When you have a problem with a vehicle, you need to have it fixed as soon as possible. However, repairs can take a long time and cost a lot of money. You don’t want to replace your car because of a simple repair, but it is important that you know what to do if the repair shop has had your car for one month. In this article, our California lemon law attorney will tell you what to do if your car is in the repair shop for a month.
When a manufacturer won’t release your vehicle because of an underlying defect, a lemon law lawyer may help you get compensation. After all, a lemon law is about you not getting what you paid for. If a manufacturer has been holding your car for over a month, talk to a lemon law California attorney.
The California Lemon Law
If a vehicle does not meet the minimum standards, the California Lemon Law may provide important consumer protections. A lemon law case requires answers to these questions:
The car was new or used when it was purchased or leased in California
If the manufacturer repaired the vehicle within 30 days of finding the problem
In the state of California, a car will be considered a “lemon” if there are multiple trips to the repair shop. If a defect is causing a safety hazard or is dangerous for the road, you may only need to make a single trip.
But if a car stays at a repair shop for over 30 days then that may be enough to satisfy their state’s lemon law. The law doesn’t require an exception for repairs that happen if the part is available with no delay, too. If you need a rental car because your car has been in the shop for too long, or you can’t drive for a month, you may be able to take legal action.
Manufacturer Customer Service Problems
Some people worry that this law only applies if the car company can’t fix a fatal defect, but that’s not necessarily true. Even if the car can be repaired, you can still have a case. If a car dealer doesn’t do what they are supposed to do or tries to create bad business practices, then you can take legal action. Lemon Law protects vehicle owners from these issues in addition to faulty products and bad business practices of some car manufacturers.
What is the Solution?
Repurchasing the Vehicle
The manufacturer must pay the cash value of the purchase price, sales tax, registration/license fees, finance charges and the down payment on the loan. The manufacturer must also cover any monthly payments while the car was not driving, total towing costs, rental car expenses and legal fees. There are certain expenses, like car insurance and a new/used car that can be claimed as a deduction on your taxes. The manufacturer is also monitored by the Lemon Law, which is to ensure fairness for all consumers.
If you have purchased the car with your own money, the manufacturer is obligated to either fix or replace the vehicle. This is a part of your warranty, and if it is a brand new vehicle, the manufacturer will offer a replacement car and repay you for any owed payments.
Replacing the Vehicle
If your car is malfunctioning, the manufacturer may offer to fix it, but you can avoid that by getting a replacement if one is available. Any payments made to the bank or financial institution will need to be provided. If the car was leased or financed, you’ll need those documents as well.
A dealer must pay other incidental costs if the dealer has taken more than a month to fix the car. These expenses can include but are not limited to court costs, attorney expenses, down payment on the repair, and vehicle renting charges.
One thing a customer needs in order to feel better about the situation is communication. They need updates about the progress on their car’s repair, steps along the way and anything else you have to tell them. That goes for the dealer as well. When a dealer keeps a vehicle for over a month, you need to do something about it.
Contact a Lemon Law California Lawyer
Contacting a lemon law attorney in California is a great way to find out if you’re eligible for a refund or a replacement. Lemon Law California lawyers work on a contingency basis, so you aren’t required to pay them anything unless they’re able to get you a satisfactory result in your case.
Like any major purchase, a motorhome can be an expensive proposition. You need to put down some serious cash if you’re serious about road trips, summer camping, and adventure travel. But you deserve to get what you pay for and that’s why you need to understand what to look for when buying a motorhome so you don’t end up buying a lemon. In this article, our California lemon law attorney explains how to avoid buying a lemon motorhome.
Observing the California lemon law standards will help you understand the regulations and requirements of your vehicle warranty. As a motorist in California, you are entitled to a car that runs without failure for a given period. If your car fails, you should be able to use the warranty to replace or repair it – but only if you have been meeting the requirements of the law. In this article, our California lemon law attorney will explain the California lemon law standards and how you can protect your rights under this law.
What Vehicles are Covered Under the California Lemon Law?
The California lemon law covers a new motor vehicle which includes the chassis cab of a motor home, a dealer-owned vehicle, a demonstrator, or other vehicle sold with a manufacturer’s new car warranty that:
Has been purchased to be used for personal and/or household purposes.
Has a weight of fewer than 10000 lbs and should have been bought for business purposes by an individual or a business to which at least one and five at most, these vehicles should have been registered in California.
Purchased or leased in California at retail should not have been a privately sold vehicle.
