The California Lemon Law, Fighting for the Consumer
The lemon law was established to protect your consumer rights for issues you may be having with your recreational vehicle or motor home. It allows you a legal recourse after the lease or purchase of a defective new motor vehicle or RV that fails to meet the manufacturer's issued warranty, when a reasonable number of repair attempts have been made.
What is meant by "lemon vehicle"?
During the 1800's, people began using the word "lemon" to describe people who were sour (meaning unfriendly). In American English, the word was first recorded in 1906 as a slang sense of "worthless thing". Over time, 'lemon' came to refer to anything that was defective or broken or which breaks constantly, particularly a car.
Your California Lemon Law Rights
The law provides that when a manufacturer cannot repair consumer goods after a reasonable number of attempts, it must either replace the defective product or refund the consumer's money. Generally, the manufacturer of your "lemon vehicle", as opposed to the selling dealer, bears the final responsibility to re-purchase or replace your
defective car, truck, boat, RV, motor home, or motorcycle.
Generally, the consumer, and not the manufacturer, has the
option to select either a replacement or a refund. Moreover, consumers do not have to demand what they are rightfully
entitled to under the law. Instead, the law requires that the manufacturer initiate an appropriate offer to the
consumer once a reasonable number of attempts to repair the defective vehicle has failed.
When To Seek Legal Help
If a manufacturer fails or refuses to offer a replacement or a refund for a "lemon," the consumer has
the right to file a civil action in a court of law. When the consumer wins a lemon law case, the manufacturer must:
- Provide a replacement or a refund
- Pay the consumer's costs and expenses, including attorney's
fees.
- In some cases, the manufacturer can also be liable for
a "civil penalty" of up to twice the consumer's damages (usually the price of the defective goods).
Rather than seeking recourse from the dealer who sold you the vehicle (which can result in unnecessary loss of
time and energy), contact the Lemon Law Firm of Norman Taylor & Associates for a free consultation to find out if your defective vehicle
qualifies under the consumer protection lemon
law.
Our California Lemon Law has been protecting consumers for twenty two years. Norman Taylor has been practicing lemon law for seventeen of those twenty one years. Contact us to find out how we can help you.
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