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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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RV Owners Are Far Too Patient
(And Manufacturers Take Advantage of It)
Recently I reviewed an RV case. The number of defects was astonishing. This was a Class "A" RV that cost
the client over $400,000.00. The list of defects went on page after page. As I
continued to review the case, I noticed how every visit was in excess of 15
days and for the visit I am going to relate here, it was in the shop for 38
days. For the record, I have seen cases where the vehicle was at the dealership
for six months! In one case it was discovered that repair personnel were using
the vehicle for parties with their lady friends. They left behind certain
articles of clothing identified as not belonging to the owner. In another the
vehicle was left at the back of the lot, open and rats infested the vehicle. If
this happened with the average person's automobile they'd be down at the
dealership with weapons of mass destruction and serious attitude.
Of course RV manufacturers
don't sell as many units as Ford but the lists of defects boggled the mind. I
asked myself, "Do RV owners expect this sort of thing? Is it simply that they
don't care? Do they think that this is always how it is and nothing can be done
about it? What's going on?" I concluded that RV owners must be the most
tolerant, patient and decent people in the world. I also concluded that they
don't really understand their rights when confronted with a lemon vehicle.
Consider the following repair visit for a common automobile defect:
There
is a clunk sound when pulling the gear selector out of park. When driving at
highway speeds, above 50mph, the vehicle suddenly slows down, shifts on its own
and loses power. Days in the shop = 2
If the owner of this vehicle
had four problems like this, and the defects started while the vehicle was
still in warranty, and the dealer can't or won't fix it, the vehicle may
qualify under California statute as a "lemon."
Now let's compare a typical
motor home repair visit. This visit was for the Class A motor home mentioned
above. It should be noted that frequently motor homes have very few owner miles
before the defects show up. I say owner miles as several of the major
manufacturers of motor homes have their factories in the Midwest and the Southeast,
so when the vehicle arrives in California it already has several thousand miles
on the odometer. One wonders what the driver/transporter thought about a
vehicle so shoddily made that it was falling apart well before it was delivered
to the owner.
The following information
was taken directly from one repair
order:
- Passenger side awning (Girard) blew out in the wind.
- Replace wallpaper in the bathroom, toilet and closet.
- The navigation system (GPS) doesn't work.
- Passenger
side dash has a clunking inside.
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Step
cover granite needs to be redone.
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Steering
wheel is incorrectly aligned.
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Install
new reefer door handle.
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Constant
whining noise in the Bose® audio system.
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Cracking
noise in the ceiling on the driver's side.
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Plasma
TV has lines on the screen when the interface charging system is on.
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Cabinet
drawer under the dishwasher is too long.
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Shower
water is cold.
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The
Pronto charger doesn't work.
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Condensation
forming in drawer beneath the dishwasher.
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Grout
missing on floor near reefer.
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Many
cabinet door locks jam.
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The
door above the reefer is not flush.
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The
remote receiver for direct TV doesn't work.
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Living
room blinds are defective.
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The
leather on the front door is torn.
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The
fresh water hose reel is inoperative.
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Overhead
lights are inoperative.
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Bathroom
panel wallpaper has buckled – this panel was replaced twice during service done
in January and has again separated from the panel.
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Water
leakage at living room slideout – water leaked through the roof staining the
ceiling and fabric above the dinette.
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All
TV, GPS monitors and backup monitors have horizontal lines running through the
picture.
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The
high voltage power box in the bay with the generator has black burn marks on
the cover and gets so hot it cannot be touched.
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Driver
side windshield leaks.
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The
S/C causes a power surge that resets the on-board electronics equipment.
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The
generator temperature gauge fluctuates from 0-250-60 etc. It also pulsates as
though being overworked.
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The
front A/C has a bad fan motor.
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The
keyless remotes are intermittent.
Number of days in the shop = 38. This vehicle was an electrical nightmare. Repair orders indicate most of
the defects were the result of shoddy and incorrect assembly, poorly made
components and poor design. Like a Hollywood character, motor homes are often
beautiful on the outside but there's nothing beneath. On this visit less than
half of the listed defects were fixed. Either there were no parts or the
dealership simply neglected to repair them.
What's going on here? Is
this a unique example I dreamed up for the sake of drama? No, it is not.
Unfortunately this sort of thing is common. It really doesn't matter if the
vehicle cost $500,000.00 or $50,000.00, or that it was an utter failure of
quality; if the seller cannot repair it, make it like new, the owner has the right
to get a replacement or a refund.
Remember the keys words of
the lemon law are substantial impairment of use, value, or safety.
This one visit to the dealership repair facility wasn't the first or the last;
it was one of many. The defects for this specific repair attempt easily
qualified the vehicle for substantial impairment of use, value or safety.
On more than one occasion motor home owners have told
me, don't buy a motor home if you aren't handy fixing things. What the heck is
that about? If I paid $400,000.00 for a car or truck it better damn well work
the first time or there's going to be hair on the walls.
There is a basic problem or condition here. It is the
problem of diminished expectations. As a people we have come to expect less: we
expect less good manners, less useful knowledge being taught in the schools,
less honesty from politicians and journalists, less care for the other person's
well being, ruinously expensive healthcare, drugs that are more harmful than
health giving and so little quality in all the things we purchase.
It is a truism, that if you expect less, you get less.
When people continuously expect less they become cynical and begin a downward
cycle of existence.
Consider for a moment who buys motor homes or
recreational vehicles. I don't know the exact statistics in the U.S., but in
France 85% of motor home buyers are couples over 53 years of age. Intuition
tells me that such percentages are probably similar in the U.S.
These are people who have worked hard,
raised their children and sent them out into the world to create their own
lives. Now they want to enjoy the time they have earned seeing their country
and enjoying the company of like-minded people. Such people are self-reliant,
honest, and helpful and have a positive attitude —their largest common
organization is the Good Sam (Samaritan) Club.
When they first go to the RV/Motor Home dealership
they aren't cynically waiting for the dealership and its personnel to betray
their trust and sell them a product so encrusted with defects, one would expect
it to be ten years old rather than brand new. So they patiently wait for the
dealership to fix their RV or motor home. Time after time they bring it back.
When they finally call us for help you can hear the sadness in their voices,
the disappointment, and the loss of humanity's better nature.
When these decent people become cynical and suspicious
it is a sign that must be noticed, it must be understood as important. We know
with certainty, just as we know with automobiles and trucks, that for every
person who asks for our or any other Lemon Law firm's help with their lemon RV
or motor home, there are twenty nice people out there still trying patiently to
get their lemon fixed.
I, for one, don't want them to become cynical and suspicious;
there are more than enough people like that about already. The best outcome
would be that RV manufacturers would understand that workmanship sells and
improve the quality of their assembly, service and products. As this is not
likely at the moment, my advice is find legal help and get rid of that vehicle
from hell. Please, stay as cheerful as possible. Maybe the manufacturer simply
needs to feel the financial pain and realize there's more money in quality than
cynicism.
Finally, here's a thought for the manufacturers out
there. Get the idea of a Motor Home coming down the road toward you. It's
beautiful, powerful and has superior quality. Now look closely at the front
where is says…Honda or Toyota. Sweet dreams.
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Presumption and the Lemon Law