Purchased by an active army member who was stationed in California at the time of the vehicle purchase or lease when the claim was filed.
According to California’s lemon law, the following are not covered: any motoring vehicle including a vehicle for human habitation; or a vehicle that is not registered because it is exempt from the Vehicle Code.
Which Consumers are Covered?
The “consumer” is defined under the California lemon law as:
Individuals that purchase or lease vehicles from an individual engaged in the business of selling, leasing, manufacturing, and distributing new vehicles at retail.
Any vehicle that is sold under the warranty is valid and comes under California lemon law.
Any individual, business, and other legal entity that engages in business or personal use can file a claim under the California lemon law.
What are the Problems Covered Under the Law?
Vehicle problems must be “nonconformities” that impair the use, safety, and value of the vehicle are covered under the California lemon law. The California lemon law doesn’t cover vehicle problems that happen when you misuse or abuse the vehicle after it’s been sold to you. A service contract isn’t an express warranty, and the lemon law doesn’t authorize a remedy for breaches of service contracts.
Many issues could affect a vehicle’s safety. It doesn’t need to endanger you to be considered a defect. For example, if the car has an issue with its automatic seats, the mere fact that they work unpredictably could be grounds for a lemon law claim.
Manufacturer’s Duty to Replace or Repurchase the Vehicle
If the manufacturer, or its representative in California, cannot repair your vehicle to meet its applicable express warranties, you are eligible for a replacement OR a complete refund. The manufacturer must provide you with more than one opportunity to have your car repaired, and each time it’s serviced counts as an attempt, even if no repairs are made.
The customer doesn’t have to own or possess the product to avail themselves of the repair, replacement, or refund remedies.
Reasonable Number of Repairs
The California lemon law establishes a rebuttable presumption that a reasonable number of repair attempts have been made if, within under 18 months or 18,000 miles (whichever happens first), one or more of the following occurs:
The vehicle is out of service for thirty or more cumulative days and the cumulative repairs for certain defective components have exceeded the cost of a replacement part (according to a published list, which includes drivetrain, electric power train, engine, and transmission assemblies).
The vehicle has been out of service for 30 or more cumulative days.
The nonconformity will likely cause death or serious bodily injury if the car is driven and the repair has been made twice or more by the manufacturer. The car’s owner has notified the manufacturer, so the manufacturer should take responsibility to fix it.
How Can a California Lemon Lawyer Help?
When you know you have a legal case, but you’re not sure how long it will take to resolve and when you need representation, there’s only one place to go. You need to speak with the best lemon law attorney in California. the McMillan Law Group can tell you how long your case will take to resolve and give you an accurate estimate.
We’ve helped vehicle leasers across California get the money they deserve after discovering that their new cars were a lemon. We guide you through the entire process to make sure you achieve the outcome you desire.
Where car owners are concerned, the value of their car is often tied to its trade-in value or what they can get for it. Although a car is worth a lot more than just the amount that can be made from repairing and selling it, it’s still a good starting point for determining how much a car is worth in trade. The problem comes when the trade-in value of the car is less than what you still owe on it. This is known as negative equity. A lemon law lawyer San Diego CA talks about negative equity in lemon law cases.
You might never have thought about the negative equity issue until you’re on the verge of purchasing a new car. When you trade in an old car to make the purchase (either through government-sponsored arbitration or court) manufacturers will often assert that they are not liable to pay back to you the negative equity from your previous vehicle. In other words, you may be able to get rid of your current lemon by trading it in, but you could end up still carrying the negative equity from your old car.
Are You in a Negative Equity Position?
Car dealers often tell customers that their car has negative equity. This misinformation is a way for dealers to take advantage and make more money. Before you go shopping, it’s crucial to know how much your car is worth and shop around for the best price you can get. You can get three values online:
Trade-in
Private party, and
Suggested retail
If a website or local newspaper doesn’t have the values you’re looking for, you can check on other online sources like Autotrader or Kelley Blue Book.
The trade-in value of your vehicle is calculated by taking into account the current market value of your car and factors like the age or condition of the car, mileage on the car, and the amount of time left on the car loan. If you know how much you owe on your car loan and how long it has left to go, you can deduct that amount from the value to calculate how much you’re actually negative in equity. If you know this figure, it will give you more power when shopping for a new or used vehicle.
