Modesto Lemon Law Attorneys

Dedicated Modesto Lemon Law Attorneys Help Vehicle Owners Fight for the Compensation They Deserve

With a population of over 200,000 people, Modesto is the 19th largest city in California, yet it’s one of the largest cities in the United States. 

Modesto’s location in the Central Valley between Sacramento and Fresno, as well as its proximity to Merced, San Francisco, and Yosemite National Park, make it a crossroads of the state. Thousands of people travel to, from, and through Modesto each day. 

While each traveler may have a unique goal or destination, all Modesto-area motorists have one thing in common: They rely on their vehicles to provide safe and reliable transportation. When a vehicle turns out to be a lemon, neither drivers nor passengers can rely on it to transport them safely. They may even face the risk of death or serious injury to themselves or others on the road.

If you suspect you have a lemon vehicle on your hands, talk to the experienced Modesto lemon law attorneys at Wirtz Law APC today. We’ll help you understand how lemon law applies to your situation and fight for the compensation you deserve. 

What Makes a Vehicle a Lemon?

Under California lemon law, a vehicle is a lemon if it has a problem that “substantially impairs the use, value, or safety of the vehicle to the consumer,” and that problem resulted from normal vehicle use. 

California’s lemon law contains several additional requirements before a vehicle owner can bring a claim. For instance:

• The vehicle must be under an original manufacturer’s warranty or a certified pre-owned (CPO) warranty 一 or the owner must have the legal right to enforce a warranty. 
• The vehicle must be purchased or leased “at retail.” Vehicle owners who bought or leased their car at a dealership or straight from the manufacturer typically meet this requirement. 

Not all vehicles can become the subject of a lemon law claim. For instance, vehicles bought in private sales – such as from a neighbor – typically are not covered by lemon law. If you’re unsure if your vehicle is covered by lemon law, talk to an experienced Modesto lemon lawyer. 

In California, the only requirement for the owner is to present the vehicle for repairs to the authorized repair facility or the dealer. There is no requirement to give one more chance to fix the vehicle as long as the owner has given a reasonable number of attempts. It is also irrelevant how nice or how hard the dealership tried to fix your vehicle.  If it’s not fixed, that is all that matters.

What makes a manufacturer’s attempts to repair your vehicle “reasonable”? California’s lemon law doesn’t have a single bright-line rule. The more you have to take your vehicle to the dealership for repairs, however, the more likely it is a court will consider the “reasonable attempt to repair” requirement met. At a minimum, at least two attempts must be made. Similarly, if your vehicle sits at the shop for repair for 30 days or more, you may meet the two attempts requirement. 

Lemon Law Statistics: The Size of California’s Lemon Problem

In 2022, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) recorded over 326,000 new and renewed vehicle registrations for passenger vehicles in Stanislaus County. The DMV also recorded over 119,000 registrations for trucks. 

These numbers include both new vehicle registrations and renewals. Statewide, California has about 35.6 million registered vehicles on its roads at any given time.

How many of these vehicles are lemons?

Research by the California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG), the CARS Foundation, and the Frontier Group sheds some light on the question. In their Auto Lemon Index, these researchers found that between 2018 and 2021, the California DMV issued about 7.6 million new vehicle registrations. In the same time frame, about 34,497 new lemon law claims appeared in California courts – or about 0.45 percent of all registrations. 

The Auto Lemon Index notes, however, that these numbers don’t tell the whole story. First, relatively few lemon law claims go to court. Most are settled between the automaker and the vehicle owner. Statistics indicate these settlements succeed more often when a vehicle owner has an experienced lemon law attorney representing them against the automaker. 

Second, the Auto Lemon Index notes that millions of vehicles on California roads may be lemons just waiting to appear. The Index estimates that over 6 million cars on California roads have at least one major defect that hasn’t been repaired, even when the defect is the subject of a recall. 

Types of Compensation in Modesto Lemon Law Claims

If you succeed in proving your vehicle is a lemon under the lemon law, what do you get?

California lemon law allows for three categories of damages: refund or replacement, incidental and consequential damages, and attorney’s fees, costs, and expenses.

