SoCalLemonLaw Blog

Don’t believe for a second that you are “above the lemon law” if you buy an ultra-expensive vehicle.

We’ve had Maybachs in the office recently and frankly, I would not buy one even if I could afford it easily. There are so many bells and whistles that the on-board computers have trouble keeping track of it all. They’re destined to have problems, as with the other ultra-pricey cars being pushed onto the market.

Hey, Warren Buffett drives a Lincoln Towncar and Sam Walton drove a pick-up truck. If these mega-billionaires drive normal vehicles, I think we all should take heed. Why not buy a reliable vehicle for an affordable price and invest the rest or donate to charity?

About a week ago I was contacted by a Bentley owner who had paid $250K for his car. The thing had obvious paint defects which could not be corrected, and, like so many lemon law situations, the dealer and the manufacturer started pointing fingers at each other and put the consumer smack in the middle without a resolution. He’s still trying to work this out without a lawsuit but I’m not optimistic. The problem is that the dealer would go cash-poor if it had to buy back a $250,000 vehicle, and Bentley the manufacturer is not making enough money to actually follow the lemon law and buy back defective vehicles. So, we may be headed to court on that one.

So, I had a brief mention of one of the largest extended warranty companies in Southern California in an article on one of my websites, and their attorney calls threatening to sue me because my article suggested that extended warranty companies don’t always keep their promises.

“Extended warranty companies not keeping their promises? Hey, that’s like…well, the sun rising in the East or some other highly unusual occurrence,” I smartly replied.

Anyway, under threat of boring and expensive lawsuit, I agreed to remove the name of the specific warranty company from my website.

In the course of my discussion with this attorney, I was amazed at the level of disconnect from which this guy suffered. He positively insisted that his company was strictly above-board and went out of their way to honor warranty claims. The consumers I have interviewed have given me the exact opposite story: generally, for very inexpensive repairs the extended warranty company will deliver, but if it’s a repair that’s more than, say, about $250.00, suddenly the warranty company has its inspector look very carefully and determine that the problem was caused by “owner abuse or neglect.” Result: claim denied.

We see this in my office on a frequent basis.

Since psychiatrists invent new (usually silly) diseases by the bushel load every time they republish their diagnostic manual, I figured I am entitled to invent my own disease as well. Here it is: “Disconnectitis”: the pathological state wherein a representative of a car dealership, an insurance company, an extended warranty company, a finance company, a credit bureau, a debt collector or a major car manufacturer insists that his or her company is “above-board,” “entirely honorable,” “pro-consumer” or any of the other usual hogwash, when in fact they are not.

Now, in truth, there are honorable and pro-consumer, law abiding corporations out there, and this new disease is not their diagnosis. You can usually spot the truly pro-consumer companies by noticing that they don’t have to beat their chests so loudly about how they’re pro-consumer, and instead spend their time and energy trying to figure out creative ways to satisfy their customers. Lexus comes to mind. Lexus is not perfect and has made lemons and I have had to bring lawsuits against Lexus on behalf of my clients, but, at least for the past four or five years, I have heard many clients comment on the level and quality of professionalism they have experienced when dealing with Lexus. Does Lexus run expensive ad campaigns telling people that they’re “pro-consumer” or “law-abiding”? Of course not. They let their customers do the talking.

Severe “disconnectitis” is the diagnosis one would give to, say, Enron, which was a complete fraud and which yet pounded its corporate chest in its inimitable Texas self-righteous manner about its morality and legality while it committed highway robbery on California during the energy crisis and defrauded its stockholders and investors.

That was a pretty severe example. However, I see smaller examples all around, and frequently represent consumers who were sucked in by these loud protestations of being “pro-consumer”, etc.

Solution? Simple: talk to your friends and acquantances. At the end, their own experience is a lot more valid and valuable than a corporation’s ad campaign.

My last post was about extended warranty companies but then I got into a new diagnosis of extended warranty companies and some other companies: disconnectitis.

Anyway, this is the post for how to handle a “claim denied” by an extended warranty company:

1. The inspector for the extended warranty company will usually be an independent inspector and not a member of the service department at a dealership or car repair facility. So, this is your big chance: obtain a complete diagnosis in writing from a technician before you submit your claim to the extended warranty company. Also, to protect yourself, have the technician rule out customer abuse or neglect.
2. Take photographs if appropriate.
3. If the inspector then finds “owner abuse or neglect” and tries to deny the claim, send a copy of your technician’s report, via certified mail, to the extended warranty company, demanding the repair.
4. If the extended warranty company still declines the service, then you have a lawsuit set up. For smaller repairs (less than $7500 in California), you can file in small claims court. For more expensive repairs, you should seek advice and representation from an attorney.

Hope this helps.