The lemon laws of California state that the car dealership who sold you a lemon vehicle must allow you to return the vehicle to you – with a few caveats. We can go over those caveats or exceptions, which may be the reason why the car dealership has refused to allow you to return your car to them.
Lemon Laws Cover New and Used Vehicles Covered by the Car Dealership Warranties
If your new or used car is a lemon, it will need to still have active coverage under the car dealership warranties. For example, a new car will be protected under the manufacturer’s original car warranty, dealer warranty or any express warranty from the car dealership. If you buy a car from the car dealership and it is sold “as is,” or “as seen with no warranties,” then expect that there is no warranty covering the car. That is going to be unfortunate for you, because you cannot then return that car later with no warranty to the dealership for being a lemon.
Why Are Car Dealership Warranties on a Car So Important?
Generally speaking, a car dealership warranty is a promise by the dealership that you can count on them to help you if something happens to the car. A new car comes with this type of original warranty, stating that if certain unforeseen issues occur with a new car, they will help you to fix the situation.
A used car can be covered under a warranty, such as a “certified pre-owned” vehicle. These cars are typically newer and “used” but gently used, with just a few thousand miles on them. the certified pre-owned car will have some original warranty still on the vehicle, and that is a good situation for the car owner.
How Do Lemon Laws Relate to Car Dealership Warranties?
The lemon laws do relate to a car dealership warranty, and here is how. The car to be a lemon must have a substantial defect. If a car sold by a car dealership has a substantial defect, it can be returned to the dealership to have them fix the defect, in a reasonable time, and return the repaired car to you. If this cannot be done in a reasonable amount of time, then the car dealership may have to give you a completely new car.
Even Lemon Cars Need to Be Gently Used to Be Cover Under the Lemon Laws
If you have a new car and it is a lemon, it should be covered under the original manufacturer’s warranty, the car dealership warranty and under the lemon laws. But, if you have really been hard on that car, and have used and abused that new car, it may not be covered under the lemon laws. A car dealership may not want to take back a car that is run down to the ground, even if it is a new car.
There is no hard and fast rule on how many miles a car has to have to be able to be eligible for returning to the car dealership. For example, you can return a car with over 18,000 miles back to the dealership, if it is a lemon and has lemon law issues that apply to the vehicle.
Hard Driving, Off Roading, Long-Haul Road Tripping, Drag Racing Cars Are Unlikely to Be Returned to the Car Dealership
Even if you have a brand-new car, and it is still under the manufacturer and car dealership warranties, if you have dragged that car through the literal mud and abused it, don’t expect a car dealership to want to take it back. Here are some situations where the car dealership will assume you are negating the lemon laws, and will not be allowed to return even a new car to the car dealership. This will apply for new cars:
- Taken on long a long grueling road trip cross country
- Driven 24 hours straight straining the car motors to the extent of their capacity
- Driven off-road on pot holes, rugged terrain and excessive extreme driving conditions
- Driven in extreme weather or questionably in floods
- Driven in drag racing where there is excessive wear and tear on structure and tires on the car
- Driven in extreme conditions that have taxed the motor, engine and transmission systems in the car
Sometimes Car Dealerships Are Just Being Difficult, and Do Not Want to Return a Lemon Car
There are going to be many reasons why a car dealership will not want to take back your lemon car. There are literally hundreds of reasons why any car dealership will refuse to take back a lemon car. The car dealership can refuse to take back a car for a good reason, bad reason or no reason. Just know and understand, if your car is eligible under the lemon laws, then the car dealership cannot take the stance of never taking back a lemon car.
Car Dealerships Hate to See Cars Returned Because They Lose Profits in the Exchange
Car dealerships do not like to see any merchandise and products returned to the dealership, period. Once you buy a car from a car dealership and drive it off the lot, it is a time for high-fives for the car dealership staff. The finance manager gets a commission on the car, the sales person gets a commission on cars sold, the owners get profits on a car sold – all told, why would they want to get the same car back in their clutches again? Answer: They wouldn’t, and getting a car back to the lot after a closing sale is a worst nightmare scenario for a car dealership, you can believe it!
Once a car dealership sells you a vehicle, they are all ready to go to lunch. They have made their profit and are ready to move onto the next big project – selling more cars. This is how car dealerships make their money. But when a car comes back for repairs, for issues because the car is flawed or has problems, or is needing repairs because of recalls, the car dealership is going to cry. They don’t want to have to “deal with” this type of situation. But it is their responsibility to deal with it, and that they must do in the end. If a car dealership sells a lemon car, it is the responsibility of the car dealership to help the consumer, and to get the car fixed in a reasonable amount of time. If the car cannot be fixed in a reasonable amount time, then they may have to work with the manufacturer to replace the vehicle.
If the car needs to be replaced, the car dealership and to some extent the manufacturer as well, are both losing money. Yes, it is the manufacturer’s fault that the car is being replaced, because of their lack for quality control or whatever was the issue that they released a car with faults, flaws and defects out into the public. Similarly, yes, the consumer could not have known about the lemon features of a vehicle before buying it, therefore the consumer should be protected under the lemon laws in these cases.
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Our legal team is ready to talk to you about your lemon law claim. Instead of searching blindly online for an attorney, you can call us to get your claim handled right the first time. We are a multilingual staff of attorneys, and we speak fluent: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Tagalog, Armenian, Farsi, Arabic, Hebrew, Russian, French, German, and Korean. We have the ability to communicate with you in a language where you feel the most comfortable speaking. You can call us today, and we will answer your questions regarding your lemon law case.
Guardian Lemon Law Group Handles and Settles Consumer Cases for All Vehicle Manufacturers
It is worth it to give us a call today, because we handle all vehicle manufacturers when there are defects and flaws on lemon cars and trucks.
Typical Common Defects of Lemon Cars and Trucks with Manufacturer’s Defects
There are many different types of defects related to lemon cars with a manufacturer’s error, mistake or flaw. These defective parts on a vehicle can make it dangerous to drive on the open roads.
Defects that can affect the driving of a car safely on the roadways can include issues with:
- Airbag control unit
- Airbag sensors
- Collision sensors
- Seat position sensors
- Component design flaws
- Thermal design flaws
- Missing components
- Wrong parts installed in vehicle
- Broken parts installed in vehicle
- Unknown fluids spilled in vehicle
- Software flaws and failures
- Software incompatible with other safety components and systems
- Welding joints failing
- Press fittings failing
If your new vehicle is a lemon, you can feel comfortable giving us a call right now at Guardian Lemon Law Group at 888.341.8537. We are ready to discuss your case with you, and will take your call now.
Recent Victories with Car Dealerships Letting You Return Your Car
We are able to negotiate with and talk to the big car dealerships and manufacturers on your behalf. We know what happens when there is an unsafe vehicle that is riddled with manufacturer’s defects. The end result is often that the car or truck is unsafe to drive on the roads. We know how to ensure that the manufacturers and car dealerships will take back your lemon vehicle, as they should when there is a manufacturer’s error, mistake or defect associated with a new car or truck being sold to the consumers.
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We offer a zero-fee guarantee today and every day, when you give us a call at the Guardian Lemon Law Group at 888.341.8537. Our legal team has knowledgeable attorneys on staff, with a high level of experience handling, managing and winning lemon law claims and cases.
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You can feel free to contact us today at the Guardian Lemon Law Group at 888.341.8537, to discuss your lemon law claim. We will give you a free case evaluation, regarding your lemon law case, and will get you the money you deserve on your claim.
