Long Beach Lemon Law Attorneys

With a population fast approaching 500,000 people, Long Beach, California, is the state’s seventh largest city and the largest city that isn’t also a California county seat. For movie fans and vacationers worldwide, Long Beach is also renowned as a tourist destination and a setting of classic California living. 

As part of Los Angeles County, Long Beach sees a great deal of vehicle travel. Those who live, work, or explore in Long Beach often rely on their personal or small business vehicles to do so. 

When you buy or lease a new car, you expect it to be safe and reliable. Vehicle problems can derail your expectations, leaving you without the transportation you need – or even threatening your safety. 

If you suspect your vehicle is a lemon, don’t wait. Talk to the experienced Long Beach lemon law attorneys at Wirtz Law APC today. 

Lemon Vehicle Statistics in Long Beach

Los Angeles County is the single largest California county regarding vehicle registrations. Of the 35.6 million vehicles registered in California in 2022, more than 7.8 million were registered in Los Angeles County. These numbers include passenger vehicles, trucks, trailers, and motorcycles.

The California DMV’s registration numbers for 2022 include both renewed registrations and registrations of newly purchased vehicles. But how many of these registrations resulted in a lemon law claim? 

According to the California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG), between 2018 and 2021, the California DMV recorded about 7.4 million new vehicle registrations. Of these, just over 34,000 resulted in a lemon law case being filed in a state court. 

Put another way, between 2018 and 2021, 0.45 percent of newly registered vehicles became the focus of a lemon lawsuit. Yet lawsuit numbers don’t tell the whole story. 

First, most lemon law claims don’t proceed as far as a lawsuit. In most cases, a vehicle owner working with an experienced California lemon law attorney can reach a fair settlement with an automaker without taking their case to trial. 

Second, the number of lemon law claims doesn’t accurately reflect the risk of defective vehicles to California motorists. In 2021, for instance, about 10,000 lemon law claims went to court – but about 6.3 million vehicles on California roads had at least one recall issue that had not been fixed.

What Problems Do Lemon Vehicles Have?

A “lemon” vehicle is one with an issue that the automaker can’t seem to fix despite multiple attempts. The exact nature of the issue can vary, however – striking nearly any part of the vehicle. 

Just a few of the defective parts involved in California lemon law claims in 2021 include:

• Front engine mounts, strut assemblies, and other structural components
• Batteries, sensors, and electrical systems
• Clutch and transmission components
• Fuel filters, injectors, and sensors
• Cruise control, all-wheel drive, and braking systems
• Odometers
• Seat belts

Almost any part that has a defect in material or workmanship may result in substantial impairment to the use, value, or safety of your vehicle and may make your car a lemon.

Some of these defects made vehicles undrivable. Others posed serious health or safety risks to those inside the vehicle. 

Any vehicle can have issues. Some automakers, however, appear in lemon law court filings more often than others. 

For example, between 2018 and 2021, General Motors was named in one lemon law claim for every 78 vehicles the company sold. Jaguar Land Rover North America came in second, with one claim for every 83 vehicles sold in California. 

How do these numbers compare to other automakers? While General Motors was dealing with one lemon law claim for every 78 vehicles it sold, Toyota Motor Sales saw only one claim per 2,029 vehicles sold. Several other automakers had rates of one claim per 1,000 vehicles or more. 

As the above list makes clear, however, nearly any part of a vehicle can be involved in a lemon law claim – and so can any automaker. 

What California’s Lemon Law Covers

California’s lemon law first appeared in 1970. Known as the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, the law sought to give consumers various rights if they bought a product that didn’t meet basic safety or reliability guarantees. Later additions to the Song-Beverly Act clarified how it applies to vehicle purchases and who can seek protection under the lemon law. 

Which Vehicles are Covered by California Lemon Law?

In most cases, a vehicle is covered by California lemon law if:

• The vehicle was purchased or leased in California for personal, household, or certain small business uses,
• The vehicle was purchased or leased “at retail” – from a dealership or directly from the manufacturer, 
• The vehicle is covered by an original manufacturer’s warranty or certified pre-owned (CPO) warranty at the time the problems begin. 

