What is the Lemon Law and How Does It Protect Buyers?

The so-called Lemon law is the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, but it's known across the country as the Lemon law. It was created in 1984 to protect consumers from fraud at the dealership and from significant product defects by auto manufacturers.

State, Not Federal

While the law was created by the U.S. government to protect buyers, it is governed at the state, not federal level. Each state has their own interpretation of the law and often a state-specific version that changes how it works and what protection there is. Sometimes for the worse, sometimes for the better.

Broadly speaking, the Lemon law covers not just automobiles, but also RVs, trucks, motorcycles and boats too. However, in this article, for simplicity we will refer to "vehicles" yet the other transport noted above are included.

How Does the Lemon Law Work?

The law protects businesses and consumers who have leased or bought a vehicle (it doesn't matter if it was new or used) while it's still under the manufacturer's warranty. When a vehicle malfunctions, a repair must be performed to correct the issue. The basic protection under the Lemon law is that the manufacturer is only allowed to attempt to repair the problem a set number of times because a line in the sand must be drawn. At that point, the buyer is entitled to either a refund or a new vehicle.

How Do You Know How Many Times a Repair Can Happen for the Same Problem?

The Lemon law process makes that determination. It's also a factor in state-based laws in this regard as the number of attempts often differs from state to state. The individual is advised to keep track of how many repairs have been attempted and to keep notes. Sometimes, an arbitrator or a court hearing is needed where a judge would make the final determination whether the conditions warrant a refund or replacement with no further repairs attempted beforehand.

California Lemon Law

The California Lemon law is a little different. It tends to be overprotective of consumer rights when compared to some other states. It is up to the owner to demonstrate that they have given the manufacturer sufficient attempts to resolve the faults via an authorized dealer. The warranty must also still be current.

In the case of California variations, the same problem can be tackled up to 4 times. In another situation, if it's clear after two tries that the vehicle is "a lemon" meaning it's beyond proper repair and the vehicle could cause serious bodily injury or a fatality, then that's sufficient to qualify.

A vehicle must also have been off the road for over 30 days, but this doesn't need to be consecutive. It is generally understood that vehicles repeatedly repaired will happen when they have under 18,000 miles on the odometer and within 18 months of purchase.

For business owners and buyers who acquire a vehicle (or another transportation type as described earlier) they need to document each repair process and keep detailed notes (don't rely on the main dealer doing so). There is some flexibility in how the Lemon law is used, but it's a fair system that much improves the protections afforded to buyers of vehicles and forms of transportation.