Many people wonder whether they can have a California Lemon Law claim if their warranty has run out. The short answer to this question is “yes,” so long as the vehicle’s defects began while the original manufacturer’s original warranty was still in effect and the vehicle was presented to the authorized dealership for repairs before the warranty expired.
The California Lemon Law is a consumer protection statute. It was designed to provide consumers with a wide array of rights. In fact, the California Lemon Law provides consumers with some of the strongest – if not the strongest – Lemon Law protections in the entire United States.
Often times, consumers begin experiencing substantial defects with their vehicles close to the expiration of the warranty. They present their vehicles for repair, but the defects recur after the warranty expires. In such circumstances, consumers should continue taking their vehicle back to the dealership and request that the repairs continue to be performed under the warranty. If the dealership declines to make the repairs under the warranty, it is time contact a California Lemon Law attorney for advice. Even if the dealership agrees to repair the vehicle at no charge, it may still be time to get in touch with a California Lemon Law attorney because there may be sufficient repair attempts to establish a valid California Lemon Law claim
In other circumstances, consumers experience many defects throughout the course of the warranty period and present the vehicle on multiple occasions for repairs that are unsuccessful. They subsequently contact a California Lemon Law attorney to file a claim on their behalf. In defending the California Lemon Law claim, many vehicle manufacturers employ a strategy of delaying the claim for as long as possible. Meanwhile, the consumer is left with no other choice but to continue driving the lemon vehicle while the claim is pending and the warranty expires. The fact that the warranty expires does not result in the consumer having his California Lemon Law claim denied as a matter of law.
The bottom line is that as long as the manufacturer or its dealerships’ repair attempts began while the warranty was in effect, consumers can still have a California Lemon Law claim. If these circumstances apply to you, you should contact a California Lemon Law attorney.
