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"I chose your firm because everyone I spoke to said you are known as the authorities on California Lemon Law. The service you provide reflects this."
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What is a Lemon Car?
Check to see if any of these options apply to your car.
If they do, you may have a case:
- rough idle
- transmission
- rough shifting
- stalling
- check engine light on
- vehicle surges
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 Lemon Law Wins
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Precedent Setting Lemon Law Wins
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Lemon Law and Secret Warranties
(Avoiding the Big Dog - Recall)
One of the defining attitudes
of the American character is full exposure. Love it or hate it, very little
remains hidden in the US. We don't like secrets at all. Much to the contempt of
Europeans, Americans wear their hearts on their sleeves. Because of this we
have often been misjudged and thought weak. I could easily write a great deal
on how foolish it is to judge us against the fact that we don't hide the things
we care about.
Another characteristic often
misjudged, even within the country itself, is our passion for fair play. We
hate a cheater and our laws reflect this hatred. Do we over do this antipathy?
Probably, but better our way than the smug arrogance of the French or the
indifference of the German.
Automobile manufacturers
cheat. You laugh and say things like, no kidding or what was your first clue?
Here's the important thing. Nowhere in the world, in no other country does the
consumer have so many tools to right wrongs: Does this create a contentious
environment? To some extent, it does.
It would be so much better if we lived in that best of all possible
worlds where vehicle manufacturers and dealerships accept responsibility for
their products and their service.
We demand of our manufacturers
that they warrant that their goods are made to a high standard and that they
are what the manufacturer advertised. It's hard to find a product that doesn't
have some sort warranty. The administrative parts of federal and state
governments are littered with agencies whose charter is to enforce functional
and quality standards. As a teacher of the old school, I'd give them a fair
grade, certainly better than any other country on the planet. Even so, a strong
body of law has been enacted across the United States that further makes it
possible to enforce warranties.
What is a warranty?
1.
Law.
a.
An
assurance by the seller of property that the goods or property are as
represented or will be as promised.
b.
The
insured's guarantee that the facts are as stated in reference to an insurance
risk or that specified conditions will be fulfilled to keep the contract
effective.
2.
A
guarantee given to the purchaser by a company stating that a product is reliable
and free from known defects and that the seller will, without charge, repair or
replace defective parts within a given time limit and under certain
conditions.
This is pretty
straightforward. When you buy a new car it comes with a warranty. The warranty
says that if it doesn't meet the standards set forth stating that the vehicle
is what was promised, the manufacturer or its agents (dealerships) must repair
it, and more than that bring it to the condition that existed before the
defect(s) occurred.
One of the keys to all
warranties is how long they are in force and what exactly do they cover.
Obviously manufacturers aren't going to warrant a vehicle for the next twenty
years. It is quite likely that most vehicles will end their days in the
junkyard long before that. You may have heard of the expression, built-in
obsolescence. With light bulbs it is obvious that they are designed to fail
after a very short period of time.
With automobiles, it is a bit
more complex. Materials, manufacturing processes, tolerances of manufactured
parts and other quality issues and depending on how well such companies are
managed can have a powerful effect on how long any specific make of model of
vehicle will last.
An automobile may indeed last
twenty years with perfect maintenance, low mileage and careful driving.
Prior to the existence of
lemon law it was not unusual for manufacturers to compel the consumer to return
the car for repair over and over; sometimes the consumer would take the vehicle
back more than twenty times for the same repair. The consumer had no recourse.
The playing field was terribly imbalanced.
To this point we have been
talking about the warranties that come with each vehicle sold in the US.
Warranties vary considerably from maker to maker. There is another category of warranty
you will never read about in your vehicle maintenance manual or warranty
documents. These are called Secret Warranties. Needless to say, the
manufacturers absolutely hate to call them by this name. They have their own
names that are sugar-coated, double-speak designed to make that sow's ear seem
like a silk purse.
Here's how it works:
1. The
manufacturer does a little product homework, some surveys, focus groups,
samples previous product data, and then has a look at what's working for the
competition. (Yes, manufacturers steal from each other shamelessly)
2. A
decision is made to build a new SUV. It doesn't matter a tinker's damn if this
monster sucks gas faster than the North Slope pumps oil. If they think it will
sell-read make a profit-they'll build it.
