All too often in the excitement of the “new car experience,” consumers do not retain records of their warranty repair visits, only to be frustrated later when their vehicle turns out to potentially be a “lemon”. Sometimes this is as easy as asking your servicing dealer for copies of your warranty repair invoices – or sometimes not. 

Today’s automobile manufacturers and their dealerships are linked together by sophisticated computer systems. The purpose is to keep the dealers and the manufacturers “connected” during the period the vehicle is covered by the manufacturers’ new vehicle limited warranty. 

By use of this system, your dealer has the ability to print out a “warranty repair history.” This can be in a simple “summary” format, or a fully detailed “complete” history with the details of complaints, testing and repairs. Either of these formats will cover all warranty repairs done to a vehicle by a franchised new car dealership, and these computers are linked to the manufacturer, who maintains the warranty history database. 

You should consider asking your dealership Service Advisor or Service Manager for a printout of your vehicle’s warranty repair history. You may be surprised to find out about warranty repairs that you have long forgotten about, but that may be vital to a Lemon Law claim now, or later on.

SE HABLA ESPANOL
LA OFICINA LEGAL MAS GRANDE
DE CALIFORNIA DE LEY DE LIMON
1-877-355-4666   1-877-EL-LIMON
*There may be an occasional claim where it is determined that the filing of a lawsuit is the most expedient way to recover full lemon law entitlement.

California Lemon Law - The California Lemon Law

California Lemon Law - About The Law Offices of William R. McGee

California Lemon Law - We answer the top 7 questions

Why you should demand a "Retainer Agreement" be sent to you before allowing any attorney to represent you.

California Lemon Law - Before you hire any lemon law attorney

California Lemon Law - Why choose our law firm

California Lemon Law - How Do I Get Started?

California Lemon Law - Hiring California’s largest Lemon Law firm

California Lemon Law - Warranty repairs. What is a “repair attempt”?

California Lemon Law - Manufacturer’s “customer assistance” 800 #'s

California Lemon Law - Arbitration – what you should know

California Lemon Law - FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions – part 1)

California Lemon Law - FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions – part 2)

California Lemon Law - Used Car lemon law

California Lemon Law - Car dealership pressure sales tactics

California Lemon Law - See us on California’s freeways and highways

California Lemon Law - California Lemon Law Attorneys - Locations

California Lemon Law - The “No Cooling Off Period” rule

California Lemon Law - Car dealership contract fraud

California Lemon Law - Securing proper warranty repair documentation

California Lemon Law - Changes in the California Lemon Law

California Lemon Law - Senate Bill 1718 Passed

California Lemon Law - Submit your case information on-line

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California Lemon Law - Lemon in another state?

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California Lemon Law - “Warranty Repair History” - What, Why, and How.

California Lemon Law - Automobile Manufacturer’s “solutions", “offers” and “releases”

California Lemon Law - Turning frustration into “time well spent”

California Lemon Law - Your vehicle’s warranty book as it “applies” to California Lemon Law.

