Prior to enactment of the Lemon Laws automotive consumers had little protection when they purchased a vehicle that later had repeated problems caused by manufacturing defects. The consumer was expected to return the vehicle to the repair shop to have the problem fixed under the manufacturer’s automobile warranty. This was not only an inconvenience, but could also be dangerous if the problem was not properly fixed, thereby possibly affecting the safety, value, and use of the vehicle.
The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act which was enacted by Congress in 1975, while much broader in its scope, is basically the federal Lemon Law designed to protect consumers who purchased defective vehicles. Each state now has its own version of the Lemon Laws for new vehicle purchases. Most states also cover leased vehicles and some also provide relief for purchasers of used vehicles subject to certain conditions. Lemon laws may also include mobile homes, motorcycles, and boats.
California’s Lemon Law puts California consumers among the most protected in the nation. But this has not always been true. The law has evolved and been amended over the years to include other categories of purchasers and lessors of motor vehicles thereby expanding consumer rights.
The California Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act was enacted in 1970 to protect consumers who purchased or leased new automobiles which turned out to be “lemons” because of manufacturing defects. The Act stated that if the manufacturer or its authorized dealer was unable to service or repair a new vehicle to meet the terms of the manufacturer’s written warranty after a “reasonable number of repair attempts,” the manufacturer was required replace the vehicle or return the purchase price to the buyer or lessee. Regrettably, the term “reasonable number of repair attempts” was poorly defined and left to the discretion of the manufacturer. Also, a manufacturer could refuse to repurchase the vehicle if it determined that the vehicle had been abused by the buyer after delivery, for example, if the terms of the maintenance and instructions for proper use of the vehicle had not been followed.
In 1982 California assembly member, Sally Tanner, proposes new guidelines for California’s Lemon Laws which took effect in January, 1983 and set clearer guidelines for what is a “reasonable number of repair attempts. The number of attempts was to be determined according to the nature of the problem and in particular as related to the safety of the vehicle. Further, the act was expanded to include the sale or lease of used vehicles which were still covered by the manufacturer’s original new car warranty at the time of purchase. This law became the model for Lemon Law statutes in all 50 states.
In 1987 the California Arbitration Act was enacted to withdraw the power of states to require judicial resolution. This encouraged manufacturers and consumers to resolve their disputes by non-judicial means such as mediation and arbitration before resorting to court.
The Consumer Notification Act was introduced in 1991 to protect consumers from purchasing or leasing vehicles that manufacturers had previously repurchased as “lemons.” Under this act, auto manufacturers were required to brand the titles of reacquired “lemons” and submit the vehicles’ titles of those vehicles to the California Department of Motor Vehicles. If the reacquired vehicle was to be resold, the necessary repairs first had to be made, and the manufacturer and its dealers had to disclose to the potential buyer or lessor that the vehicle had been repurchased under California lemon laws and that the title was branded.
