Picture this out, you are enjoying your brand new car but in less than two weeks you come across a serious defect. Not only is the defect a serious one, but you just bought a new car precisely to avoid this. What can you as an owner do in this case?
Warranty is always the first step in these kinds of situations, but sometimes a defect just refuses to get fixed, or it keeps your vehicle out of commission for too long and hence affects your day-to-day routine. In these cases, a regular warranty might not cut it anymore, and you might want to instead opt to rely on lemon law or even ask for a buyback. But what does this mean per se?
Today we’ll be taking a look at California lemon law buyback policies so you can protect your rights and interests and make sure your purchases are properly secured.
What is buyback?
In the briefest terms, possible buyback refers to the act or instance of buying something back, however, this transaction is rarely as straightforward as the term might imply. When it comes to vehicles a buyback refers to a process in which you return said vehicle to the manufacturer in exchange for reimbursement, as a way to cover the costs it incurred on the owner.
Buyback is a way to provide owners with economic compensation and make sure they recover some of the original investment, however, it’s important to keep in mind that it’s almost always a partial refund. Keep in mind that returning a full sale isn’t exactly good business for manufacturers and that a buyback is still a purchase so the manufacturer does need to cover title and registration costs amongst others.
That said buyback offers a way for consumers to get a monetary reimbursement instead of a repair or a replacement, which is a preferable alternative for many owners.
When does a vehicle apply for lemon law buyback?
The first thing you need to apply for a lemon law buyback process is to make sure your vehicle has experienced a defect in the first 18 months or its first 18,000 miles. New, leased and even used cars all apply for a buyback process but you need to make sure the months and miles haven’t been exceeded.
After that standard lemon law practice applies. The car manufacturer must attempt to fix the issue through its warranty and in case it can’t be fixed, it takes too many tries or it takes too much time you can then apply for lemon law compensation and in this case lemon law buyback.
Your manufacturer might offer a replacement instead, and it is important to keep in mind that you will face multiple deductions on the buyback over its mileage and any potential damage. But ultimately buyback is an important option to have and you have full right to choose the option that benefits you the most.