In 1982, California became the first state to pass an
automobile “lemon law” which gave owners of defective cars the
opportunity to seek a replacement or a refund for a new car that
had a defect that could not be repaired in a reasonable amount
of time. This law proved so popular that other states soon
followed suit. Less than twenty five years later, all fifty
states have some sort of lemon law on their books. California
may take the lead again in the protection of auto buyers as the
state Assembly recently passed a “bill of rights” designed to
protect buyers of used cars.
This bill, which has not
been signed into law, would protect buyers of used cars from
deceptive lending practices, sales of lemon-law buyback
vehicles, and vehicles with frame damage. Buyers would also be
allowed three days in which to cancel the deal if they changed
their mind after the purchase.
This bill may or may not
become law, but it outlines the need for laws that cover sales
of used cars as well as new ones. While all states have a lemon
law that covers the sale of defective new vehicles, few states
have laws that protect buyers of used vehicles. As a result,
many buyers have become victims of deceptive practices such as
rolling back a vehicle’s odometer to show fewer miles, reselling
cars that have previously been bought back by manufacturers as
lemons and selling wrecked cars that have been repaired without
noting their accident history. In addition, many used car
dealers sell cars using deceptive financing terms that can add
hundreds or thousands of dollars to the cost of the vehicle,
often without the buyer’s knowledge.
If this bill does
become law in California, expect other states to follow, just as
they did with lemon laws. Consumer protection benefits everyone,
and laws protecting buyers of used cars are just around the
corner.
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