What Does The Lemon Law California Entitle?
by Mark Kessler

The lemon law in California gives car buyers a refund or replacement vehicle, plus registration fees, rental car costs, and towing charges that are to be determined if the buyer bought a car that deviates from its warranty. Under the lemon law in California, new cars, leased cars, pre-owned cars, RV's, motor homes, motorcycles, boats and other consumer vehicles qualify for protection if they were accompanied by a written warranty. If a vehicle was sold under an "as-is" or "with all faults" contract, the lemon law in California may not apply, unless it was unscrupulously sold as a "lemon law buyback" to an unaware consumer.

The lemon law in California applies to vehicles purchased and registered within the first 18 months or 18,000 miles, or as long as its warranty specifies. And unlike most lemon laws in other states, the lemon law in California does not require a consumer to participate in a manufacturer's arbitration program before lookig for outside legal counsel.

If a unsatisfied car buyer suspects that the car they purchased is a "lemon", they should contact the manufacturer within the car's stated warranty period. But it is not a requirement to have the suspected automobile evaluated by its manufacturer. The lemon law in California states that second opinions are allowed and if necessary, an independent motor vehicle expert may be consulted to inspect the car. However, only an authorized automobile dealer may repair the vehicle, which by the way does not need to be the dealer from which the car was purchased. According to the lemon law in California, all authorized car dealers function as manufacturer's agents, so any authorized agent can do warranty repair work.

The lemon law in California also states that the manufacturer must be given an opportunity to repair the vehicle (and make at least a couple of reasonable attempts in doing so). Independent auto mechanics are not authorized agents of the manufacturer, so warranty repair work performed by anyone other than an authorized agent of the said manufacturer will void the warranty on the car.

Differing from some laws in other states, the lemon law in California allows unsatisfied car buyers to sell the defective car, or to trade it in for a different automobile. To preserve the consumer rights outlined in the lemon laws of California, vehicles with warranty defects offered for sale must be accompanied by a written disclosure that declares the owner is aware of the automobiles defects (a written statement from a professional inspector is better), and the car's manufacturer needs to be notified of the unsatisfied buyer's intention of sale or trade.