🍋 Blvd Law Group, APC | CA Lemon Law | Buyback, Cash or Replacement | Manufacturer Pays Legal Fees

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Last updated: 07/13/2026

You did the work to get the right deal on the way in. If the car turns out to be a lemon, there’s a second deal on the way out, and most people leave it on the table.

If your car keeps going back to the dealer for repeat issues, California’s Song-Beverly Act gives you real leverage against the manufacturer. We can help get you the following:

  • A repurchase (buyback) - your drive-off, monthly payments, and most recent registration payment, minus a mileage offset (based on mileage at first repair attempt).
  • A replacement vehicle, or
  • A cash settlement - you retain your vehicle.

Leases, finance deals, and cash purchases are all covered the same way, the claim runs against the manufacturer’s warranty, not your financing.

You may have a claim if:

  • Your car has been in for repair 4 or more times for the same concern (fewer if it’s a serious safety problem), or
  • It has spent more than 30 cumulative days in the shop, and
  • Vehicle was leased/purchased as a New or Certified Pre Owned (CPO) vehicle
  • The problems started while the manufacturer’s warranty was in effect

What it costs you: $0. California’s lemon law makes the manufacturer pay the attorney’s fees and costs in a successful claim. That’s not a promo, it’s how the statute is written, and it’s why lemon law is one of the only areas of law where hiring an attorney is genuinely free to the consumer.

Who we are: Blvd Law Group, APC is a California lemon law firm based in Sherman Oaks. We handle claims statewide, with heavy experience in the brands this forum leases most - Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Volvo, Porsche, Land Rover - plus domestic and EV brands.

How to reach us:

Feel free to ask general lemon law questions right here in the thread. We check it regularly.

We’re car people, we get why you’re on this forum, and we know how much research goes into landing the right car at the right number. Which is exactly why it stings when that car spends more time at the dealership than in your driveway. Nobody plans for that, and most people just eat it: they ride out the lease frustrated, turn the car in, and move on.

You don’t have to. The law is genuinely on your side here, and using it costs you nothing.

So here’s our commitment to this community: reach out to us with your questions and we will give you straight answers, including “you don’t have a case, don’t waste your time,” when that’s the truth. No pressure, no upsell. If we’re only ever useful to you as a free sanity check, that’s fine by us. And if your car does turn into a lemon, you’ll know where we are.

FAQ

I’m leasing - do I really have the same rights as a buyer? Yes. Song-Beverly expressly covers lessees of new and CPO vehicles under the manufacturer’s warranty. In a buyback, you’re generally entitled to recover what you’ve paid into the lease (drive-off, monthlies) and the manufacturer pays off the lease, minus a usage offset based on miles driven before the first repair attempt.

Can I keep driving the car while the claim is pending? Yes. Keep driving it, keep making your payments, and keep servicing it at an authorized dealer. Stopping payments will hurt you; the claim won’t.

Does a lemon law claim affect my credit? No. It’s a claim against the manufacturer, not a default on your lease or loan.

My lease is almost over, is it too late? Not necessarily. If the problems happened during the warranty period, a claim may still be viable even near (or in some cases after) lease-end. Don’t turn the car in without checking first, you may be leaving a buyback on the table.

What about CPO or used cars? Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) vehicles are covered, used vehicle are not. Even if you bought the vehicle straight from the manufacturers dealership, if they sold it to you as a used vehicle, you may not have covered.

What counts as a “repair attempt”? Generally, each visit where you present the vehicle to an authorized dealer for a warranty problem. The dealership has a to verify the concern, and do some form of repair. Recalls generally do not count as a verified repair visit because they give you prior notice that your vehicle “may” be affected. However, if you had a recall repair done, and then the same issue keeps happening, those count.

Do I have to go to court? Most claims resolve without a lawsuit or with a lawsuit that settles well before trial. The overwhelming majority of our clients never see a courtroom.

I got my car through a broker on this forum, does that change anything? No. Your claim is against the manufacturer, not the dealer or broker. Your broker isn’t involved and isn’t affected.

Blvd Law Group, APC 14925 Ventura Blvd, Suite 212, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403. Attorney Advertising. The information in this thread is general information only, not legal advice, and reading or posting here does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different; prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

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Blvd Law Group, APC - Lemon Law Attorneys - California
What should i do? I have a warranty issue with ram 1500
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Welcome to LH ! Im sure a lot of folks would benefit from your guidance on here. Are you guys able to help out of state clients as well and if not, able to give general advice ?

Blvd Law Group, APC - Lemon Law Attorneys - California
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Thanks for the welcome!

We’re licensed in California, so that’s where we can actually represent people. If the car was bought or leased in CA, we’ve got you (even if you’ve since moved out of state).

