California lemon law

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Getting a refund for your lemon vehicle

Refund for owned vehicles consists of:

Purchase price.

The actual price paid for the vehicle, including any charges for transportation and manufacturer-installed options, but not including charges for nonmanufacturer items installed by a dealer or the consumer;

Collateral charges.

Official fees associated with the sale of the vehicle, including sales tax, license fees, and registration fees; and

Incidental damages.

Reasonable expenses incident to the vehicle problem for which the manufacturer is repurchasing the vehicle, including but not limited to the following:

  • Reasonable repair, towing and rental car costs actually incurred by the consumer;
  • Prepayment penalties, early termination charges and earned finance charges, if actually paid, incurred, or to be incurred by the consumer. These do not include charges for which the consumer is justly responsible; Less a reasonable offset for use and a reasonable offset for physical damage to the vehicle.

The award may be reduced by an amount equal to any early termination or other charges for which the purchaser is justly responsible.

Attorneys Fees

A consumer who prevails in an action under Song-Beverly must be allowed by the court to recover costs and expenses, including attorney's fees based on actual time expended, determined by the court to have been reasonably incurred by the consumer in connection with the commencement and prosecution of the action.

Defective car repair orders

Your repair orders and invoices are valuable documents in proving dates of repair service, total amount of time your vehicle was out of service, what the complaint was when you dropped it off, whether it was satisfactorily repaired or not, and generally to show a history of the vehicle's performance. Keep accurate records.

Establishing the validity of your lemon law claim and reaching a successful resolution can best be accomplished by a competent lemon law attorney who is familiar with the full scope of consumer rights provided under California lemon law.

 
Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act: California Lemon Law
 
Consumer Resource Links
 
Glossary
 
 

   
The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Consult an attorney for individual advice regarding your own situation.