Importance of Negative Equity on a Lemon Law Claim
Car problems can happen, but if you have an issue that qualifies for California lemon law, you should know your rights. In the case of a California lemon law repurchase, the manufacturer must refund you the “actual price paid or payable by the buyer” which includes all payments made up to that point:
Your down payment
Monthly payments
Registration fees, and
Any other fees on the purchase or lease agreement
If the negative equity on a car is considered as part of the purchase price paid for the vehicle, it’s a heated issue for car manufacturers and consumers rights activists. The consumers would argue that the debt should be part of the purchase price because there is no way for them to get their trade-in vehicle back and it’s not their fault the vehicle is a lemon. Manufacturers argue that the debt should be deducted from the purchase price because paying off two cars due to one lemon would be beneficial to the consumer.
How to Prevent Accumulating Negative Equity?
You’ve created a negative equity situation for yourself, it becomes really really hard to get out. There are some simple ways to stop it before it takes hold, though. One, don’t buy a car that you can’t afford. Two, keep the terms of your loans as short as possible. A long-term car loan will almost always put you in a negative equity position and that could cost you big time in the long run.
The difficult choice can come when deciding between financing with the dealer, your bank, and your credit union in order to buy the perfect car. Understanding what options you have before you walk into a dealership is crucial. Make sure you talk to representatives of your bank and credit union before visiting a dealership. Then when you get to the dealership, make sure to negotiate the sales price separately from any finance offers.
The California Lemon Law on Negative Equity
In California, there is no case law that specifically addresses this issue. It’s likely that neither the plaintiff’s attorneys nor the defendants have found the right case, or want to put this issue before the court at the risk of creating unfavorable law. A longstanding rule in California prohibits manufacturers from deducting negative equity as a repair cost. It may not govern courts, but it should be enforced in lemon law arbitrations, as the Department of Consumer Affairs audits them for compliance.
If you win the arbitration process, the manufacturer cannot deduct for negative equity. If a decision is made, it’s the responsibility of both the State-certified arbitration program and the manufacturer to make sure you’re repaid.
Negative equity is when your car loan balance outweighs the market value of the vehicle. Manufacturers may not deduct this amount at arbitration and must return it to you. When reviewing calculation worksheets, the program must let the manufacturer know if they made an unallowable deduction, such as negative equity.
Final Words
Negative equity is a confusing concept, and when it exists, it’s often the central issue to a lemon law case. First, be sure you understand this concept or have a knowledgeable lemon law lawyer California who does, it may affect your strategy with your claim. Be sure you research “negative equity” in lemon law for more information about how to approach your claim.
A car is one of the most expensive items most people will ever purchase. Therefore, it only makes sense that consumers should be protected from defects in their cars. The California Lemon Law has been in effect for a long time and protects consumers by requiring manufacturers to repair defects in their cars for at least a certain amount of time. If the manufacturer cannot repair the car after a certain amount of time, they are obligated to either buy back the vehicle or give you a comparable replacement car.
How Long Can a Dealership Hold Your Car for Repair?
You may be stuck in a situation where the repair process is taking longer than usual. A few factors might cause this, but in general, you can expect a set amount of time for your car to be fixed.
1. A lemon law claim which you can understand more by reading up on it.
2. Compensation for the time that your car was in the garage.
3. Other consumer rights that you are entitled to.
All these things can be claimed if the dealership holds your car for more than 30 days.
The repair shop is probably providing the best service possible. Negotiation might be necessary if they can’t provide a good explanation for the delay in your car. However, it’s usually a scenario where you must wait and respect their decision. If you think this is not the case, you can contact a lemon law lawyer in California and discuss your options.
Which Repairs Will Take a Long Time?
A lot of people buy cars, they sell them or trade them in. Perhaps most importantly, they go in for repairs. At a car dealership, there are a few repairs that take longer than others. If you’re expecting your vehicle to be in the shop for any of these, it’s a good idea to talk to the dealership beforehand. It might be a misunderstanding that can be easily solved by talking things out.
These are the repairs that take a long time:
Engine replacement is not just a straightforward process. Engines are connected to many smaller parts, which means your job could be much more extensive and time-consuming.
The emission system is designed with a lot of sensitive equipment. Some of this equipment can malfunction or break down and cause problems, such as an oxygen sensor that starts affecting the fuel mixture and leads to inefficiencies.
When the Power Control Module fails, other problems occur. It’s the brain of your vehicle and when it fails, other parts are affected such as the engine, charging system, transmission, and emissions.
The repairs are detailed and take a long time. A dealership should never take longer than 30 days to complete, but they’re not perfect. Maybe you need a new part before work can continue. Or maybe the technician is taking care of your car with care. In any case, communication is key to understanding what’s going on.
When Should a Lemon Law California Lawyer Get Involved?
