What The Lemon Law Can Do for You
California has some of the most consumer friendly laws in the country. The Lemon Law may be able to help you if you should find yourself in a vehicle that you have purchased that is not running as it should. While the Lemon Law is a great way to get your justice if your vehicle fails there are some strict guidelines that have to be met before the law will come into play.
The Lemon Law refers to cars/trucks/SUVS and other motorized vehicles that are not running as they should under the manufacturers warranty or guaranty. There is quite a bit of the law that is open to interpretation which an attorney can help you figure out but there are some steps you should take if you feel like you have been sold a “lemon”.
Keep Good Notes
Once you have realized that your vehicle is a lemon you want to immediately start keeping good notes. Your notes should include how many times you have brought it in for service for the same problem (under California Lemon Law, there has to be 4 incidents of attempts to repair the vehicle). Keeping good records will help your attorney to effectively fight for your rights.
You also want to keep track of how many days you have had to go without your vehicle running. Under the California Lemon Law you have had to go 30 days without the use of your car. While the days do not have to be consecutive you do want to keep track of which days you have had to go without your vehicle.
Open To Interpretation
The Lemon Law in California is not really a carved in stone type law. It is a flexible law that was written to protect consumers but it is largely open to interpretation and often if the consumer is not represented by a lawyer the case does not turn out in their favor.
The consumer that has been stuck with the lemon has the right to file against the manufacturer under the Lemon Law but the manufacturer has the right to respond to the allegations and most manufacturers are not showing up in court they are instead sending their lawyers in which puts the consumer at a great disadvantage.
Even if you never make it into court and there is an arbitration stipulation in place having an attorney representing you is the best way to go. Think of an attorney as an added layer of protection on top of