Our car accident attorneys are concerned about current lemon laws in our nation.  We want everyone to feel confident about car safety when buying new and used cars, yet how do you know if you are buying a “lemon” or not?  Each state has different definitions and regulations dealing with lemons.

In California, for example, currently, a car lemon is defined as one which has been repaired for the same mechanical failure at least 4 times or has been out-of-service for at least 30 days as it was being repaired.  If your car is a lemon, the manufacturer must buy it back.  As automobile accident lawyers, we applaud these lemon laws because it makes manufacturers liable for their mistakes.  However, it is what happens after the manufacturer buys the vehicle back that is the problem.

After manufacturers buy their cars back from the car owner, they oftentimes sell them to car dealers who in turn sell them to normal consumers.  In California, it is required that dealers place a “lemon” or “car manufacturer buyback” decal on the used car.   What if the dealers “accidentally” overlooked the paperwork that declared the car a lemon?  Of course, we are not saying all mistakes were made on purpose, but we are sure some are.  These used car dealers who genuinely or purposely forgot that the car is a lemon sell the car back to unsuspecting car buyers who do not realize that they could be purchasing a vehicle that can malfunction.

This is obviously very dangerous and irresponsible of the car dealers and automobile manufacturers, who do not seem to have the consumer’s safety in mind.  These malfunctions can cause serious car accidents if something breaks down while an automobile driver is operating their vehicle.

A used car’s lemon status can be further confused if they are sold to a dealer in another state that has less strict lemon laws to protect automobile drivers.  In California, it is required that the lemon status of out-of-state cars from continue to be displayed.  Some states are not as strict about this type of policy, and moving cars between states also raises the chance of paperwork getting misplaced or lost.

Our car accident lawyers don’t want to discourage you from buying used cars.  However, we would like to warn you about this problem.  Owning a lemon, especially unknowingly, can be extremely dangerous.  If any of problems arise while you is on the road, this could increase the risk of an automobile accident occurring.

Call us now at 1-858-551-2090 or click here for a free consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney after you get into a car accident and find out how we can help you. We speak English and Spanish, and we look forward to providing advice for your case. No fee if no recovery.