For out of state claims, honestly the better move is a firm that works in your state. Lemon laws vary a lot state to state, and you want someone who deals with your law every day. We know reputable firms around the country and are happy to point anyone in the right direction. Just DM us with your state and we’ll make an intro.

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Hopefully this is the right forum to ask you:

If your vehicle has been out of service for more than 30 days, but it was repaired, how long do you have to file a claim? Does the wait between the 30 days and claim reasonably affect the dispute with the manufacturer?

Also, who is the arbiter if you’re unable to settle with the manufacturer?

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Great questions.

Generally you have until 1 year after the vehicles warranty expires or 6 years from original delivery date to submit a claim. The wait between your most recent repair visit and when you submit the claim does not matter too much as long as you’re within that statute of limitations I mentioned.

If we’re unable to reach a resolution at the pre-litigation stage, the following step is to file a lawsuit. After a lawsuit has been filed, we go through mandatory mediation (most cases come to a resolution at this stage). If we don’t come to a mutually agreed resolution during mediation, we then proceed with the litigation process, all the way to trial. Reality is, most cases never reach trial.

You’re right to mention arbitration because some manufacturers have arbitration clauses in their purchase/lease agreements. However, most of the time they are unenforceable. We’ve learned how most manufacturers treat lemon law claims. Some are more willing to play ball than others.

We would be more than happy to review your specific case to give you more insight. Feel free to contact us directly.

General info, not legal advice. Specifics depends your facts and timelines.

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Thought it might be useful to start sharing real-world scenarios from our files - actual repair histories, what the repair orders said, and what makes a case a case. It’s one thing to read the statute; it’s another to see what a lemon actually looks like on paper. Details scrubbed for privacy. First one up.

2023 Luxury SUV purchased as a Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) vehicle with under 2,000 miles on it

Visit 1 - 9,000 Miles: Client states sunroof will not close all the way. Dealership verified the concern, found that several control modules were out of date and had lost calibration. Updated and calibrated those control modules. 3 days out of service.

Visit 2 - 10,500 Miles: Client states low coolant message appears intermittently. Dealership verified the concern, found thermostat housing is leaking, caused by a pinch in the thermostat seal. Replaced the thermostat seal, drained and filled coolant. 1 day out of service.

Visit 3 - 27,000 Miles: Client states low coolant light is on again. Dealership verified the concern, found the turbo coolant hose leaking from the O-Ring. Replaced the coolant hose assembly. Drained and filled coolant. 6 days out of service.

Visit 4 - 33,000 Miles: Client states low coolant light is on yet again. Dealership verified the concern, found that the pipe between the oil cooler and coolant pump was leaking. Replaced that pipe. Drained and filled coolant. 7 days out of service.

Visit 5 - 35,500 Miles: Client states coolant light is on AGAIN (final visit). Dealership did not find any leaks this time, however, they did replace the coolant expansion tank anyways. They used the words “renewed” expansion tank on the repair order, which makes it sound more like maintenance than a repair, but the fact is that they actually did replace the part. 2 days out of service.

That’s four visits related to coolant issues, and the dealership replaced a different part every time.

We secured a full repurchase for this client, including a refund of their down payment, all the monthly payments they had made, and the most recent registration renewal, minus a mileage offset (based on the miles at the first repair visit). Client paid $0 in attorney’s fees, the manufacturer paid them.

2 Key takeaways from this file:

1. CPO Counts: This vehicle was a certified pre-owned (CPO) car, not new, but it still had the balance of the factory warranty, and warranty repairs during that coverage build a claim the same way they would on a new car. Only new and CPO vehicles are protected by California Lemon Law.

2. Watch the RO language: “Renewed coolant expansion tank”. That’s a part replacement described as maintenance. Read your repair orders before you drive off, and if the paper doesn’t match what the service advisor told you, get it in writing.

I hope this type of post helps you guys get an idea of what a lemon looks like. If your car’s repair history looks anything like this, contact us for a free consultation.

General info, not legal advice. Every case is different. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

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The best, free legal advice on the Internet. Glad to see a Lemon Lawyer finally joined - welcome to LH.

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Appreciate that and thanks for the welcome! This community clearly knows its way around a deal sheet, figured we could show what the other end of a car deal looks like when it goes sideways. More case breakdowns coming soon. :lemon:

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The math of a lemon law buyback :lemon:

You guys reverse engineer lease deals all the time, so let’s do the same for a repurchase. When a manufacturer buys back a vehicle under California law, here’s what the deal sheet looks like:

What comes back to you:

  • Down payment / drive-off
  • Every monthly payment you’ve made
  • Latest registration renewal fee
  • Loan or lease payoff (the manufacturer’s problem, not yours)
  • Incidental costs (tows, rentals) can come back too

What gets deducted (the mileage offset):

The formula used to calculate this deduction is: miles at the first repair attempt/120,000 x purchase price.

