Tag Archives: California Lemon Law

Get The California Lemon Law Working For You

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Shortly after purchasing a new Hyundai Entourage in 2009, a Tulsa family started to have problems with the mini vans side door opening while they were parked or backing down the driveway. After two years, 12 repair attempts, and over 65 days in the shop, the problem still wasn’t fixed. When the company finally offered to replace the vehicle, the manufacturer no longer carried a vehicle that would work for the family. The company agreed to buy back the van under the state’s lemon laws, but the offer did not include paying off a $22,000 loan on the vehicle. The family went to 2News Problem Solvers, who contacted the manufacturer and eventually got the families money to go buy a vehicle that suited them.

The story eventually had a happy ending, and the TV station got a good story, but under the California lemon law, the problem should have been solved much sooner. Because the requirements of the lemon laws are technical, and different manufacturers may interpret their obligations differently, it is important that you contact a qualified California lemon law firm to protect your rights.

The law offices of Delsack & Associates have over 23 years of California law experience. The legal services provided by the Law Offices of Delsack & Associates are FREE in most lemon law cases. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by making only one toll free call to our offices at 888-395-3666 or completing and submitting our Lemon Law questionnaires. Find out if you qualify under California’s lemon law and Get Rid Of Your Lemon Vehicle Today!

Buy Here Pay Here Auto Sales Make Big Profits

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People are finding a good investment in a niche of the used car business known as “Buy Here Pay Here” auto sales. In the last two years, investors have bought more than $15 billion in sub-prime auto securities with the hopes of cashing in on profits that average 38% for each vehicle sold. Two of the biggest, America’s Car-Mart Inc. and Credit Acceptance Corp., have seen the biggest gains well above the regular market.

The Buy Here Pay Here vehicle market focuses on helping people buy a vehicle when they can’t qualify for conventional loans. Because the customer is a risk and can’t get a loan anywhere else, the dealership can get away with selling the vehicle for more than it’s actually worth, charge interest rates up to three times the national average, and use aggressive repossession tactics when the customer defaults. Because Buy Here Pay Here businesses are both auto dealers and consumer lenders, it’s not always clear who has authority over them. As a result, each dealership tends to set their own rules.

Although they’re backed mainly by installment contracts signed by people who can’t even qualify for a credit card, most of these bonds have been rated investment grade, some receiving the highest ratings. But so were the financial strategies that drove the nation’s recent housing bust. “We think that investing in such companies is a ticking time bomb,” according to Joe Keefe, chief executive of Pax World Management, “It has ethical as well as systemic risk implications.”

Honda Civic 2012 Green Car of the Year

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Last years Los Angeles Auto Show focused on the electric car with the debut of the Chevrolet Volt and the Nissan Leaf. Throughout the year, other automobile manufacturers continued to release electric hybrid and electric cars, but sales were poor even with government rebates and perks. This years LA Auto show still has its share of electric vehicles, but the 2012 Green Car of the Year shows that there is no single solution to efficient and environmentally friendly vehicles.

Some of this years contenders included the Ford Focus Electric, Mitsubishi i, Toyota Prius V and Volkswagen Passat TDI, but the six judge panel decided to award the Honda Civic Natural Gas version the 2012 green car of the year award. According to Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of the Green Car Journal, “The new generation Civic Natural Gas features greater fuel efficiency, a more attractive and roomier design with tailpipe emissions lower than any other internal combustion produced vehicle. There is no other vehicle like the Civic Natural Gas on American highways, and this recognition has been a long time coming for Honda.”

The Civic Natural Gas is the only natural gas passenger vehicle to be mass produced. It was first introduced as a fleet vehicle in 1998, and is in its fifth generation. It offers 110 horsepower and has a range of about 240 miles on a full tank. It is reasonably priced at just over $26,000, and is available at 200 Honda dealers in 36 states.

Shifting Problems With GM Cars

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A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigation into GMC’s 2007-2008 Saturn Aura has been extended to include the 2005-2008 Pontiac G6 and the 2004-2008 Chevrolet Malibu. The NHTSA said the protective jacket around cables connecting the floor shifter lever to the transmission can become damaged from regular use. The cables could corrode and eventually weaken giving drivers inaccurate transmission readings. There have been seven reports of crashes caused by the problem, with one involving injuries. According to GM the problem affects mainly models with four-speed transmissions, the Malibu and G6 have similar shift systems as the Saturn Aura, but the problem happens far less frequently on those cars.

Ford Improves On MyFord Infotainment Usability

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Consumer complaints about Ford’s new infotainment system, MyFord Touch, are not going unnoticed, as Ford prepares to send customers a free upgrade to make their system more user friendly. When the digital control system was launched last year, Ford said that it would combine modern consumer electronic screens and controls that will eventually become the industry standard. Instead, the new technology resulted in Ford dropping considerably in quality by both Consumer Reports and JD Power & Associates annual quality rankings.

