Get Out, Get Paid.

California’s Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act protects people who buy or lease defective vehicles. When a manufacturer or its authorized dealership cannot repair a vehicle to meet the warranty after a reasonable number of attempts, the manufacturer must replace the vehicle or refund the purchase price.

California’s lemon law covers most new vehicles and many used vehicles sold or leased in the state with a warranty. Coverage includes vehicles bought or leased for personal, family, or household use; vehicles bought for business use when the business has five or fewer vehicles registered in California; vehicles under 10,000 pounds gross weight; certified pre-owned vehicles from an authorized dealership; dealership-owned vehicles; and demonstrator vehicles.

If you have taken your vehicle to an authorized dealership or repair facility more than once for the same warranty problem and it still is not fixed, your vehicle can qualify. The fastest way to know is to have a lemon law attorney review your repair history at no cost.

You can choose a replacement vehicle or a refund. A refund can include your down payment, monthly payments, registration fees, taxes, the cost of repairs, and incidental expenses such as rental vehicles. The manufacturer also pays your attorney fees.

When a vehicle is a lemon, the manufacturer must promptly replace it or refund your money, and the manufacturer pays your attorney fees. We handle the claim, the paperwork, and the negotiation, and we bring every settlement offer to you for your decision.

The law does not set an exact number. As a general guide, a vehicle qualifies after two or more repair attempts for a serious safety defect, four or more attempts for another substantial defect, or 30 or more days out of service for warranty repairs. Even a single repair attempt can support a claim.

A repair attempt is any time you take the vehicle to an authorized dealership or repair facility to diagnose or fix a warranty issue. Manufacturers often argue that a visit counts only when the dealer performed warranty repairs. Our position is that every repair visit counts, whether or not the dealer completed the work.

It is not required, but an experienced lemon law attorney strengthens your claim at no cost to you, because the manufacturer pays the legal fees. Our attorneys have both prosecuted and defended lemon law claims, so we know how manufacturers build their side and how to counter it.

Nothing out of pocket. Many California lemon law firms take a contingency fee from your recovery. Trident charges no retainer, no hidden fees, and no contingency fee for lemon law claims. The manufacturer pays your attorney fees.

You have four years from the date you first noticed the vehicle could be a lemon. The sooner you call, the stronger your evidence and your claim.

Every case is different. Most run from a few months to over a year, depending on the facts and how the manufacturer responds. We are required to bring you every settlement offer, and the decision to accept or reject is always yours.

Certified pre-owned vehicles with a manufacturer warranty can qualify, because the manufacturer issued a new warranty to the buyer. A used vehicle sold with only the remainder of the original warranty generally does not qualify. Used-vehicle claims are more complex, so have an attorney review yours.

Vehicles bought through a private sale are not protected under California’s lemon law. The law applies mainly to vehicles purchased or leased from a manufacturer’s authorized dealership.

If a vehicle was serviced during the warranty period for a defect that was never repaired, California’s lemon law still applies.

Yes. Motorcycles are covered. For RVs and motorhomes, the chassis, drive train, and chassis cab are covered. Business vehicles qualify when the business has five or fewer registered vehicles and the vehicle weighs under 10,000 pounds.

Yes. Customized vehicles are covered, though the manufacturer is not responsible for defects caused by unauthorized customization. As long as the defect is not the result of that customization, the vehicle can be covered.