What Documentation Should I Provide for my Lemon Law Claim?

Lemon law in California protects individuals who own or lease new or used vehicles, motorcycles, and other types of motor vehicles. Simply put, lemon law protects vehicle owners when their car is defective or faulty,which results in any effects that negatively influence their vehicle’s use, safety, or value. Essentially, this means that consumers are legally entitled to either a refund of the original payment (minus usage costs) or a replacement after taking their car in for problems or defects an unreasonable amount of times. The process of filing a lemon law claim in California and proving that you gave your manufacturer a reasonable amount of time or repair attempts before you file your claim is one of the biggest challenges when it comes to this process.

At Help With Lemons, we have experience with assisting our clients gather the proper documentation to build a strong case for their lemon law claim, which can be a very time consuming step in the process. If you’re starting to think about filing a lemon law claim…

First Type of Documentation: Repair Orders From Your Dealership

Repair Orders

When you drop your car off at your dealership any time you get repairs, your dealership prints out a document called a repair order. This document describes the vehicle that you brought in for repairs, what problems the vehicle has that require repairs, and it’s mileage at the time you brought it in. You should make sure that when you bring your vehicle in for repairs, that you clearly describe in serious detail all the issues that you’ve noticed with your car so that it will be included in the repair order. This printout then serves as a paper trail that proves all the problems with your vehicle and everything that you attempted to have repaired. Another similar document called a repair invoice is printed when you pick up your vehicle from the dealership after the repair attempt.

Repair Invoices

Your repair invoice is similar to your repair order because it describes all the repairs that your dealership attempted on the vehicle in addition to all the detailed problems you mentioned when you dropped off your vehicle. The most important part of your repair invoice is thAt this document includes everything the dealer did to try and repair the defect or fault. Everytime you drop off and pick up your vehicle from your dealership after a repair attempt, you should save all of your repair orders and repair invoices so that you have sufficient evidence of an unreasonable amount of repair attempts to provide for your lemon law claim.

Second Type of Documentation: Official Documentation of Vehicle Sale

Vehicle sales documents are provided at the time you first purchase or lease your new or used vehicle. The sales contract you are provided includes critical information about your date of sale, the cost of your vehicle, any aftermarket purchases you made, rebates, and information regarding trade-in. The information included in your purchase contract has a direct impact on the dollar amount you could receive as a refund for your faulty vehicle, so it is incredibly important to include this document with your lemon law claim.

Third Type of Documentation: Warranty Information

Information about your warranty is typically included in a booklet and is provided by your manufacturer. This document is important because it outlines all the warranties that cover your car. Every warranty is unique in terms of what it covers and how long the warranty is valid, so this information is essential to proving that your vehicle was under warranty when you had to take it in for multiple repairs. Your warranty booklet also helps prove that any repairs that your vehicle required were covered by your manufacturer’s warranty.

If You Need Help Preparing Documents for Your Lemon Law Claim, Speak With an Attorney Today.

At Help With Lemons, we are skilled at gathering the necessary documentation and providing a clear and sufficient timeline of your repair history to help build the strongest case possible. Finding and gathering all the documentation to provide proof for your lemon law claim can be one of the most time consuming and confusing steps in this process, so let us take some of this burden off of your shoulders. If you need to collect documentation for your lemon law claim and need professional help, please give us a call 844-744-0146 or email us at info@helpwithlemons.com for a free consultation.