That’s the only haircut, and here’s the part almost nobody knows: it locks at the first repair visit for the problem. Every mile after that is on the manufacturer.

Here’s an example: first visit at 5,000 miles on an $80k vehicle = about a $3,300 offset, whether the buyback happens at 6,000 miles or 40,000 miles. You could drive it another two years while the claim gets sorted and the offset doesn’t move.

Two takeaways from the formula:

  1. Report problems early. The guy who ignores the coolant light until 20,000 miles pays roughly 4x the offset of the guy who brought it in at 5,000. Procrastination has a literal price per mile.
  2. Keep driving the car. You don’t park it, you don’t stop paying, and the miles you put on during the claim are free.

And our attorney fees are paid by the manufacturer: California law makes the manufacturer pay the attorney’s fees in a successful claim - it’s the only deal sheet where the transaction costs are someone else’s problem.

Curious what the offset would be on your car? Miles at first repair Ă· 120,000 Ă— what you paid. If your repair history looks like our last case-notes post, DM us or call at (818) 319-3194.

General info, not legal advice - every case turns on its facts. Actual refund calculations have more line items and depend on the specifics. Attorney advertising.

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Thank you for your contribution and helpful insights!

I’m based in FL, but hopefully not much different from CA. In May of this year I got a mercedes glc63amg deal and it was brand new and 16.5k one pay at signing for 2yr/12k lease. At 1k miles I turned into local dealer for infotainment disconnections and also said check engine showed up once. The infotainment got fixed and ended up being a software issue that i just got a notice about last week. For check engine the Dealer said it was a rear actuator problem and basically they had the vehicle for over 30 days to fix it. Part came in quickly but took 20+ days for AMG to verify the coding? I almost lemon there from being impatient, but finally got the car back supposdly fixed.

Fast forwarding to today and 1300 miles later I’m not seeing a check engine but the car feels so jumpy when braking at lights with sport mode on (honestly has always felt this way) and making really hard vibrations mostly only when coming out of my garage and turning into road but disturbing enough for me to want to get it checked out (about one week of this issue now)

Im considering trying a different dealer to look at it, mostly because i was not confident in the first dealer and they had horrible communication. Is it advisable and okay to get checked by another dealer? If they find nothing wrong then will the days spent with dealer not go toward a buyback?

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Appreciate the kind words!

Seems like you may have a case. If you’re still experiencing symptoms, I would make an appointment right away.

Florida Lemon Law is a little bit different than California, but one similarity is that if the vehicle was out of service for over 30+ days, then it may qualify for a repurchase.

Can you go to a different dealership? Yes, warranty repairs at ANY authorized dealership count. It’s entirely your choice which dealership you take your vehicle, every visit can be at a different dealership, it would not disqualify your case.

If the new dealership does not find any issues with the vehicle then no those days won’t count towards your claim, but the previous repair visits still do. At over 30+ days in service, it is worth looking over.

Feel free to DM us or call us directly at (818) 319-3194, I would be more than happy to look over your case in more detail.

General information, not legal advice. Florida’s rules differ from California and turn on your specific facts. Attorney advertisement.

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Case notes #2: the car that showed its owner a turtle :lemon:

Back with another real-world file, details scrubbed. This one’s for everyone wondering how the “30 days out of service” rule actually plays out.

2025 luxury vehicle, leased with delivery miles on it. Here’s the service history:

  • Visit 1 — ~7,300 mi: Check engine light. Dealer verifies, finds a fault in the emissions system, replaces a defective purge valve. (Client also reports an airbag warning message — dealer writes “could not duplicate.”) 3 days out of service.
  • Visit 2 — ~10,700 mi: Check engine light again — same exact fault code as Visit 1. This time it’s a sticking valve on the same purge line. Parts replaced, software updated, code cleared. 8 days.
  • Visit 3 — ~22,200 mi: Check engine light, and now the car is down on power. Electrical fault in the turbo’s wastegate actuator — actuator replaced. (Client also reports the transmission intermittently kicking — “could not duplicate.”) 4 days.
  • Visit 4 — ~23,200 mi: Check engine light, no power, and the dash presents a turtle symbol. That’s limp mode — the car formally announcing it will now be participating at reduced capacity. Diagnosis: mechanical failure of the wastegate inside the turbocharger. Turbocharger replaced. 20 days out of service.