You should call a lemon law California lawyer if any of the following occur within 18-months of purchase or before 18,000 miles are put on your vehicle.
You brought your car in for service, but it still has the same problem. The dealership tried to repair your car twice. This could have resulted in a serious injury or death.
The dealership had four opportunities to fix the issue before the warranty was up.
The car was in the shop for over 30 days because it was being fixed.
Timeframe of the Repair
When you need your car serviced, you can let the dealership know about any expectations you have. For example, if you only want it to take a few hours, you can tell them in advance. If they are unable to meet this time, it does not hurt to let them know and give them notice. However, if they exceed your limit, you should make this clear to them beforehand and discuss the consequences that will follow.
Wrapping Up
If you’ve been waiting for more than 30 days to get your car repaired, it’s time to take action. Dealerships should not be able to take more than 30 days to fix your car for any legitimate reason. If you can’t work out a solution with the dealership, it’s time to look into legal action. They shouldn’t be able to take your car away from you for longer than necessary.
Navigating the complexities of the legal system and enforcing your rights under California’s Lemon Law can be even harder. There are certain mistakes that you should absolutely avoid making if you want to win a lemon law case. If you want to win, then you should never make these mistakes. California lemon law lawyer will help you avoid some common mistakes that can destroy your chances to get relief under California’s Lemon Law.
Keep reading and you’ll find out about some of the major difficulties that arise when a customer wants to return or replace their car. You’ll also learn how to avoid making mistakes in this process.
Failing to Ensure That Your Customer Complaints are in the Service Report
Reporting your complaints about a vehicle to a dealership is essential, and it’s easy to overlook. But if you forget, or the dealership doesn’t bother to put your complaints on the service report, you can only proceed with your claim if you have proof that those complaints occurred.
Once you return from the service appointment and get your car back, make sure to review the service report in detail. The report should include what has been done to the car, the mileage on the odometer, and a general explanation of any complaints or attempted repairs. Check that your complaint is recorded on the report before you go, if it isn’t, you may have difficulty filing a Lemon Law claim later.
Described Problems are Not Clear
When you’re preparing to initiate a lemon law claim, remember that it’s important to be careful. Dealership service departments are not always trustworthy and might say something different about the problem(s) being fixed than what you know to be true. Bring along someone more knowledge about cars and get the service department to be as specific as possible about the diagnosis and repairs performed.
To avoid confusion, it is best to be as specific as possible when you have a complaint. If the problem is on the left side of the vehicle, for instance, note that the problem affects the front part of the vehicle. That way, the customer and mechanic will know exactly where work needs to be done.
Not Adding Important Information On the Notice of Non-Conforming Conditions
Motor vehicle defects, or “Nonconforming Conditions,” happen when something is wrong with the car. A defect can be anything from a leaking oil pan to an engine light on. Defects only happen when the car is used in a “reasonable” way, not for any unauthorized use, like driving off-road or using it as a runway. The manufacturer is responsible for repairing these issues.
If you have a complaint, your best option is to write up a “Notice of Nonconforming Condition” and send it to the authorized repair facility. The notice should include information on the vehicle, the nonconforming condition (defect), and any attempts to address the defect. It is not necessary to contact the manufacturer for this information.
You need to make sure that the following information is used:
The make, year, model of your vehicle
The non-conforming condition
The repair facility name and the name of the technicians that carried out the repair
Continuing to Repair Even After Two Failed Repair Attempts
The California Lemon Law offers protections for consumers. The law provides a two-repair trial, meaning the manufacturer must fix the same problem twice before the consumer can seek a replacement the third time. If the same problem is repaired two or more times and still does not work, it can cause injury or death. Essentially, the consumer is running out of time.
Lemon laws come into play when the vehicle needs to be returned for more than two visits. You need to prove that the manufacturer has had a chance to fix the defect with the last repair attempt. If you plan on returning for another visit, the manufacturer might argue that they deserve one more shot at fixing the defect which could easily delay or terminate any compensation that you may be entitled to.
Lemon Law cases can be tricky. You need to consult with a lemon law California lawyer before you present paperwork to the manufacturer because you’re at risk for two possible outcomes: the judge could rule in your favor, or they could throw out the case on a technicality.
Conclusion
The lemon law process is arduous and has many pitfalls to fall into. As a consumer, you may not have much experience participating in legal proceedings. This is why it is imperative to consult with a lemon law attorney before starting the claim process. A consultation with a lemon law lawyer in California may help you understand your situation and what the next steps are.
