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When you win a lemon law buyback in California, the manufacturer must return nearly everything you paid — but it gets to keep one slice, called the mileage offset. It’s the only deduction the law allows, and it’s also the number manufacturers most often get wrong. Understanding how it works can be the difference…

Tesla leads the industry in technology, but its vehicles are not immune to defects — and California’s lemon law protects Tesla owners just as fully as owners of any other brand. If your 2024, 2025, or 2026 Tesla keeps coming back from the service center with the same unresolved problem, here are the defects…

Reviewed by Nick Movagar, Founder & Attorney, American Lemon Law Group  ·  Last updated August 2026 Key Takeaways Song-Beverly covers lessees on the same terms as buyers. Owning the vehicle is irrelevant to your right to a refund. You recover your capitalized cost reduction, security deposit, all monthly lease payments made, sales tax, registration…

If your new vehicle keeps returning from the dealership with the same unfixed problem, California’s lemon law may entitle you to a buyback. But how much you actually receive comes down to a specific, statute-driven formula — and manufacturers don’t always calculate it in your favor. Here’s exactly what a lemon law buyback is,…

If you have been back to the dealership three or four times for the same problem, two questions are probably keeping you from picking up the phone: “How long is this going to drag on?” and “Am I going to lose a big chunk of my refund?” Both fears are understandable. Both are also…

If your vehicle qualifies as a lemon in California, one of the first questions you’ll ask is simple: how much money will I actually get back? The answer comes down to a formula in the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, and for most owners a buyback returns nearly everything they paid — minus one small…

When you buy a new vehicle, you expect it to work. When it doesn’t — and the repairs keep piling up — the experience can feel overwhelming, expensive, and slow to resolve. This is the story of one California driver who decided not to wait it out, and what her experience with American Lemon…

Not every car problem qualifies for Lemon Law protection in California — but many more do than most vehicle owners realize. California’s Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act covers any defect that substantially impairs a vehicle’s use, value, or safety and that the manufacturer cannot fix after a reasonable number of attempts. The law is broad,…

When you buy a new car in California, you receive a manufacturer’s warranty. Most people understand this as a promise that covered repairs will be done for free during the warranty period. But many California car owners do not realize that the manufacturer’s warranty and the California Lemon Law are two entirely different protections…

California’s Lemon Law gives you powerful rights when your vehicle is defective — but those rights are not unlimited in time. If you miss the filing deadline, you lose your right to pursue a claim entirely, no matter how strong your case is. Understanding the statute of limitations for California Lemon Law claims is…

One of the most common questions California vehicle owners ask is: ‘How many times does my car have to be in the shop before I qualify for Lemon Law protection?’ The answer is more nuanced than a single number, but once you understand the rules, you will know exactly where you stand. California’s Lemon…

Electric vehicles now account for a significant share of new car sales in California — the nation’s largest EV market. But owning a cutting-edge electric vehicle does not make you immune to defects. Battery failures, charging system malfunctions, software glitches, and range degradation are real problems that leave EV owners frustrated and financially exposed….