If you are in the market for a new car and come across one with a decal featuring the words “Lemon Law Buyback,” there is some important information that you should know. 

What is a lemon vehicle?

A “lemon” refers to a vehicle that is not fixed or cannot be fixed by the manufacturer after a minimum of two attempts. Under California’s “lemon law,” the manufacturer of the vehicle has a legal obligation to replace the vehicle or provide the consumer with a refund.

 Once a manufacturer takes physical and legal custody of the lemon vehicle, there are specific steps they must take after fixing the vehicle (if it can be fixed) before providing it for sale to a member of the public.

 In order to protect consumers and ensure safety and accountability, the manufacturer is required to take certain steps before reselling the vehicle to the public; the process of selling and buying a lemon law buyback vehicle is vastly different from a typical vehicle sale.

 What must the manufacturer of a lemon vehicle do before making it available to the public?

 Before reselling a lemon vehicle, there are several steps that the car manufacturer must take. First, the manufacturer is required to register the vehicle in the manufacturer’s name before reselling the vehicle to the public. When doing this, they must specifically request that the Department of Motor Vehicles mark “Lemon Law Buyback” on the title and registration. This is to ensure that the consumer is provided with proper notice of the vehicle’s classification as a “lemon.”

 Then, the manufacturer must attach a decal with the words “Lemon Law Buyback” to either the left door frame (or the left side of a vehicle that does not have doors) or the frame of the major entry point into the vehicle.

 What is the seller required to do before selling a lemon law buyback?

In addition to the requirements set forth above, the seller of the lemon law buyback vehicle is also required to take certain steps and make specific disclosures to the buyer in order to comply with California law.

 Specifically, the seller of the vehicle must prepare a letter-sized document to provide the buyer with the following disclosures: 

–          The vehicle’s make, model, and year

–          The vehicle identification number (VIN)

–          That the vehicle is marked in its title as a “Lemon Law Buyback”

–          All defects that were reported about the vehicle by its original owner or lessee

–          All repairs made to the vehicle to correct the defect(s) 

Contact an Experienced Lemon Law Attorney Today

 If you recently purchased a vehicle that is a lemon law buyback or you have reason to believe may be a lemon law buyback, but you think the manufacturer did not comply with their legal disclosure obligations, you may be entitled to recourse against them.

 Contact the experienced attorneys at Conn Law, P.C.  at 412-417-2780 or online today for your free consultation, and to ensure your legal rights are protected