The California lemon law protects buyers from car defects. The law provides compensation to buyers who bought a vehicle with defects; this includes cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats, RVs and other vehicles.
Initially, the term lemon was used only for new and used cars bought and then later discovered to have some defects, but now the term lemon is now associated to any products with defects discovered after purchase.
To note, under the California Lemon Law, a vehicle is considered a lemon if it fails 2 attempts at repairing life-threatening defects.
The California Lemon law covers all vehicle nonconformities. This refers to any car defect or malfunctions that:
• The manufacture’s new vehicle warranty covers
• Impairs the use, value or safety of the vehicle
The lemon Law does not cover car defects that are caused by unauthorized or unreasonable use.
New and Used Lemons
New cars may be considered a lemon if a car defect is discovered after purchase. The car defect may occur in the design or during assembly.
Parts and wirings may not be placed correctly and can put the driver’s life in danger.
Bought used cars are considered lemon once it is proven that the car was not used properly before purchase. The car defect may be because of improper maintenance or a product of a car accident, which results to poor performance by the car.
A common malpractice done by used car dealers is tampering with the parts of the car to give impression of low mileage and to hide technical defects of the car.
A form of a used car lemon is the “cut and shut” cars. This is a type of car body repair that cuts the damaged part then is replaced with a section from a similar car. This type of repair is unsafe as it will not hold and will fall apart in strenuous conditions like a car collision.
This is especially dangerous for cars with “unibody” or cars that have the floor, roof and other panels welded together to produce a car unit. “Unibodies” are designed to absorb more force but is prone to bending. And with “cut and shut” repairs, it is more susceptible to being totaled after a collision.
Avoid Lemons
Before buying a car, new or used, you should look out and protect yourself from lemons.
You can follow these tips to avoid buying a lemon.
• Research – Research on the model and manufacturer of the car. Find out if there has been a recall on the model of car you wanted to purchase, research the safety and maintenance history of the said car and ask mechanics how many times do they encounter the said model in their shops.
• Get opinions – Talk to people who own the same model as the car you want and ask if they encountered any problems and/or are they satisfied with the car.
• Get vehicle history – When buying a used car, ask for the history of the car. Make sure it was not involved in any major accidents and if there are parts of the car that has been changed. Take a trusted mechanic to check for any car defects.
• Be suspicious of cheap cars – Find out why said car is priced low. Unscrupulous dealers may be selling you a defective car that can put your life in danger.
Source: http://www.ArticlePros.com/author.php?Mark Dacanay
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