3. Production
schedules are created and parts began arriving at the assembly plant. These
schedules are more important to assembly management than the coming of the
tides or assurances that the sun will rise.
4. The
designers and engineers get to work. A lot of the tasks are farmed out to
assorted parts manufacturers all over the world. Prototypes are made and as
much testing as can be squeezed in, takes place. During these tests it is
discovered that the turbo charger had a tendency to produce oil sludge.
Sometimes as a result the turbo would fail. Occasionally the turbo would
freeze, explode and spatter shattered components all over the countryside.
(This is a real example.)
5. Enter
the risk analysts, the statisticians and the actuaries. These are the fellas
who roll the mathematical dice and determine what it will cost to repair these
defective turbos or pay off the lawsuits if one of those exploded hunks of
metal ends up buried in the driver's forehead. Understand this; the
manufacturer does not care if this happens. They only care if the balance sheet
looks bad. Let them protest all they like, tell us what wonderful and caring
people they are, Ford and their Pinto put an end to that paradigm forever. Add
to that bit of history the current situation, where manufacturers cause owners
with defective cars and trucks unmitigated misery and disillusionment, and you
have the average life of a car owner in the US.
So, the stats and risks guys say, not to worry, this problem will
only happen to 5.628 vehicles in every 1,000. Most people will roll over when
we tell them it's their fault and get it replaced at their cost. There are ways
to deal with owners who make too much noise.
6. It's
a nice looking car. The manufacturer spends enough money on advertising to
support a medium sized country for a year. They sell lots of them. All is well
in the boardroom. Stuffy, essentially useless old men congratulate each other.
Unwarranted arrogance is not a nice thing to see.
7. After
a few thousand miles, as predicted, the oil in the turbo begins to sludge and
wouldn't you know 5.628 vehicles in every 1,000 begin to fail. No one said
these stats guys couldn't do math.
8. As
was predicted, some people got their vehicles repaired, some complained only to
be told that it was their fault because they used substandard oil. Others, not
that many, raised hell, called the BBB, wrote letters to the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). They told the people at the dealerships
that they were full of camel poop and generally got loud and obnoxious.
9. Thus
we arrive at the moment of...wait for the mysterious music... "Secret Warranty".
All of a sudden the service writer goes all decent and helpful. It's an amazing
thing to see.
It might go something
like this. The service writer says, "You've been a really good customer, Mr.
Jones. Let me talk to the manager and see what he can do." Still fuming, Mr.
Jones snarls assent. The service writer comes back ten minutes later, just
before Mr. Jones decides to get really loud. The service writer says
confidentially, "I got the manager to call the District Manager and he has
agreed this one time the
manufacturer will cover all the costs of your repairs. Isn't that wonderful,
Mr. Jones?" Mr. Jones is still highly annoyed but he wants his car fixed, so he
lets them do it.
What's wrong
with all of this? Of the hundred people who have the turbo problem, maybe two
won't let the dealer/manufacturer screw them into the ground like a tent peg;
make them pay for the repairs. Yes, you are right! It is cynical and immoral,
and it happens all of the time. There isn't one automobile manufacturer that
doesn't have at least one Secret Warranty in place. Some of them have three or
four for different defects.
Why do they
do it? It's the oldest reason in the world. No, it's not sex. It's money, of
course. Remember, Mr. Jones wrote to NHTSA? If NHTSA gets enough reports of
turbos blowing up they can compel the manufacturer to issue a recall. When this
happens, accountants and senior management guys squeal like they got their lips
caught in a vice. I have done a fair amount of research on recalls and I
couldn't find one that didn't cost the manufacturer at least $5,000,000
dollars, and that is definitely on the low side. This is serious corporate pain
and this is why there are Secret Warranties. They exist so that manufacturers
can avoid recalls.
As a car
owner, be very alert when someone at the dealership starts telling you it's your
fault. Don't go into apathy and give in. Fight it. Do research. Find out if a
Secret Warranty exists and make them use it. Frankly, for their bad behavior I
would much rather that they felt the pain of the recall, but for you the car
owner, I would rather you get back on the road in a safe vehicle.
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Presumption and the Lemon Law