California Lemon Law – Quick Reference Guide The California lemon law offers protection for buyers of new cars, trucks, motorhomes, and motorcycles. The California lemon law provides different options to the consumer and manufacturer.  For California lemon law to apply to cars and trucks that qualify under the statute, the manufacturer must offer to replace or repurchase the offending lemon law vehicle, with the consumer not being forced to accept a replacement. California lemon law treats motorhomes and motorcycles differently. The California lemon law allows the manufacturer to repurchase or replace under the statute, at their discretion. Automobile manufacturers will print warranty books that contain “instructions” for consumers that think they may have a lemon law vehicle that qualifies under California lemon law. Consumers must remember that these lemon law “instructions” or “steps to follow” are what the automobile manufacturer wants you to do, and is NOT the California lemon law. For example, many manufacturers warranty books will attempt to direct the consumer with a California lemon law claim to attend an arbitration hearing. Arbitration is NOT required under the California Lemon Law to pursue a lemon law claim. Nor is there any requirement under the California Lemon Law to bring a lemon law claim within 18 months or 18,000 miles. You as the consumer have the entire new vehicle limited warranty period (usually 3 years/36,000 miles or 4 years/50,000 miles) to bring your California lemon law claim. If the repeated problem continues AFTER the expiration of the warranty under the lemon law, in certain cases you may still be applicable to protection under the California lemon law. The California lemon law also uses the manufacturers “extra power-train warranty coverage” as lemon law protection for consumers. These “power-train” warranties often provide for repairs as long as 100,000 miles, and under the California lemon law can be utilized to qualify a vehicle as a “lemon”. When our California lemon law was passed many years ago, the automobile manufacturers were allowed to set up NON-binding arbitration as an OPTION for the consumer to utilize in an attempt to settle their lemon law dispute. Consumers in California must realize that these dispute resolution mediums are often nothing more than a way for automobile manufacturers to be given “another chance” at fixing the consumers vehicle. One of the three potential decisions that can be handed down at an arbitration hearing is “the repair decision”. The automobile manufacturers representative argues to the arbitrator that the manufacturer should be given an additional attempt to repair the vehicle, or argue that they (coincidentally) “now have a fix developed” for the consumers repeated defect. The consumer often goes into a arbitration hearing expecting a “win” or “lose” decision, but becomes stunned when finding out that the outcome of their arbitration hearing for their lemon law claim is simply to have their vehicle repaired again! Arbitrators are not lawyers. Arbitration is NOT required to pursue legal remedy in California under the lemon law. “Customer Assistance Centers”. Consumers can call the manufacturers toll-free “assistance center”. They can explain that they feel they have a vehicle that qualifies under the California lemon law. The representatives will give out a “case number” to the consumer. Often times the unknowing consumer thinks this “case” number means something, especially when followed by the potential language of “we are opening a case number for you”. Consumers can be potentially mislead that this is the “opening” or “start” of a legal California lemon law case. It is NOT. A “case number” is often nothing more than a REFERENCE number to the consumer calling in their complaint(s) that allows the automobile manufacturer to establish a numerical file on the consumers call-in.  “Dealer Trade Assist”. Consumers need to be VERY aware of this “trick of the automobile trade”. Consumers who have been having repeated problems with their vehicle will often seek lemon law relief by asking their car dealer to “buy back” or replace their vehicle. What the consumer does NOT know is that the dealer has nothing to do with the California lemon law, nor do they have any responsibility under the California lemon law to repurchase or replace the offending vehicle. This is where “opportunity knocks” for the car dealer in many instances. The car dealer “responds” to the consumers request by “offering” to resolve the consumers dreadful car situation by offering “to take them out of their car” or “get you out of this car and into a new one” or similar verbage. This is NOT the California lemon law. This is an example of an opportunistic dealer sales tactic of making the consumer believe that they are getting California lemon law relief, but in reality the car dealer is taking the offending vehicle in trade, and simply selling the consumer another vehicle! The dealer often hears consumers say “you have to get me out of this vehicle”. They are simply taking the customers grief and turning it into profit, while the consumer loses part or all of their earned equity in their vehicle, often resulting in the loss of thousands of dollars. This “dealer trade assist” can often result in the dealer inflating the price of the “replacement” car and putting the consumer further into debt. Consumers should be very aware that the car dealership is in business to make a profit, and to sell cars. The “dealer trade assist” is just another example of how a consumer in California can unknowingly THINK they are getting relief from the California lemon law, but are simply being taken advantage of. What is the consumer to do? Consumers can simply the entire California lemon law process by utilizing the services of a lemon law attorney. We are The Law Offices of William R. McGee, California Lemon Law Attorneys, California’s largest lemon law firm. You can call us toll-free at 1-800-CA-LEMON (1-800-225-3666) for a free consultation or review of your repair documents to see if you qualify for protection and relief under the California lemon law. The California lemon law has a provision for attorney’s fees, making the automobile manufacturer pay the attorney for time spent on a lemon law claim.