CALIFORNIA LEMON LAW DEBATED.Byline: Deborah Adamson Daily News Staff Writer While consumer advocates congratulate California for taking a hard line with Chrysler, they say there's still much to be done to strengthen the state's lemon law lemon law n. statutes adopted in some states to make it easier for a buyer of a new vehicle to sue for damages or replacement if the dealer or manufacturer cannot make it run properly after a reasonable number of attempts to fix the car. . ``Your lemon law is woefully woe·ful also wo·ful adj. 1. Affected by or full of woe; mournful. 2. Causing or involving woe. 3. Deplorably bad or wretched: in need of a tuneup,'' said Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety The Center for Auto Safety (CAS) was founded in 1970 by Consumers Union and Ralph Nader as a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying group focused on the United States automotive industry. , a Ralph Nader  This page is currently protected from editing until (UTC) or until disputes have been resolved. consumer group in Washington, D.C. He cites a 1992 survey ranking California in the bottom third of all states for protecting car buyers. A lemon law gives consumers the right to return a defective product to the manufacturer for a replacement or refund. But Bill Gengler, spokesman for the state Department of Motor Vehicles In the United States of America, Department of Motor Vehicles (or DMV) is a commonly used name of the government agency of a U.S. state which administers the registration of automobiles (e.g., by issuing license plates), and/or the licensing of drivers (e.g. , said consumers are ``adequately protected'' by California's lemon law. A vehicle is legally a ``lemon'' if at least four attempts have been made to fix the same problem within one year of purchase or 12,000 miles, or it has been in the shop a total of more than 30 days to fix several problems. Before reselling a vehicle, its ownership certificate must brand it a ``lemon law buyback.'' Manufacturers must put a decal on the vehicle door declaring it a lemon, and subsequent resellers must also disclose this information. But the California lemon law only affects vehicles for personal use, not ones used for business. |
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