Refund or Replacement

Many Californians have heard of the “buyback” requirement for lemon vehicles. Also known as the “refund or replacement” requirement, this rule requires the automaker to offer a lemon vehicle owner one of two options:

• A refund of the purchase price minus vehicle use, as calculated by the lemon law, or
• A “substantially similar” replacement vehicle.

The choice belongs to the owner of the lemon vehicle. An automaker cannot force you to take one option or the other; you can choose. 

The refund or replacement cost is usually the single largest portion of damages in a lemon law case. As a result, many automakers will attempt to calculate refund amounts incorrectly or offer you a vehicle that is smaller, cheaper, or not “substantially similar” to your lemon. To fight back against these tactics, work with an experienced Modesto lemon lawyer who is on your side. 

Incidental and Consequential Damages

Losing your vehicle is expensive, especially if you purchased it new. Aside from a family home, a vehicle is often the most valuable item a Modesto household possesses. 

For this reason, you may focus on the refund or replacement available under California lemon law. Yet it’s important not to overlook other costs imposed by a lemon vehicle. For example, your lemon may also result in expenses like:

• Towing fees, 
• Repair fees assessed by the dealership,
• Costs of alternate transportation like a rental vehicle, rideshare, or public transportation. 

California lemon law calls these costs “incidental and consequential damages.” You can seek reimbursement for them from the automaker as part of your lemon law claim. An attorney can help you gather the necessary paperwork to prove exactly how much your lemon has cost you out of pocket. 

Attorney’s Fees

California’s lemon law also requires automakers to pay the “reasonable attorney fees” plus costs and expenses of a vehicle owner who wins their lemon law claim. 

The attorney’s fees, costs, and expenses requirement levels the playing field for many Modesto residents and small businesses to exercise their rights without draining their bank accounts. 

Automakers often have an entire department of attorneys whose sole job is to fight any and all legal claims 一 including lemon law claims. They also have the resources to hire outside counsel. These lawyers have long experience pushing back against lemon law claims, creating high-pressure negotiation situations, and using whatever means they can to ensure the automaker doesn’t have to pay for its mistakes. Without proper representation, most consumers don’t stand a chance. 

By contrast, many Modesto residents have never brought a case to court before. Your lemon vehicle may be the first time you’ve ever had to think about evidence or procedural rules or giving testimony. 

The payment by the automaker of your attorney’s fees, costs and expenses when you are successful ensures that you have a qualified experienced lawyer on your side. You can choose an attorney with experience and whom you trust to communicate with you throughout your case. If you win, the automaker pays your attorney’s fees, costs, and expenses. 

In addition, the best Modesto lemon lawyers will agree to work “on contingency.” This means that they only charge attorney’s fees if they win compensation for you. If they cannot win your case, they charge no fees. A contingency agreement, combined with the attorney’s fees payment by the automaker, allows Modesto families and small businesses to work with a lawyer who is an expert in lemon law, highly experienced and successful, free of concerns about how they’ll pay for the legal representation they need to have a fair chance against big automakers. 

California Lemon Law Applies to More Than Personal Vehicle Owners

California lemon law applies to vehicles purchased for family, household, or personal use in many situations. It also applies to some small businesses. 

Small businesses can seek lemon law protection if they have five or fewer vehicles total, including the suspected lemon. The lemon vehicle must have a gross vehicle weight (GVW or “curb weight”) under 10,000 pounds – a category that includes most passenger cars and trucks as well as several light and medium-duty vehicles. 

Businesses that aren’t covered by lemon law may have other legal options if a vehicle is defective. Speak to an attorney for more information on how California law applies to your business’s situation. 

To Learn More, Reach Out to a Modesto Lemon Law Attorney Today

No one buys a vehicle hoping it will be defective, break down frequently, and spoil their daily plans. Yet when you have a lemon, you face just that. 

If you suspect you have a lemon vehicle, talk to the experienced Modesto lemon law firm at Wirtz Law APC today. Our successful attorneys will help you understand your legal options and move forward with the steps that best fit your needs. To learn more, reach out to us today to schedule a confidential case evaluation at no cost to you.