Lemon Law for Cars and Trucks
California Lemon Law applies to new cars and trucks that were purchased for personal use. Lemon law in California also applies to new cars and trucks that have a gross weight of under 10,000 pounds, which are bought or used for business purposes by the individual, another person, a partnership, corporation, LLC, association or any other legal entity as long as not more than five motor vehicles are registered to that entity in the state of California.
For California Lemon Law to apply for a car or a truck, the vehicle must be under warranty. Thus, a substantial amount of cars and trucks that successfully go through the lemon law process are cars and trucks that were purchased new, and repairs were made while the car or truck still had the original warranty provided by the manufacturer. Importantly, certified pre-owned cars and trucks (which generally come with a warranty) also qualify for lemon law.
The general rule is that in order to qualify for lemon law, the manufacturer must have had a “reasonable” amount of repair attempts of the vehicle. Nonetheless, California Lemon Law does not define what is “reasonable.” “Reasonable” entirely depends on how serious the defect is and the individual circumstances. Generally, the issue must impair in a substantial manner the value, use, and/or safety of the vehicle.
The law presumes that the manufacturer had a reasonable number of repair attempts if:
- The same problem resulted in a “safety issue” that could cause serious injury or death if the vehicle is driven, and an attempt was made to repair the vehicle at least two or more times by the manufacturer or its dealerships; Or
- An attempt was made at least 4 or more times by the manufacturer to repair a non safety-related issue; or
- The vehicle was not in service because of the repair attempt by the manufacturer or its agents for a total of more than 30 days cumulative, since the vehicle was purchased or leased.
If you are experiencing repeat issues with your car or truck, contact our Los Angeles lemon law lawyers and find out how you can start your lemon law claim.
Find out whether you qualify for protection under California Lemon Laws. Click on the link below and fill out our contact inform. Our attorneys will then contact you to go over your options. You can also call us (800) 88-LEMON.