Car manufacturers use beautiful words to describe their vehicles; durable, consistent, sturdy, reliable, and smooth. While most live up to the billing, some are major disappointments.
They develop recurring problems in crucial areas like the transmission, engine, exterior lighting, and vehicle speed control. Surprisingly, despite the efforts of affected consumers to fix these defects, they might be unsuccessful.
As a result, those who buy or lease these vehicles incur huge repairs costs and inconvenience. Fortunately, California lemon laws were designed to offer a solution to affected car owners. A manufacturer can either refund your purchase price or buy back the affected unit.
More importantly, the affected car owner should meet all conditions and steps to obtain a buyback without hitches. If you want a smooth buyback procedure, consider consulting an experienced California lemon law attorney.
Let’s explore the steps of a lemon law buyback in California.
Primarily, lemon law buyback applies to new or used vehicles that come with the manufacturer’s new vehicle warranty.
Vehicles that can qualify as lemon cars include:
More importantly, a vehicle under warranty can only qualify as a buyback if the manufacturer fails to repair it after a ‘’reasonable number of repair attempts’’. Then, a manufacturer has two options; replace the vehicle or refund its purchase price(buyback).
California lemon law has presumption guidelines that determine whether a manufacturer has made a reasonable number of repair attempts.
These guidelines are as follows:
If your vehicle qualifies under the above criteria, you can request a manufacturer for either a replacement or buyback. For a buyback, the manufacturer should refund the cost of the vehicle less mileage offset.
In addition, if the consumer acquired the vehicle through a lease, the proceeds would cover the down payment, monthly payments, or the remaining balance.
When a vehicle develops a problem covered by the new vehicle manufacturer’s warranty, it’s within your right to visit the authorized dealer. By principle, lemon law allows manufacturers to fix vehicle defects after receiving a consumer complaint.
For a vehicle defect to trigger a buyback, it should substantially impair its value, use, and safety. It doesn’t mean the vehicle needs to be immobile; instead, the defect should have a substantial impact.
Here’s an explanation of vehicle defects:
Here are examples of defects that are covered by lemon laws.
Once you’ve informed the dealer about your problematic vehicle, give them time to resolve the defect. Remember, a dealer may not solve oil consumption problems effectively in a single dealership visit.
In fact, the dealer may order an oil consumption test to understand the defect. So, whether you allow the dealer four repair attempts or two, you’ll need to keep an account of the dealer visits and repairs.
Therefore, maintain accurate and detailed repair records after you realize your vehicle might be a lemon. Some of the records you can keep include repair receipts and invoices.
Repair receipts, for instance, provide proof of attempted repairs and evidence of a defect that the dealer has consistently failed to solve. To that end, ensure your repair receipts contain complete and accurate information.
Anytime you receive a repair receipt, check its completeness. Remember, partial and incomplete information will make it harder to validate a claim.
Here are the basic items that a complete receipt should have:
Complete repair receipts and documentation are a bonus to your claim. It’ll make it easy to process and prove your claim. On the contrary, insufficient or incomplete records can cast doubt on your claim with a risk of being deemed illegitimate.
Although consumers have a right to claim a refund or a replacement, it’s difficult to negotiate with manufacturers. You’ll need legal help to compile the necessary documentation, calculate the buyback amount, and develop a convincing case.
Here’s how a lemon law attorney can help your buyback claim:
Equally, a manufacturer may advise you to pursue repairs that won’t solve the problem. Fortunately, an attorney works in the client’s best interest. Their understanding of lemon laws also speeds up the claim process.
Luckily, if you succeed, the manufacturer will be compelled by the courts to pay the legal fees.
Lastly, the lawyer can help you claim a lemon law buyback by submitting the documentation and a formal request to the automaker.
If the manufacturer agrees with your buyback request, the lawyer will be allowed to comply with all the buyback terms. Generally, a manufacturer may open a mass buyback widow to counter the negative publicity associated with defective vehicles.
At this point, work with your attorney to ensure your claim complies with set timelines and documentation.
After lengthy negotiations, it’s time to close the buyback claim. You’ll need to deliver the defective vehicle to authorized dealers or appointed yards. Consequently, the dealer will issue a payment that is open for use.
The buyback value of a lemon car is based on the following:
A point to note: Buyback calculators do not include attorney fees and legal costs and are only effective for populating an estimated amount.
It’s rare to have your lemon law case resolved within a month. On average, buybacks take 3-6 months to conclude. Once a manufacturer receives your formal claim, they take 4-8 weeks to review and verify the records.
Once the review is done, a manufacturer will let you know whether they’ve accepted your buyback request. Then, the manufacturer will issue a notice with instructions on modalities to bring in the lemon vehicle in exchange for payment.
Ultimately, each case is unique, with mass buybacks being processed faster.
Lemon cars are everywhere; dealerships, auctions, private sellers, and fleets of public and local companies. What’s more, buybacks are always cheaper than other vehicles on offer. You may therefore find yourself negotiating to buy one or being lured by its discounted price.
Even so, a professional mechanic should inspect any vehicle you consider buying. This is an essential control for lemon law vehicles. Work with a mechanic to verify whether repairs that were done before the buyback are still intact.
It’s possible to miss out on lemon law buyback for various reasons, including improper documentation or legal technicalities. However, you can maximize your chances of success by working closely with an expert in buyback cases.
At Lemonlaw123, we have a highly knowledgeable and experienced team of lawyers, which explains our huge success rate in Ford lemon law buyback cases.
Contact us online or call us at 657-220-6877 for a free case review.
Valerie G. Fernandez Campbell, known as The Lemon Law Lady, has dedicated her entire legal career to the specialized field of Lemon Law, a journey that began immediately after her
graduation from UCLA School of Law.
With a 99% success rate and a policy of no fees unless you win, her practice stands as a testament to her expertise in California’s Lemon Law, her commitment to her clients, and her unwavering dedication to justice and consumer rights.
This page has been written, edited, and reviewed by a team of legal writers following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. This page was approved by attorney Valerie G. Fernandez Campbell, personally handled over 500 lemon law cases and settlements.
