Californians are Lucky to Have the California Lemon Law
By David Farrell
We Californians are fortunate for a lot of things. For example, we have great weather, great scenery, Disneyland, Yosemite, redwood and sequoia trees, an abundance of outdoor activities, just to name a few. We also are blessed to have the California Lemon Law.
The California Lemon Law is arguably the most effective lemon law in all of the 50 United States. Unlike most states, the California Lemon Law does not place strict time limits in which a vehicle may be considered a lemon. A California Lemon Law case may be based upon warranty repairs regardless of when these repairs occurred or regardless of how many miles on the vehicle. The only limitation is that a California Lemon Law case must be brought within four years from the date of the warranty breach.
In contrast, Arizona’s lemon Law (Arizona Revised Statutes §§ 44-1261 to 1267) requires that a case must be based upon the vehicle’s repair history during the warranty period or within the first 24 months or 24,000 miles, whichever is shorter. Although the Arizona’s lemon law does provide the consumer some protection, it is no consolation for those unfortunate people whose vehicles begin to exhibit problems after 24 months or 24,000 miles. This is especially so given that most automobile manufacturers provide at least 36 month, 36,000 mile warranties.
But Californians need to be aware that auto manufacturers are constantly lobbying the California Legislature to place strict limits on Californian’s California Lemon Law rights. Should the manufacturers succeed in this effort, all Californians will suffer the loss of a substantial right and protection.