California Lemon Law: Available Remedies

Under the California lemon law, if any vehicle or consumer product that a person owns, including motorcycles, boats, recreational vehicles, cars and trucks, which has to be repaired repeatedly within the guarantee period, then the manufacturer is bound by law to reimburse that person or give him a replacement vehicle which is similar to the existing one.

The choice of reimbursement or replacement lies with the owner of the vehicle or the product. The manufacturer cannot decide whether the owner gets a replacement or a reimbursement. Usually the remedy is a refund, as the owner becomes hesitant when it comes to replacement of the vehicle. Other punitive remedies include reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses connected with the defective vehicle or consumer product in question. In some cases the jury or the judge has awarded a civil penalty amounting to twice the damages faced by the owner. The manufacturer or dealer sometimes pays the fees of the plaintiff's attorney or lawyer.

The solutions that are available under this law are not applicable if the warranty period of the vehicle has expired, excluding rare exceptions. The law is not applicable to vehicles that were bought as-is or in spite of a written warning about the inherent defects in the vehicle or the product. This is called the "caveat emptor" law, which when translated in Latin, literally means "buyer beware." If there is a placard stating that the consumer goods on sale are defective, then the manufacturer is absolved from any kind of responsibility.

There is another option open to the consumer that provides relief without going through the hassles of a courtroom trial. This is called arbitration and the aggrieved party can avail of this privilege if an arbitrator has been provided to the consumer through the "better business bureau auto line arbitration."