The lemon law applies to any issues that arise during normal, authorized, and reasonable use of the vehicle. Issues that occur because the vehicle was misused or handled roughly may not be covered by the lemon law. 

Before bringing a lemon law claim, vehicle owners must give the automaker a “reasonable number of attempts to repair” the vehicle. What counts as “reasonable” often depends on the specific facts of the case and the type of issue that needs to be fixed. Even attempts that don’t actually fix anything count towards the reasonable number of attempts.

Does the Lemon Law Protect Military Service Members?

For civilians living in California, lemon law only applies if the vehicle was purchased or leased in California. If you bought your vehicle in another state, you can’t seek protection under California lemon law, even if you live here now. 

For those in the military, however, the rules are different. Active-duty military service members can file a lemon law claim in California, even if they bought or leased their vehicle in another state. 

To file a claim, the vehicle must meet other lemon law requirements. For instance, a warranty must have been applied when the issues began, and the automaker must have received a reasonable opportunity to fix the issues first. 

Does Lemon Law cover Small Businesses?

From the very beginning, California lemon law covered vehicles purchased by individuals or households for family, personal, and home use. For many years, however, lemon law did not apply to any business, no matter how small.

In 2000, the California legislature expanded the lemon law to include some small businesses. A small business can bring a lemon law claim if:

• The vehicle has a gross vehicle weight (also known as a “curb weight”) under 10,000 pounds and
• The business has five or fewer vehicles in total. 

In Long Beach, this law applies to many small businesses that rely on pickup trucks, vans, SUVs, or small delivery trucks. No matter how large your business or its fleet is, every business owner may consult an experienced Long Beach lemon law attorney to understand better how the law applies to their particular business. 

Compensation Under Lemon Law in Long Beach

California’s lemon law is specific about the types of vehicles and individuals it covers. The law also specifies what vehicle owners or lessees receive if they have a lemon vehicle. 

Under California lemon law, those who win their claims have access to three types of compensation:

• Refund or replacement. The most well-known type of lemon law compensation requires automakers to give the vehicle owner a refund or a “substantially similar” replacement vehicle. The vehicle owner can choose which one they prefer. 
• Incidental and consequential damages. This category covers expenses directly related to having a lemon – things you never would have paid for if you’d had a reliable vehicle. Common examples include towing charges to have your broken-down vehicle taken to the dealership, as well as the cost of alternative transportation like a rental vehicle, bus pass, or ridesharing fees. 
• Attorney fees. Under California law, the automaker must pay the attorney’s fees, costs, and expenses for a vehicle owner with a valid lemon law claim. 
• Civil Penalties. In California, to encourage automakers to follow the law and actually buy back or replace lemons instead of just selling more and more vehicles, the California Lemon Law allows for civil penalties to be paid to consumers. A civil penalty is additional damages up to two times the amount of your actual damages if you establish the automaker was willful in its failure to follow the law. 

The attorney fee requirement helps many ordinary Long Beach residents get the legal assistance they need without breaking their household or small business budget. Indeed, hiring an experienced lemon law attorney should not cost you anything to pursue a lemon law claim.

When you speak to the expert Long Beach lemon law attorney at Wirtz Law, don’t hesitate to ask them how they handle payment. At Wirtz Law, we are lawyers who explain both your legal options and our payment structure right up front in terms you understand. Experienced lawyers at Wirtz Law will give you the information you need to make an informed decision about what you want to do next. At Wirtz Law APC, we encourage our clients to ask questions, even the same ones over and over again, until our clients understand what they need to know about the case.

Talk to a Long Beach Lemon Law Attorney Today

It’s tough to turn a lemon vehicle into lemonade. You bought or leased your vehicle from an automaker because you needed a safe, reliable form of transportation. You wanted a vehicle that would last for years without giving you trouble. Instead, all you got was trouble – along with towing fees, constant scrambles to find transportation, and a sense of dread every time you have to deal with the dealership. 

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Talk to the dedicated Long Beach lemon law attorneys at Wirtz Law APC today. We’ll help you understand your legal rights under California lemon law and fight for the compensation you deserve. To learn more, contact us today to schedule a free and confidential case evaluation.