If you are driving a GMC, it goes without saying that you know what you are doing. You can handle various types of trucks and avoid rookie mistakes. If a GMC truck starts acting funny when it is new, it probably isn’t your mistake. California law protects the owners of cars, trucks, and other consumer vehicles from financial losses that can result from driving a defective vehicle. An Orange County lemon lawyer can help you if your GMC truck started giving you trouble almost as soon as you bought it.
What Can Go Wrong With Your Indestructible GMC?
GMC is famous as a manufacturer of light duty trucks, buses, vans, SUVs, work vehicles, and motor homes. These are some of the most popular GMC models:
- Hummer
- Sonoma
- Yukon
- Jimmy
- Suburban
- Safari
- Savana
- Handi-Bus
- Sierra
GMC vehicles are known for their durability, but any type of motor vehicle can have problems. These are some of the most common reasons that owners of GMC vehicles need to bring them in for repairs:
- Sudden failure of low beam headlights
- Engine stalling because of problems with the fuse block connection
- Failure of power steering because of poor electrical connections
- Transmission failure
- Air conditioning condenser leaks
While some of these problems are merely annoyances, others can quickly increase the risk of causing an accident that can lead to serious injury. If your GMC starts experiencing one of these problems, you should get it repaired promptly. If the vehicle is still under warranty from the manufacturer, you should take your truck to the dealership for repairs, and you will not have to pay for the repair work.
Which GMC Vehicles Does California’s Lemon Law Cover?
Federal and state laws require vehicle manufacturers to compensate consumers for financial losses associated with buying a defective vehicle. Under California law, a defective vehicle, also known as a lemon, is one that required repair while under warranty from the manufacturer, but which continued to have problems even after reasonable repair attempts. According to California’s Lemon Law, your vehicle is a lemon if one of the following these is true while the vehicle is still under manufacturer’s warranty:
· Its defects are severe enough to create a substantial risk of serious injury
· You have taken it in for repairs on at least four occasions
· It has been inoperable for 30 consecutive or non-consecutive days due to being in the repair shop
The Lemon Law applies to many types of vehicles that GMC makes, including pickup trucks, vans, cars, and SUVs, whether you bought them for personal use or business use. As for motorhomes, the Lemon Law also applies to their chassis, chassis cab, and drivetrain.
According to California’s Lemon Law, the manufacturer must replace your vehicle or reimburse you for it if it meets the definition of a lemon. The Lemon Law applies to all vehicles still under manufacturer’s warranty, whether they are new or certified pre-owned.
What Should You Do If Your Truck Is a Lemon?
If your GMC vehicle is a lemon, California law gives you the right to return the vehicle to GMC and get a replacement vehicle or a refund of the purchase price. You have the right to choose whether GMC gives you your money back or replaces your lemon with a new truck.
In order to get reimbursed or get a replacement vehicle under the Lemon Law, most vehicle manufacturers give you the option of going through an arbitration process instead of bringing your lemon claim straight to court. Even if you go through arbitration, you still have the right to reject the proposed arbitration agreement and resolve your lemon claim in court instead.
It is still a good idea to hire a lawyer even if you hope to get a replacement or reimbursement for your lemon through arbitration instead of going to court. If you go through arbitration, GMC chooses the arbitrator, so it has the home team advantage. If you do not hire a lawyer, it will be easier for GMC to pay you less than the amount that you are entitled or to argue that your truck is not actually a lemon and therefore does not qualify for reimbursement. Your San Diego GMC lemon lawyer has heard all the arguments that vehicle manufacturers make to get out of replacing lemons, and your lawyer knows counterarguments to all of them. California Lemon Law attorneys have the consumer’s best interests in mind and will help you not get stuck being financially responsible for a defective car.
In addition to Los Angeles and San Diego, the Lemon Lawyers have other convenient locations throughout Southern California. You can also visit our offices in Anaheim, Glendale, Costa Mesa, Riverside, Santa Ana, and Orange County. Contacting The Lemon Lawyers is the first step to trading in your lemon for a working GMC truck.