When you buy a brand new or a used vehicle, you are under the impression that the vehicle is in great condition. However, vehicle buyers and leasers often get fooled into buying a lemon vehicle. The California Lemon Law helps protect vehicle buyers and leasers who have bought a vehicle with substantial defects. However, not all defects come under the lemon law. Lemon law attorney San Diego talks about the defects that do and don’t come under the California lemon law.
How Do You Define a Defect in California Lemon Law?
Generally, you can prove if your vehicle is a lemon or not by showing a material defect in the vehicle. Material defects are defects that affect the value, use and safety of the vehicle.
Defect of Use: You cannot drive the vehicle in the way it was intended to be driven.
Defect of Value: You can’t sell the vehicle for the price it was worth if it wasn’t for the defect.
Defect of Safety: You cannot use the vehicle on roads if it affects your safety and the safety of the other people on the roads.
There are many defects that are covered under the lemon law, however, these are some exceptions:
Negligence of the Owner of the Vehicle
Defects which are covered are defects that affect the value, use and safety of the vehicle. However, if these defects were caused because of the owner’s negligence, then this won’t get covered under the lemon law. Some examples are improper maintenance the vehicle, improper care, and abandonment of the vehicle.
Car Accidents
If your vehicle had an issue before buying or leasing the vehicle, then it comes under the lemon law. However, if the owner crashes the vehicle or any other impact during the accident, it won’t be covered under the lemon law.
Poor Repairs and Installations
The California Lemon Law requires the owner to get the vehicle repairs done with the help of an authorized service provider specified by the manufacturer of the vehicle. If you try to attempt these repairs yourself then your lemon law filing won’t get approved.
What Defects Come Under the Lemon Law San Diego California?
Most defects come under the lemon law. The California lemon law requires a manufacturer to replace the vehicle or repurchase the vehicle if they are not able to repair the vehicle on time under the original manufacturer’s warranty after a reasonable number of attempts.
Proper documentation of your repairs will help you file a lemon law case against the manufacturer and will help you tremendously against them in the court.
These are some vehicle defects that come under the California Lemon Law:
- Brake System Defects
- Airbag Defects
- Pedal Defects
- Body Defects
- Engine Fires
- Engine Failures
- Fuel Leakages
- Steering Issues
- Misaligned Tires
- Steering Pull
- Stalling
…and many other defects. For your vehicle to qualify as a lemon, you need to have at least two attempts on your vehicle to get it fixed by the manufacturer. This reasonable number of repairs depends on how severe the issues in your vehicle are. It is advised that you use the help of a lemon law attorney San Diego to get through with this as lemon law is very complicated and you do not have to spend a penny on the lawyer’s fees if your claim is accepted.
Do You Want to Hire a Lemon Law Attorney in California?
Before you file for a lemon law claim, you should know that lemon laws are very complicated and filing one can be a headache for you. This is where a lemon law attorneys San Diego come in. McMillan Law Group can help you file a lemon law claim and get you the recovery that you deserve. We have years of experience and knowledge to help you win your case.