State Lemon Law 20 years old

Since 1982, the law has protected consumers who buy or lease new vehicles with serious warranty defects that the dealer or manufacturer can't repair after a reasonable number of attempts. The law has become the model for similar laws enacted in all 50 states. In the past six years, the law has generated nearly $1 billion in relief to consumers who purchased defective vehicles."

In Sacramento, Kathleen Hamiltion, director of the California Department of Consumer Affairs, heralded the law's author, former Assemblywoman Sally Tanner, and Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety founder Rosemary Shahan for creating the law. Shahan, a former lemon [damaged auto] owner, picketed outside a dealership in Lemon Grove in 1979 and later turned in her sign to lobby for Tanner's bill.

"Our lemon law is one reason our roads are as safe as they are," Shahan said, "and why vehicle owners in California have the best hope for getting a 'peach.''

-- Stefanie Frith, Associated Press, June 20, 2002
Published in newspapers throughout California

 

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