Many people wonder what will happen to their lemon law claim, if they take their car to an unauthorized dealer for repairs. In nutshell, if you take your car to an unauthorized dealer for repairs, it should not work to neutralize your warranty. If you get the chance, you may want to take a look at the small print in your warranty when you purchased or leased your car or truck.
In the warranty, it usually has a clause that the auto dealership wants you to bring your car back to that dealership to get the repairs. Not just some of the repairs, but all of the repairs. This is because the car dealership would love to keep you as a lifelong customer. It makes money for their mechanics shop if every customer who buys a car with them will always come back to them for any major or minor repairs.
Do I Need to Take My Car to an Authorized Dealership to Be Able to Ask for My Money Back – If the Car Has Defects?
In a word, “Yes,” if you bought your car at an authorized dealership, then you will want to return there to get your money back on a car with defects. Let’s look at this scenario in more detail. Say you buy your car at an authorized dealership, and you did not know it was a lemon car. Later after a few months, you find out that the car is a lemon car. You can go back to the dealership where you bought the car, to get it either fixed or get a refund for your troubles related to the car being a lemon.
Now, let’s look at if you bought your car on the side of the road, or at a used car lot, or from someone who is not an authorized dealership. That person who you bought the car from is going to be responsible to a point for your car being a lemon, but there will be no chain of command from that person to the auto manufacturer. For example, what if the person who you bought your car from who is not an authorized dealership made some modifications to the car, or added aftermarket parts to the vehicle, or did not tell you of the full history of the car, or had the car worked on by someone who was not a certified mechanic who “messed up” some major safety components in the car.
You Will Most Likely Not Have a Warranty from a Car Seller Who Is an Unauthorized Dealership, or an Unauthorized Car Seller
Technically, and we all know that this is true, you can buy a car from anyone these days. But if you choose to buy a car from someone who is not an authorized dealership, do you have a warranty on the vehicle? Because at an authorized dealership for the car that you buy, there will be a higher likelihood that you will have a warranty in writing related to the management of any issues or defects related to your car that you purchased.
You will have to ask yourself: Do you have a warranty from the person who is an unauthorized seller of this car? If you don’t have a warrant for the car, that might be an “okay” situation for you in some cases. The next question will be that once you discover that you have a lemon car, can you go back to the unauthorized person who sold you the car and get your money back?
Getting a Warranty or Your Money Back from an Unauthorized Car Seller or Unauthorized Dealer May Be a Difficult Endeavor
It may not be “impossible” go get your money back from a car seller or unauthorized dealer, once you discover that you have a lemon car. But it may be extremely difficult to get your money back or force the adherence to a warranty, if you have bought a car from an unauthorized car seller or unauthorized dealership. Why is this the case?
Well, first of all, an authorized car dealership has a direct relationship with the car manufacturer who made and produced your vehicle. That means that there is a direct chain of command, to show how the car was made, shipped to the authorized dealer, then checked in by the authorized dealer and later sold off the authorized dealer’s showroom or car lot to you. When you buy from a random seller, there is usually no chain of command to show where the car came from, how it was used before it got to you, or how it was maintained before being sold to you.
If You Buy Your Lemon Car from an Authorized Car Dealer, Why Not Go Back There to Get the Lemon Car Fixed?
The advantage of going to an authorized car dealership to buy a car is that they are authorized to manage, handle and repair your vehicle. When buying a car from an authorized car dealership and later learning that it is a lemon vehicle, if you go back to the authorized car dealership your repairs should be free. If you go to an unauthorized car dealership or someone other than an authorized dealership, then you may be left paying for any repairs to the lemon defects on your car.
It is just easier to go back to the car dealership or a franchise in the same brand, to get your car repaired if you have a lemon vehicle. In most cases, an authorized car dealership will have the certified mechanics to work on your car, have the correct parts to repair the car, be familiar with any lemon or recall safety issues in that car, and know what to do to make the car safe again.
