Did You Buy a Lemon? By Los Angeles Lemon Law Attorney

(Newswire.net — September 28, 2015) Los Angeles, CA — If you’re anything like me, you probably beamed with pride when you bought your new car. It’s easy to have happen. After all, you skimp and save for your down payment. Then, you probably go through months of shopping where you read everything you can find about cars and what’s coming out. You narrow down your selections, then start talking to dealers to see what kind of a deal you can come up with. Then you finally make a deal, and everybody is happy. Especially you. Then you get your new baby home, and something happens. It might be something as innocuous as a clunk or a rattle, but soon it’s a full-blown problem. But the car is new. What kind of problems do new cars have? 

Plenty. This is the reason that the Lemon Law was passed. Simply stated, the lemon law is an umbrella term for a package of laws that was passed to protect consumers from problems that substantially impair the use, value or safety of a vehicle. If these problems occur within the first 18 months of ownership after a consumer has taken delivery of a vehicle or within the first 18,000 miles on the odometer, whichever comes first, the manufacturer is presumed to have a reasonable number of efforts to fix the problem. 

It should be noted that the Lemon Law is not a hard and fast rule. It is a guideline. As a result, it is often necessary to consult with a Los Angeles lemon law attorney in order to protect your rights if you make such a purchase. Fortunately, since buying a new car can be one of the most expensive purchases we make, employing an attorney to represent you in such a case could be the smartest thing you could ever do.

Used Cars Too

Much has been made of the Lemon Law as it pertains to new cars, but in many cases, used cars are also covered by the same package of laws. For example, if you purchase a car from a used car dealer, you don’t necessarily have a “cooling off” period during which you can cancel the deal unless you ask for a sales contract cancellation option. It is important to remember that even though you might not be offered such an option, you may still ask for it. If this option is not available from a particular dealer, it might be well to go to another dealer. 

Private Sellers

The Lemon Law does not apply to private parties who are selling cars. For these deals, you have to rely on other agreements that might be made available. Regardless of the source, your best advice might be caveat emptor, or “let the buyer beware.”

In many cases, a quick consult with an attorney–not to mention a letter from the lawyer to the dealer–solves the problem. At times, it is determined that the “repairs” that were made to fix the problem were, instead, symptoms of a greater problem. Regardless, the mere mention of a legal issue is usually enough to get the dealer to stand behind their product, which is all that is needed to convince most people that getting advice from a CA lemon law attorney was the best money they could have ever spent. In fact, when you work with us on a lemon law case, you don’t have to come out of pocket at all for any fees.