Fortunately for Ford, the digital technology also makes it easy and affordable for Ford to improve the usability of the system. According to Ford’s director of electronics engineering, Graydon Reitz, the new system will be less cluttered and easier to use, with virtual buttons and voice recognition responding more rapidly in the new version. Customers with an earlier version of MyFord Touch systems will be able upgrade the systems themselves through a USB port in the car.

Beware of Buy Here Pay Here Auto Sales

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For many people a car is a necessity in life. Even with the best public transportation, daily commutes and errands, are much easier with your own vehicle. As a result, consumers who don’t qualify for conventional loans, may agree to unrealistic terms when purchasing an automobile.

A fast growing corner of the auto market, also known as “Buy Here Pay Here” auto sales, is being advertised as helping the consumer purchase a car, but more often than not, it is the dealership that benefits from the agreement. Buy Here Pay Here lots sold nearly 2.4 million cars nationwide last year, according to CNW Marketing Research. It is estimated that there are more than 33,000 lots nationwide making about $80 billion in loans every year. Some dealerships have been accused of purposefully structuring loans to guarantee the borrower will default. Higher purchase prices, interest rates nearly triple the national average, and aggressive repossession practices make it easy for the dealership to repossess the car and sell it to a new customer at the same high interest rates, and while still pursuing the old borrower for their debt. Some dealerships have been accused of equipping their cars with hidden GPS devices and remote-control ignition blockers to make the repo man’s work easier.

Dealers say they are offering a valuable service for people who can’t get credit for a car. They say they risk never seeing a payment, or the car again. When a buyer does default, repossessing can be a costly hassle. Some cars are never found while others come back so beaten up they have to be junked. “This is not the car business. This is the finance business,” said Ken Shilson, an accountant who founded the National Alliance of Buy Here Pay Here Dealers in Houston. “Not everybody has the stomach for it.”

There have been some crackdowns on Buy Here Pay Here dealerships. In 2004, an Ohio chain settled a federal class action for $21.8 million to customers who say they were misled about their loans. In 2006, the Kentucky attorney general reached a $7.4 million settlement with the nationwide J.D. Byrider chain to settle violations and deceptive sales practices. But these settlements are rare. Buy Here Pay Here businesses are both auto dealers and consumer lenders, it’s not always clear who has authority over them.

You can view the whole story HERE, as reporter Ken Bensinger of the LA Times explains Buy Here Pay Here auto sales and how they can take advantage of people with bad credit while providing a valuable service for someone who needs a car but can’t get credit.

Lemon Law Attorney Exposes Cramming Scam

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Like any other small business owner, California lemon law attorney Kurt Delsack is trying to keep his expenses down, so when he noticed and unauthorized charge on his phone bill, he decided to investigate. The charges came from a third-party billing company called Operated Assistant Network (OAN), and according to Kurt’s investigation, he wasn’t the only person being scammed.

The Federal Communications Commission says about 15 to 20 million households are overcharged on their telephone landlines, costing consumers almost $2 billion a year. Also known as, “cramming”, the overcharges come from third party billing companies for features like voice mail and call waiting. Because these charges are buried within the phone bill only about 5% of households even realize that they are victims.

Don’t become a victim. There is something you can do:

  • Know your phone bill, so you can recognize unusual charges. Most local phone companies require you to opt out or shut off any third party billing, so make sure you contact your phone company to do so.
  • Don’t provide your name, address and phone number for promotions, coupons and sweepstakes without knowing exactly where it’s going. That’s how scammers get your OK to charge you.
  • Contact your phone company right away to dispute any charges you didn’t authorize. You should also contact the third party provider and make sure they are permanently removed from your bill.

    • .

After Kurt talked to Verizon, they reimbursed him for one year of the charges. But now he checks his bill more carefully.

Saab Saved From Liquidation By Chinese Automakers

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Hours before facing court action to liquidate, Saab has been saved by Chinese automakers, Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile and Pang Da Automobile Trade, in an agreement to buy the company for a little over $140 million. The Swedish automaker has been struggling to survive since January 2010 when General Motors sold the automobile division to Spyker cars. In April 2011, the company continued to struggle as factories closed due to lack of credit. At the time, the tentative agreement with China’s Pang Da Automobile Trade allowed the factories to reopen, giving the Chinese company an equity stake in Spyker.

The Chinese companies are expected to invest up to $708 million in Saab, and plan to build vehicles at their Trollhattan plant as well as in China, which will become the second home market for Saab. The deal first requires the approval of the authorities in Beijing, the European Investment Bank, the Swedish government, as well as G.M., which has links to Saab, through intellectual property and preferred shares.