How California lemon law works

What qualifies as a lemon?

Generally, your vehicle may be a lemon if all of these are true:

• It has a substantial defect that affects its use, value, or safety;
• The defect appeared while it was under the manufacturer's warranty;
• The dealer or manufacturer couldn't fix it after a reasonable number of repair attempts, or it was out of service for an extended time.

There's no single magic number of repairs — fewer attempts may be "reasonable" for a serious safety defect, while more may be expected for a minor issue. That's exactly what a free case review sorts out.

Which vehicles are covered?

California's protections are broad. New and many used vehicles can qualify as long as they're covered by the manufacturer's warranty — including cars, trucks, SUVs, vans, motorcycles, and many RVs/motorhomes, whether purchased or leased. Certified pre-owned vehicles often qualify too.

What can you recover?

If your claim succeeds, the manufacturer typically must provide one of:

• A buyback (refund) of what you paid, minus a small "mileage offset" for use before the first repair;
• A replacement — a comparable new vehicle; or
• A cash-and-keep settlement — you keep the vehicle and get paid for its diminished value.

You may also recover related costs such as rental cars, towing, and registration — and, importantly, the manufacturer pays your attorney's fees.

What about federal law?

Alongside California's law, the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act protects consumers when a manufacturer fails to honor a written warranty, and it also allows recovery of attorney's fees. We use whichever protections give you the strongest case.

The process, step by step

• Free review: share your purchase/lease agreement, warranty, and repair orders.
• Demand: we send the manufacturer a demand backed by your records.
• Negotiate or sue: many cases settle; if not, we're ready to file and litigate.
• Resolution: refund, replacement, or cash — with their fees, not yours.

Get your free case review