California Lemon Law State Ranking

November 7, 2002

Honorable Bill Lockyer
Attorney General of California
1515 K Street, Suite 638
Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Attorney General Lockyer:

The Center for Auto Safety has just completed a study of the lemon law in every state and the District of Columbia. We are pleased to inform you that California is number 1 with the best lemon law in the country. California moved up by adopting several strengthening amendments over the past five years including adoption of a safety lemon provision and inclusion of vehicles owned by small businesses. With over 100,000 lemons bought back each year, a strong lemon law is vital to consumer protection. States with strong lemon laws force the auto companies to take back their lemons. States with weak lemon laws force consumers to eat their lemons.

The ranking was based on 10 different categories corresponding to fundamental elements of a strong lemon law, with each category worth a maximum of 10 points for a total of 100 points. The categories are:
1. number of repair attempts or days out of service before an automobile was considered a lemon,
2. whether law had a safety lemon provision and how protective it was,
3. the length of the presumption period or coverage of the lemon law,
4. whether law had a garden variety lemon provision to cover multiple different problems,
5. the offset for use of the car when determining a refund price,
6. if the consumer is eligible for a civil penalty or double or treble damages,
7. types of vehicles covered,
8. is there a state run arbitration program,
9. is the consumer compensated for their attorney fees, and
10. whether refund reimburses consumer for all costs of purchasing and owning lemon
Points were deducted for provisions that negated major rights under the lemon law including whether consumer (1) was liable for manufacturer's attorney fees, (2) lost rights under other laws, (3) had to file lemon lawsuit within short time, and (4) had to resort to manufacturer's unfair arbitration program before filing lemon lawsuit.

California's lemon law still needs improvements to protect consumers and its number one rating. California lacks a garden variety lemon provision covering repairs for multiple different problems and it has a much shorter lemon law presumption period than other states. Finally, the state should set up a state run arbitration program modeled after New Jersey which gives consumes the option to use it or go to court. Examples of stronger provisions from other states are contained in the attached "Best State Lemon Law Provisions."

We urge you to review this survey and use your authority to help improve California's lemon law. We also want to thank you for your leadership while in the legislature to help pass the strengthening provisions to make California number one in lemon law protection.

Sincerely,

Clarence M. Ditlow
Executive Director

Ian Hill
Research Assistant