Now the number that matters: 3 + 8 + 4 + 20 = 35 days. California has a presumption guideline built around a vehicle being out of service for 30+ cumulative days during the warranty period. Cumulative, not one long stay. Four separate visits, each one individually “reasonable,” quietly add up to a vehicle that spent over a month of its first two years in a service bay.

Takeaways from this file:

  1. Days stack across visits. Nobody’s single visit felt like a lemon. The math is the lemon. Keep every RO and track your days, most people crossing the 30-day line have no idea they’ve crossed it.
  2. Same fault code returning = the fix didn’t fix it. Visit 2 pulled the identical code as Visit 1. Different part replaced each time, same underlying problem, and as we covered in the last case file, playing whack-a-mole with parts doesn’t reset the count.
  3. Limp mode is not a quirk. When the car cuts its own power on public roads, that goes to use and safety, the heart of what the lemon law protects. If you’ve met the turtle, take it seriously even if the dealer shrugs it off.
  4. Report everything, every visit. The airbag message and transmission kick both went on the ROs even though the dealer couldn’t duplicate them. That’s exactly right, “could not duplicate” is still a documented complaint, not a dead end, and if the same concern is brought up again and the dealership actually does a repair that time, then the previous could not duplicate visits actually play a role.

Ever done the math on your own service history? Add up your days out of service and post the number below, along with visits and what got replaced and we’ll give you a straight read. Some of you are going to surprise yourselves.

General info, not legal advice — every case turns on its facts. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

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The four phrases on your repair order that should make you pay attention :lemon:

Spent enough time reading ROs that I can tell you that service advistor vocabulary is remarkably consistent across brands. Four phrases come up constantly, and each one means something specific for your file:

“Could not duplicate.” Translation: it didn’t act up during the twenty minutes we had it. This is not a finding that nothing is wrong, and - important - the visit still counts. Report it, make sure it lands on the RO in writing, and don’t let anyone tell you a CND visit was a wasted trip.

“Operating as designed.” Translation: we’re declining to fix this. It is not a legal ruling. If your transmission shudders or your infotainment reboots on the freeway, “they all do that” doesn’t erase the repair attempt.

“Within manufacturer specification.” The cousin of the above, with more math energy. Sometimes true. Sometimes it means the spec is wide enough to accommodate a problem you can plainly feel from the driver’s seat.

“Renewed [component].” This one’s my favorite. It’s a part replacement wearing a maintenance costume - and it shows up on ROs where the customer was told something much more casual at the counter. Always read the paperwork before you drive off.

Your turn: what’s the worst thing a service department has ever put in writing on your RO - or told you verbally that didn’t make it onto the paper at all? Genuinely curious how bad these get across brands. (Keep it to what happened, not which store.)

General info, not legal advice. Attorney advertising.

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Case notes #3: two steering wheels, one very expensive car :lemon:

Another real file — details scrubbed. A six-figure German performance car, leased new.

First year: a handful of visits for a coolant light, a spoiler that kept throwing a fault (dealer called it “working as designed”), a lane assist failure, and a battery warning. Nothing alarming on its own. Normal-teething-problems territory.

Then the steering started.

~14,600 mi — 3 days
In for tires. Dealer notices an assist steering inoperative message. Software update, sent on their way.

~20,600 mi — 4 days
Active steering light on. Internal failure found in the steering wheel itself. Steering wheel and controller module replaced, programmed. Road test — light comes right back on. Replacement parts special-ordered from Germany.

~22,200 mi — 2 days
Client came in to replace tires, parts still haven’t arrived from last RO. Come back later. No new issues but the report helps.

~22,400 mi — 15 days
Parts finally land. Steering wheel replaced a second time, reprogrammed.

~22,500 mi — 10 days
Now every startup throws an active steering malfunction. The hand-detection sensor mat in the control unit has failed — caused by the steering wheel. Control unit and hand detection system replaced.

Total: 31 days out of service on one system. Two steering wheels. Under 23,000 miles.

Three takeaways:

1. Days waiting on parts still count. Fifteen days down waiting on a part from Germany is fifteen days without your car. Nobody at the dealer is being difficult — but the calendar doesn’t care whose fault it is.

2. “Come back when the parts arrive” is still a visit. That two-day trip where nothing got fixed is on the record. Get an RO every time, even when they hand your keys back and shrug.

3. A repair that needs another repair isn’t a repair. Steering wheel replaced → light returns same day → replaced again → the replacement takes out the hand-detection module. That’s one system that was never made right, not three separate incidents.

Worth saying plainly: this owner did everything right. Every symptom reported, every visit documented. The car just kept being the car.

Add up the days on your own service history — not the total, but the days tied to the same problem. DM us the number with what got replaced each time, and we’ll give you a straight read.

General info, not legal advice — every case turns on its facts. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.