California Lemon Laws
08-31-2015, 04:05 PM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
California Lemon Laws
Hi. I've been off the forum for a while as I sold my '99 Carrera Cab. Thinking of jumping back in to a 997-1 and I looked at a 2005 Carrera S that originally came from California. In the CarProof (Canada's equivalent of CarFax) there is a notation that refers to LEMON. The guy selling the car said that under the legislation the manufacturer (or dealer) has 3 tries to fix a problem and then the dealer has to buy it back.
The claim is that the car had a new engine installed at that time. Is there any way of verifying the issue with the car and whether or not it has had a new engine installed?
Thanks for any help you can provide.
Scott
The claim is that the car had a new engine installed at that time. Is there any way of verifying the issue with the car and whether or not it has had a new engine installed?
Thanks for any help you can provide.
Scott
08-31-2015, 05:01 PM
#2
If you have access to the factory supplied books with the car
there is a good chance that the name of the delivering dealer is stamped in the Warranty Book. Call the dealer and ask
Or, check with a dealer and see if they will give you a list of warranty work that has been done on the car
Or, check with a dealer and see if they will give you a list of warranty work that has been done on the car
08-31-2015, 05:12 PM
#3
http://www.dca.ca.gov/acp/buyback.shtml
When a warranty return vehicle is sold, the transferee must be notified, on letter size paper, of the following:
The year, make, model, and vehicle identification number.
That the vehicle title is marked "Lemon Law Buyback."
The nature of each nonconformity reported by the original buyer or lessee of the vehicle.
Repairs, if any, made to the vehicle in an attempt to correct each nonconformity.
The vehicle includes a 12 month / 12,000 mile warranty for the part/issue that the vehicle was brought back for.
You should be able to find out exactly what was wrong and how it was fixed. You should google California lemon law for more info. The definition of the law that was passed on to you is not entirely correct.
When a warranty return vehicle is sold, the transferee must be notified, on letter size paper, of the following:
The year, make, model, and vehicle identification number.
That the vehicle title is marked "Lemon Law Buyback."
The nature of each nonconformity reported by the original buyer or lessee of the vehicle.
Repairs, if any, made to the vehicle in an attempt to correct each nonconformity.
The vehicle includes a 12 month / 12,000 mile warranty for the part/issue that the vehicle was brought back for.
You should be able to find out exactly what was wrong and how it was fixed. You should google California lemon law for more info. The definition of the law that was passed on to you is not entirely correct.
08-31-2015, 05:45 PM
#4
Replacement engines will have "AT" embedded after M96/... in their engine number. It's hard to read without putting the car on a lift but I had success using a digital camera with flash and zoom to take a picture of the block from just behind the rear wheel on the driver's side.
08-31-2015, 05:52 PM
#5
Three Wheelin'
http://www.dca.ca.gov/acp/buyback.shtml
When a warranty return vehicle is sold, the transferee must be notified, on letter size paper, of the following:
The year, make, model, and vehicle identification number.
That the vehicle title is marked "Lemon Law Buyback."
The nature of each nonconformity reported by the original buyer or lessee of the vehicle.
Repairs, if any, made to the vehicle in an attempt to correct each nonconformity.
The vehicle includes a 12 month / 12,000 mile warranty for the part/issue that the vehicle was brought back for.
You should be able to find out exactly what was wrong and how it was fixed. You should google California lemon law for more info. The definition of the law that was passed on to you is not entirely correct.
When a warranty return vehicle is sold, the transferee must be notified, on letter size paper, of the following:
The year, make, model, and vehicle identification number.
That the vehicle title is marked "Lemon Law Buyback."
The nature of each nonconformity reported by the original buyer or lessee of the vehicle.
Repairs, if any, made to the vehicle in an attempt to correct each nonconformity.
The vehicle includes a 12 month / 12,000 mile warranty for the part/issue that the vehicle was brought back for.
You should be able to find out exactly what was wrong and how it was fixed. You should google California lemon law for more info. The definition of the law that was passed on to you is not entirely correct.
The Title will be red-flagged. But be careful. We obtained a Lemon Law Settlement from Audi in 2008 (in CA on a A4) and they compensated us and told us to keep the car (which we did). We traded it in six month ago and made it quite clear to the dealer that we sued Audi under the Lemon Law but he seemed unconcerned as the Title (VIN) were not flagged. (I suspect because Audi told us to keep the car.) I sort of felt bad about that and asked the dealer about three times if there were any disclosure issues and had him sign off that we did in fact make them aware of this history. Who knows who ended up with the car, I hope it is working well for them. (The problem was a carbon buildup on the cylinder heads; it was an early DFI engine - surprise, surprise!). (Also note that we actually hired representation due to Audi's push-back so all the proceedings were according to the CA Lemon Law per our Consel.)
Anyway, the point is that it may or may not be documented so be careful. Also, it is not a strict three times to fix a problem. It all comes down to a question of facts and the extent of the problem (but the Lemon Law in the U.S. is statutory so this may vary from state to state). It is also a function of how much time the car is in the shop. I can't recall but 20 working days seems to ring a bell for CA. Again, the point is, a squeak that they can't fix might not get you a settlement under the lemon law but something more substantial where they, say, have the engine apart on three occasions, it is in the shop for an excessive amount of time and the problem persists, are good facts to have on your side (as they ended up being in our case).
Best of luck.
09-01-2015, 12:51 AM
#7
Rennlist Member
True, True and True.
The Title will be red-flagged. But be careful. We obtained a Lemon Law Settlement from Audi in 2008 (in CA on a A4) and they compensated us and told us to keep the car (which we did). We traded it in six month ago and made it quite clear to the dealer that we sued Audi under the Lemon Law but he seemed unconcerned as the Title (VIN) were not flagged. (I suspect because Audi told us to keep the car.) I sort of felt bad about that and asked the dealer about three times if there were any disclosure issues and had him sign off that we did in fact make them aware of this history. Who knows who ended up with the car, I hope it is working well for them. (The problem was a carbon buildup on the cylinder heads; it was an early DFI engine - surprise, surprise!). (Also note that we actually hired representation due to Audi's push-back so all the proceedings were according to the CA Lemon Law per our Consel.)
The Title will be red-flagged. But be careful. We obtained a Lemon Law Settlement from Audi in 2008 (in CA on a A4) and they compensated us and told us to keep the car (which we did). We traded it in six month ago and made it quite clear to the dealer that we sued Audi under the Lemon Law but he seemed unconcerned as the Title (VIN) were not flagged. (I suspect because Audi told us to keep the car.) I sort of felt bad about that and asked the dealer about three times if there were any disclosure issues and had him sign off that we did in fact make them aware of this history. Who knows who ended up with the car, I hope it is working well for them. (The problem was a carbon buildup on the cylinder heads; it was an early DFI engine - surprise, surprise!). (Also note that we actually hired representation due to Audi's push-back so all the proceedings were according to the CA Lemon Law per our Consel.)
BTW - I had a 1st generation Cadillac CTS-V that got bought back under the lemon law. GM wanted to play hardball so I hired a lemon law attorney and we stuck to our guns until they took it back. At first they offered me money to keep it as well but I told them to pound sand.
Rough guidelines for CA lemon law are 4 unsuccessful attempts to fix the issue *or* 30+ days in the shop (cumulative), both occurring within the first 18mos/18K miles.