vehicle ownership. This should contain information about the vehicle that would not necessarily generate paperwork such as experiences and/or correspondence related to the vehicle. A good log will have concise dated entries.
Step 3. Consumers will need to file a complaint to the manufacturer sooner rather than later. This should be done as a written complaint and delivered to the manufacturer via registered mail.
Step 4. If the warranty outlines the California Lemon Laws and the requirement to issue a Final Notice to Repair, Replace, and Repurchase then the consumer is obligated to issue such a notice. The Final Notice to Repair, Replace or Repurchase should be sent via registered mail or certified mail. It should be noted the warranty may require that a consumer participate in a warranty listed dispute settlement program before pursuing further action. If this is the case, it is likely the consumer may have to. Thus a consumer should consult the vehicle warranty once the warranty defect seems irreparable.
Step 5. Vehicle owners wishing to seek arbitration may file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau Auto Line Program. This is a free arbitration service provided by the Better Business Bureau. Not all manufacturers have enrolled in this program however, the Better Business Bureau will act as a third party negotiator regardless of the manufacturer’s standing in the Auto Line Program. The initial page of the Auto Line Program’s form will evaluate whether a consumer must file a complaint within this program or outside of this program.
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