Lemon Laws, in case you’ve had the great fortune of never having to utilize them, are laws that vary per state designed to protect buyers who bought a defective car. The definition of a defective car is different depending on the state, but the principle is the same: if the car has spent more time in a repair shop and not on the road, or you’ve spent almost as much as it’s worth in repairs from defects, it’s likely a “lemon.”
Filing a Lemon Law claim has never been easy, as there are many hoops to jump through. If granted, the manufacturer buys back the defective car from the customer. California is one of the few states with fairly lenient parameters to protect consumers.
With the passing of AB 1755, that’s all about to change. The law, Jessica Anvar, a California-based lawyer, says it will make it much harder for residents to successfully file claims.
“They’re putting a lot of pressure on consumers to do a lot of research into the law to understand it and comply with the new mandates,” she told KSBY.
Okay, so what changes are coming to car buyers?
Now, instead of a car needing to be a maximum of 10 years old, it must be at most six years old. A change that could conflict with factory warranties for some automakers.
“They’ve paid for a warranty that goes up to ten years, 100,000 miles. But now, under the new law, they can’t bring a Lemon Law claim past six years at the latest,” she continued.
Rosemary Shahan says the new law shortens the window of time and exempts some manufacturers from participation, reducing the number of companies that will refund affected buyers. She founded Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety.
“You would have to pay the negative equity upfront out of your own pocket before you could get a refund and the average amount of negative equity these days is about $6,400,” she said.
Processing a case now requires more proof
Shahan also noted the law’s mandate for proof of contact between the complainant and the manufacturer. Consumers must make the contact attempt in writing, detailing the issues experienced, noting any previous work done, including the costs incurred.
The issue is, however, that not all manufacturers are required to participate as previously noted.
The only way buyers can protect themselves is to know their rights, Anvar says. The legislature can be found here, where buyers can check to see if their automaker is listed under those participating.
