Car warranties are agreements that explain the repairs covered by the automaker for specific parts, limited by time and mileage deadlines. Before you sign anything, you should fully grasp the warranties applied to your vehicle. Only some warranties guarantee your rights under the California Lemon Law, and warranties only cover certain parts of your vehicle.
For example, add-ons not supplied by the manufacturer are not covered by warranties that ensure your lemon law rights. Additionally, “as-is” purchases are not covered by any warranty at all; “as-is” essentially means that you accept the vehicle with all possible defects, and waives warranties entirely. To understand your rights under the California Lemon Law, you should be familiar with these three types of warranties.
Implied Warranty
Referred to as the “implied warranty of merchantability” under the California Lemon Law, this type of warranty is automatically applied to products being publicly sold and requires that consumer goods are properly handled, conform to the expectations made by the label and are fit to be used as designed.
For cars, this essentially means that the car should be able to provide safe, reliable transportation.
Express Warranty
This is a written warranty supplied by the manufacturer that explicitly tells you what it covers.
Extended Warranty
Extended warranties provided by the manufacturer are covered under the California Lemon Law. Service contracts sold by the dealer or an outside party may be marketed as “extended warranties,” but these are not true warranties and do not actually count.
To learn more in relation to your recent or upcoming car purchase, read our California lemon law guide.
Lemon Law Help by Knight Law Group is an automotive lemon law firm that exclusively practices in California. If you are a California resident who purchased or leased a defective vehicle from a licensed dealership in California, we may be able to help you get rid of your potential lemon and recover significant cash compensation. Model year restrictions apply: 2017–Present vehicle models only.
However, we cannot help those who reside outside of California or purchased their vehicle outside of California unless they are active duty members of the Armed Forces, nor will we be able to refer those to a lemon law firm in their states.
To learn more about the California Lemon Law and your legal rights, visit our guides on the California Lemon Law and Used Car Lemon Law for more information.
