If You Have a Defective Car, the Law May Be on Your Side
- Repeated repairs for the same issue?
- Car under warranty but still not working right?
We’ll help you get your money back – FAST
What Is California’s Lemon Law?
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What you get with WCADL
- No cost to you guarantee - Manufacturer Pays All Attorney Fees
- 25 Years Experience
- In-house Trial Team
- Get Cash or Car Replacement
What you get with WCADL
- No cost to you guarantee - Manufacturer Pays All Attorney Fees
- 25 Years Experience
- In-house Trial Team
- Get Cash or Car Replacement
You’ve Been Through Enough. Let’s Get You Back on the Road.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nothing out of pocket. Under California Civil Code § 1794(d), if you win, the manufacturer pays your attorney's fees and costs. We work on a contingency basis, which means we collect from the manufacturer when we recover for you. If we do not win, you do not pay. The case review is free too.
Your vehicle may qualify if all of these are true:
- It has a defect covered by the manufacturer's warranty
- The defect substantially impairs the use, value, or safety of the vehicle
- The dealer has had a reasonable number of attempts to fix it and failed
- The defect was not caused by abuse, neglect, or unauthorized modifications
California law presumes a reasonable number of repair attempts has been made if, within 18 months or 18,000 miles, the dealer has tried to fix the same problem 4 or more times, tried to fix a serious safety defect 2 or more times, or the vehicle has been out of service for 30 or more cumulative days. Vehicles outside that window may still qualify; you just have to prove the repair history was unreasonable on its facts.
No, but the rules tightened in late 2024. The lemon law covers new vehicles, manufacturer-certified pre-owned vehicles, dealer demonstrators sold with a warranty, and leased vehicles. After the California Supreme Court's October 2024 ruling in Rodriguez v. FCA US LLC, ordinary used cars sold with the balance of the original manufacturer's warranty are no longer protected by the new-vehicle lemon law against the manufacturer. Other protections may still apply through dealer warranties or federal law, so it is still worth a free review.
You do not have to keep granting unlimited chances. The law requires a reasonable number of repair attempts, not unlimited. Manufacturers and dealers often pressure consumers into letting them try again because every additional successful repair can wipe out a lemon law claim. If the same defect keeps coming back, you may already qualify. Talk to a lemon law attorney before agreeing to another round.
There are three recoverable paths when it comes an defective car claim:
- Buyback- The manufacturer refunds your down payment, monthly payments, taxes, registration, finance charges, and incidental expenses (rental cars, towing), minus a small mileage offset for use before the first repair attempt.
- Replacement- A substantially identical new vehicle, same trim and warranty.
- Cash and keep- You keep the vehicle and the manufacturer pays a negotiated lump sum for diminished value.
If the manufacturer's conduct was willful, you may also recover a civil penalty of up to two times your actual damages under Civil Code § 1794(c). The manufacturer also pays your attorney's fees in any successful case.
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