What Factors are Used to Determine If a Vehicle is Lemon?
Your vehicle can qualify as a lemon as long as it has unresolved defects that the dealer or manufacturer failed to fix even after a number of reasonable attempts.
These defects often compromise the safety, use, or value of your vehicle.
Of course, no one wants their new vehicle to be a lemon. But unfortunate things often happen without any warning. So, you can do the next best thing — seek compensation under the California lemon law.
But what factors exactly make your car, truck, or SUV a lemon? Let’s find out.
You Purchased Your Vehicle from an Authorized Retailer or Manufacturer
If you want to declare your defective car a lemon, you must purchase it from an authorized retailer or auto dealer.
After all, only the vehicles (or “consumer goods”) bought from actual manufacturers or authorized dealers fall under the Lemon law’s protection.
Unfortunately, if you buy a car or SUV from a friend, relative, or any other party other than the authorized dealers, the vehicle can never be a lemon. In this case, even if your car is highly defective, you can never file a lemon law claim in Los Angeles.
Your Vehicle Has a Valid Manufacturer’s Warranty
Did the car you purchased from the authorized dealer or manufacturer have a valid warranty cover from the manufacturer? The California lemon law will only protect your vehicle if it has an active warranty cover from the manufacturer.
The cover can be the original manufacturer’s warranty or an extended warranty coming from the authorized auto dealer.
If you have purchased a preowned vehicle, you must get a new warranty cover from the manufacturer or the auto dealer to qualify your car as a lemon.
Your Vehicle Has at least One Substantial Material Defect
Sometimes, it’s just too late before you notice your vehicle’s defects. It’s quite natural only to notice your car has a problem after you bring it to your home.
However, not all defects can make your vehicle a lemon. Sure, discovering a dent or scratch in your car can be quite upsetting. But these defects aren’t significant enough to declare your vehicle a lemon.
To file a lemon law claim, the defects must somehow compromise or diminish your vehicle’s value, safety, or use. A few examples of these defects are:
- Problematic seatbelts
- Malfunctioning airbags
- Transmission issues
- Brake or acceleration issues
- Engine defects
- Power steering failure
- Leaking fluids
- Malfunctioning locks
- Electrical issues
- Cracked windshield
Of course, you must make a reasonable number of attempts to get your vehicle fixed by the authorized dealer if you notice these defects before trying to file a lemon law claim.
If you’re still unsure whether any particular vehicle defect qualifies your car as a lemon, you can consult Los Angeles lemon attorneys to clarify your doubts.
You made several unsuccessful repair attempts
As we mentioned earlier, if you discover a substantial defect on your vehicle, you must make a reasonable number of attempts to get it fixed from the dealer or manufacturer.
Only if the dealer makes a reasonable number of attempts to fix the defect without any success can the vehicle be qualified as a lemon.
Of course, the legitimate number of “reasonable” attempts also differs according to the type of substantial defect. If a defect can cause potential death or serious injuries, three unsuccessful repair attempts are more than enough to declare your car lemon.
However, if the defect only causes a loss of value or use, the number of reasonable attempts can be higher than three depending on the defect’s severity.
As you can see, it can be quite confusing to determine if you have made a “reasonable” number of unsuccessful attempts to fix your car to file a lemon law claim. So, you can consult experts like attorney Sam Mollaei to clear your doubts.
Of course, if the manufacturer or the original dealer keeps your car in the shop for more than 30 days to repair the defects, the car automatically qualifies as a lemon.
The Lemon Law’s Statute of Limitations
If your vehicle meets all the factors mentioned above, you have a lemon in your hand. However, that doesn’t mean you have forever to file a lemon law claim to seek compensation.
If you suspect your vehicle to be a lemon, you should contact a qualified attorney to discuss the lemon law and file a claim under it soon.
After all, according to California lemon law, if you fail to file a claim within four years of discovering a substantial defect, you won’t qualify to seek compensation. That’s true even if the defect is covered under the warranty and your vehicle is a lemon.
So, the sooner you take appropriate action, the better.
Conclusion
As long as your defective vehicle fulfills the conditions mentioned above, it will surely qualify as a lemon. The key is to take action quickly after you identify a substantial defect that will diminish your vehicle’s value, safety, or use.
If you want to receive the rightful compensation, consult a lemon law attorney and file the claim as soon as possible.
