One of the most critical legal elements under the California lemon law is that a vehicle must be a “new motor vehicle” to qualify under the law. Since its inception decades ago, the California lemon law has enjoyed a very broad definition of the term, “new motor vehicle” which included new vehicles, but also included used vehicles which had some of the factory warranty left remaining on the used vehicle at the time of purchase. For example, if you purchased a used vehicle from a dealership with 25,000 miles on the odometer, and the vehicle had a 36,000 mile warranty when sold as new, the vehicle would still qualify under the lemon law despite being a used vehicle.

Sadly, however, the new recent case law sent a punch to consumers who have bought used vehicles. In Rodriguez v. Us, the California Court of Appeals determined that a used vehicle with some of the factory warranty remaining is not to be considered a “new motor vehicle” and is therefore not protected by the lemon law. (There are some exceptions to this such as the vehicle was a certified pre-owned vehicle, and dealership demos.) Rodriguez basically wipes out access to the lemon law for about 30% of all consumers.

The full effect of this new law is still unfolding and the full impact yet unknown. Rodriguez may also be appealed before California’s Supreme Court. However, in the meantime, we do know that the Rodriguez case has sent a shock wave in the California lemon law legal world, and significantly impacts consumers who have purchased used vehicles.

Our client purchased a used 2015 Chevrolet Camaro.

Her first visit to the Chevrolet dealership was on May 30, 2017. She was having problems with the seat squeaking when she would go over bumps or was hitting the brakes.

The next visit was about 5 weeks later when they serviced the A/C.

On April 25, 2019 she brought the Camaro in due to the fact that the transmission fluid was leaking.

She was in again 2 weeks later because the A/C was not working again and there was a leak coming from underneath the vehicle. They serviced the A/C again.

She was back the next day because their was a leak between the transmission and engine area and the A/C was not working again.

Our client was frustrated with the Chevrolet dealership not being able to fix the problems. It is at this point that she called lemon law attorney, Barry L. Edzant to find our if her vehicle might be a lemon. She sent our office some documents for Barry to review and he felt her vehicle met the criteria of the California Lemon Law. She immediately signed up with our firm.

We successfully won a full repurchase for our client for her defective vehicle. The manufacturer reimbursed our client for her down payment, all payments made so far, her registration, paid off the loan less a mileage deduction allowed under the California Lemon Law. GMC also paid for the attorney fees. The client was very happy with the results.

If you think you may be driving a lemon, please contact the Law Office of Barry L. Edzant at 888-395-3666 for a free consultation and review.