Lemon Check: How to spot a lemon...

Vehicles that ultimately become the subject of a California lemon law claim/case can easily go unnoticed by consumers - until the problems or issues become so repetitious or dangerous that they can simply no longer be ignored.

Spotting a lemon is fairly straightforward. The criteria a consumer uses should include:     

• Repeated trips back to the authorized dealer for warranty repairs for the same complaint.
   

• An unusually high number of days spent sitting in the dealers shop.
   

• An unusually high number of days waiting for back-ordered or "special order" parts.
   

• Noticing a drivability issue that substantially impairs the normal use of the vehicle.
   

• Experiencing an issue that affects the ability to safely drive the vehicle.
   

• An issue of an intermittent nature that the dealership service department cannot reproduce.

"Lemon check" your vehicles warranty documents. Take the repair documents out, and review them. You will likely find many more trips to the dealer for warranty repairs than you may recall. In looking through your repair documents, if you feel that you are missing any, visit your dealer and request reprints. If it is too far back, request a "warranty repair history" summary printout.