If you have attempted to repair your vehicle shortly after purchasing or leasing but are still having issues, you might have a lemon. Thankfully, you can file a California lemon law claim to help you recover the compensation you deserve. If you plan on filing a claim, you should not delay. There are deadlines to filing a lemon law claim.
California Lemon Law Filing Deadlines
In the state of California, there is a statute of limitations on how much time the owner of a vehicle has to file a lawsuit. A lemon law claim is essentially a breach of a warranty claim. Therefore, they often have a four-year statute of limitations based on the California Commercial Code. This means that you can only file a lemon law claim while your vehicle (whether new, used, or leased) still has a car warranty. If you wait too long, you may miss the opportunity to file a claim and will be stuck with your lemon vehicle.
When Does the California Lemon Law Time Limit Start?
Many manufacturers will argue that your statute of limitations starts from the purchase or lease date. However, according to the California Court of Appeal, your lemon law time limit starts as soon as you should have realized that the vehicle was a lemon.
For example, suppose you only realized that your car is defective two months before your car warranty expires. You attempted to get your vehicle repaired three times within the last two months, but the manufacturer was unsuccessful. Even though your warranty is experienced, you can still file a lemon law claim. You can do so as long as you identified the defect while your vehicle was still under warranty.
California Lemon Law Attorneys
If you need guidance with your lemon law claim, our team at O’Connor Law Group, P.C. is here to help you. Our team has helped vehicle leasers and owners across California recover the compensation they deserve after discovering that they have a lemon. We can guide you through the process from beginning to end to help you achieve your desired outcome.
Contact us today at (949) 390-9695 to schedule a consultation!