How California's lemon law works
A manufacturer that cannot repair a defect within a reasonable number of attempts must replace or repurchase the vehicle. Everything turns on documentation.
California's warranty statute is among the strongest in the country, and it is routinely misunderstood as covering any car that turns out to be bad. It does not. It covers a defect the manufacturer cannot fix.
What has to be true
The vehicle must have a defect covered by the manufacturer's warranty that substantially impairs its use, value or safety. Cosmetic annoyances generally do not qualify; intermittent stalling does.
The manufacturer must have had a reasonable number of attempts to repair it, and failed. What counts as reasonable is judged on the facts, but a statutory presumption applies where defined criteria are met within a set period or mileage.
The presumption criteria
Broadly, the presumption arises where the vehicle has had a set number of repair attempts for the same substantial defect, a smaller number of attempts for a defect likely to cause death or serious injury, or has been out of service for repair for a cumulative number of days. The specific figures should be checked against current law.
Remedies
The manufacturer must either replace the vehicle or repurchase it. The choice generally belongs to the buyer.
A repurchase returns the price paid, plus collateral charges such as sales tax and registration, and incidental costs such as towing, less a mileage offset for use before the defect was first reported. That offset is calculated by formula, not by negotiation.
“The offset is based on mileage before the first repair attempt, not on total mileage. This is the number most people get wrong.”
Documentation
These cases are won on paper. Every visit needs a repair order that states the complaint in your words, the diagnosis, the work performed, and the dates in and out.
Report a symptom the first time it occurs, even if the dealer cannot reproduce it. A repair order recording an unreproduced complaint still counts as an attempt.
Keep every order, including ones where nothing was found.
Used and leased vehicles
Vehicles still under the manufacturer's original warranty are generally covered when sold used. Certified pre-owned and dealer warranties raise separate questions. Leases can be covered.
Practical points
- Ask for a printed repair order at every visit, and check it describes your complaint.
- Report symptoms early and specifically, in writing.
- Keep a log of dates the vehicle was out of service.
- Write to the manufacturer, not only the dealer, once a pattern is established.
- Check whether an arbitration programme is a prerequisite for your make.
