For those of you who have been unfortunate enough to own a lemon vehicle, it is important that you are aware of the mistakes that people often make when they have a lemon vehicle. These mistakes can lead to more headaches for you as well as more time and money spent on your part.
The aim of this report is to guide people through various legal issues and help them in their claims. However, it should not be seen as a substitute for professional advice from an attorney or any other licensed expert. A consultation with an experienced lemon law lawyer San Diego before handling your own matters will always prove helpful when dealing with the laws surrounding lemon law cases. Nevertheless, there are some general things that you may want to know which could assist both yourself and your lawyers during negotiations.
Not Getting Written Service Reports
The service report is one of the most important pieces of evidence in a lemon law case.
It helps to document any issues and can be used for arbitration or legal purposes if needed. A technician will often put “unable to duplicate customer concern” on it, but at least this documents an issue that needs attention from the manufacturer.
It is always a risk to leave the service department without written documentation of your visit and complaint, even if you cannot find anything wrong. You never know what might happen in that hour or so window where they were working on it.
Make Sure Your Complaint is Fully Noted
When obtaining service for your car, it is important that the technician or manager notes down what you tell them. This should be documented in their report and can provide much more weight than simply telling a judge or jury about any issues with your vehicle. The dealership technician cannot deny something they are writing on paper if not only told to you verbally – which would never happen!
Additionally, jurors like seeing documents instead of hearing testimonies where things could get mixed up along the way between people who don’t know each other very well.
When leaving service, read the report before you go. If it doesn’t meet your standards or if they refuse to make changes, write a letter and get them to sign off on that as well. Being polite is key in any customer service setting. Make sure you voice your concerns to the staff but do not fight and argue as this will get you nowhere fast. When people see that a client was calm, they are more likely to believe their story over one who’s argumentative with them or rude at all times during contact.
Identify the Problem
When you think there is a noise in the engine, transmission or front tire of your car, do not specify where. You can tell them that you have a noise coming from the front part of the vehicle. If later on it turns out to be something wrong with an axle but at first they told us about another problem and we go back for service 3-4 times because our complaint was general then California’s lemon law will apply if three problems are serviced consecutively without making any progress towards fixing those issues.
Selling or Trading Your Vehicle Before the Case
Consumers who have been waiting for repairs on their vehicle to be completed, or the repair has not yet started and they are fed up with dealing with it. The consumer will likely sell out of a car during this process because the inconvenience is too much. However, by doing so you forfeit any rights that come along with having your case heard in court – even if there was an issue at hand.
If you want your defective vehicle to be bought back or replaced, it must remain in legal ownership so that the car company can return it. If not, then there is no way for them to give-back what they owe and this means you’ll miss out on any compensation available through Lemon Law.
Not Hiring a Lemon Law Lawyer in San Diego
You shouldn’t be afraid that hiring a lawyer will cost too much. The California lemon law covers legal fees for those who win their case, so you don’t have to worry about the expense of an attorney on your side. Moreover, lawyers are not going to take cases they do not think can succeed; therefore it is in their best interest and yours as well if they help you come out on top.
A professional voice is required for your lemon law case. California’s laws are tricky and it takes a lawyer who knows them inside and out to make sure you don’t lose out on any money when fighting back against manufacturers.
Conclusion
These were some of the most common mistakes people make when they have a lemon. If you’re having trouble deciding how to proceed, please consult with an experienced Lemon Law lawyer in San Diego. Some other helpful tips include keeping all documents and records for your case, not accepting any money from the manufacturer or dealer as consideration for releasing them from liability, and considering mediation before escalating to litigation if possible.