An Unauthorized Car Dealership May Not Have a Relationship with the Car Manufacturer to Fix Your Lemon Car Defects for Free
We are back to the beginning now, and let’s say you discover you have a lemon car. If you bought it at an authorized dealership, you can take it back there per the lemon laws and they have to fix it for free. But, if you go to an unauthorized dealer to get your car fixed, that may mean that the unauthorized mechanics shop may charge you to get the car fixed. The unauthorized dealer’s mechanics shop may also tell you that you have to pay them for the fix on your lemon car, and that you can or should get the money back from the car dealership where you bought the car.
Be careful here, because if you get repairs for a lemon car at an unauthorized car dealership, that mechanic’s shop may charge you repair fees. If you go back to the authorized car dealership and ask for your money back for the repairs you did at an unauthorized repair shop, the authorized car dealership may tell you that they are not going to reimburse you one thin dime. Why is that, you may wonder? Because you could have just as easily gone to an authorized repair shop of your choice to get your car repaired. The fact that you didn’t do that, may mean that the authorized repair shop may not reimburse you for repairs that they did not do on your lemon vehicle.
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Our legal team has experienced attorneys at the ready, to review your lemon law case and to get you the reimbursement that you deserve in a lemon law claim. All that you need to do is to call us, and we can converse with you in a variety of languages because we are a multilingual firm. Calling us today will start the process to getting the money you deserve for your lemon car, just call us at Guardian Lemon Law Group at 888.341.8537.
Big Car Manufacturers Know That They Are No Match for Our Legal Team
We are ready to talk to you now about your lemon law case. All that you need to do is to call us today, and we will review your case and set you on the road to winning your lemon law claim. We have dealt with the big car manufacturers, and know what to do to win your case. But we can’t help you unless you give us a call. We are ready to talk to you at the Guardian Lemon Law Group at 888.341.8537.
Common Defects of Lemon Car Claims
There are a nearly unlimited number of defects that can be common to lemon car claims. Some of the more important defects that can affect the safe driving of your vehicle can include:
- Transmission and drive shaft issues
- Steering system problems
- Differential issues with leaking fluid
- Ball joint seams damaged and defective
- Visible damage on the tires
- Gear shifting defects
- Fuel system leaks
- Engine block cracked
- Abnormal exhaust discharge into the cabin
- Welds not performed properly on the body
- Damaged brake pads and drums
- Damaged mechanical components
- Damaged software components in the vehicle onboard systems
If your lemon car is defective, chances are there could be more than one defect going on at the same time. If this is the case, just call us to help you sort it out. We are here at Guardian Lemon Law Group at 888.341.8537. Our knowledgeable attorneys are ready to help you now, to get the recovery compensation that you deserve in this type of lemon law claim.
Recent Victories in Lemon Law Claims
The large auto manufacturers today are beginning to understand that the consumers know they are fully responsible for their production of defective cars and trucks. Usually, it starts with a recall of a vehicle for a safety issue, that is identified on a vehicle. Next, the auto manufacturer will need to participate in a buyback program, and reimburse people with lemon cars. If a lemon car can be repaired that may fix the situation, but if the car cannot be repaired, it may be time to force the hand of the auto manufacturer to pay up and reimburse the consumer for the lemon car.
When you have questions related to your lemon car and what you can do to get a safe car again, you can call us at the Guardian Lemon Law Group at 888.341.8537. We are here to support you legally, and review your case to put you on the winning team regarding your lemon car claim.
Zero Fee Guarantee
We are interested in helping you to get the reimbursement that you deserve on this type of lemon law claim. All that you need to do is to call us at the Guardian Lemon Law Group at 888.341.8537 today. We can give to you a zero-fee guarantee, that means you don’t pay us any money on your claim until we win your lemon law case for you. Nothing could be easier, just pick up the phone and call our legal team today.
Contact Us / Free Case Evaluation
We totally understand that the lemon laws can seem very confusing. We are ready to help you now to get through the legal and understand exactly what you need to do to initiate a lawsuit on your behalf to get the money you deserve when you have a lemon car. You need to be with a winning legal team, and with a lawyer with experience in winning cases for lemon law claims in California.
When you call us at the Guardian Lemon Law Group at 888.341.8537, you will find eager attorneys ready to help you get the job done right the first time. Give us a call today for a free case evaluation, regarding your lemon law car.
