Consumer Law

Windshield Wiper Defects Are A Winter Safety Hazard

Posted on November 15, 2010
The California lemon law covers defects that impair the use, value or safety of a vehicle. This is called the ?substantial impairment? rule. Only truly trivial matters fall outside the scope of the lemon law. To our surprise, some manufacturers try to tell car owners that defective windshield wipers are not worth worrying about and that a failure to fix them is not covered under the lemon law...

Honda Civic Tires Wearing Too Quickly - Where the Rubber Meets the Road

Posted on November 03, 2010

BMW Stalls In Traffic; Ultimate Driving Machine, or Ultimate Nightmare?

Posted on October 26, 2010
Kemnitzer Barron & Krieg attorneys are working on cases for clients with BMWs that have shut off in traffic. Investigation shows the following model BMWs may be subject to the defect that has caused our clients cars to stall: BMW 135i, 335i, 335xi, 535i, 535xi, X5 sdrive35i, X6 sdrive35i, Z4 sdrive35i...

Elizabeth Warren: A Common Touch and Perfect Sense

Posted on July 12, 2010
Now that financial reform legislation is headed for the final stretch of congressional debate, ordinary Americans are wondering, "What does it mean for me?" The best place to get an answer to that fundamental question is to ask Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard Law School professor who has been a powerful voice for consumers on the front lines of the financial reform effort, landing on the front page of Time Magazine, and numerous other publications, in the process...

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Many Suitors for Tesla Motors Technology

Posted on July 10, 2010
Tesla Motors? dance card is filling up fast. Tesla announced last May that it will make music with Toyota in producing all-electric vehicles at the dormant NUMMI plant in Freemont, California (see ?Toyota Closes NUMMI Plant in California,? posted on this blog April 1, 2010)...

Department of Insurance Slams Consumer Direct Warranty Services for Unlicensed Sale of Insurance

Posted on June 25, 2010
Dilbert taps into consumer frustration with the comic strip posted below. Call it wry humor. But the California Department of Insurance doesn't think consumer fraud is funny. Whether they are referred to as "service contracts," "extended warranties" or "mechanical breakdown insurance," vehicle repair agreements are a big profit center for new and used car dealers...

NCLC Consumer Resources

Posted on June 24, 2010
The National Consumer Law Center just launched a new website. Check it out here. The nonprofit center, headquartered in Boston, has been a premier source of assistance for consumers, legal services and consumer lawyers for decades. Its new website provides information on NCLC's recent reports, numerous publications and current initiatives...

Car Dealers Fear Financial Reform

Posted on June 11, 2010
Finance reform has been bumped from front page news by international incidents and the catastrophic BP oil spill. But even as public attention has shifted elsewhere, the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) has not lost its focus on Washington...

Vehicle Self Storage Is Not Always Safe and Secure

Posted on June 10, 2010
Many self storage facilities advertise long term garage space. Beware: this is a risky business for consumers. Storage companies often buy up properties in marginal neighborhoods on freeway frontage or on the fringe of town, where warehouse space is dirt cheap - but not always safe and not always secure...

Ford Motor Company May Drop Mercury Brand

Posted on May 30, 2010
A classic car is about to get even more rare. Remember the 1970 Mercury Cougar - a true icon of 20th century American highways? Who would have thought Ford would even consider dropping the brand? Yet, that was the buzz throughout the auto industry last week...

Infiniti Safety Recall for Airbags

Posted on May 10, 2010
Airbags in a car are like the lifeboat on a small vessel. You don?t need them often, but you do need to know that they will work in an emergency. The problem is there is no easy way to test them out, because once deployed they must be professionally repacked...

Toyota's Problems Continue

Posted on May 03, 2010
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported today that Toyota is recalling certain 2003 Sequoia SUVs for a problem in the vehicle stability control system. Should the problem occur, the Sequoia "may not accelerate as quickly as the driver expects,increasing the risk of a crash...

Main Street, Wall Street and the Auto Mall

Posted on April 22, 2010
Today, President Obama urged passage of the financial reform legislation presently before Congress. "Unless your business model depends on bilking people, there is little to fear from these new rules," he declared in a speech at Cooper Union in New York City...

General Motors and Chrysler Repay TARP Funds

Posted on April 21, 2010
The Obama Administration issued a report today entitled A Look Back at GM, Chrysler and the American Auto Industry. Actually, it is a short look back through the last tumultuous twelve months, to announce the unexpectedly rapid progress that General Motors and Chrysler are making toward repayment of their federal bailout money...

"Repo-Madness" - New Report Is a Must-Read

Posted on April 13, 2010
The National Consumer Law Center has just published a new report on the shocking state of repossession abuse throughout the country. The short but thorough "REPO MADNESS - How Automobile Repossessions Endanger Owners, Agents and the Public," by NCLC staff attorney John van Alst and investigative reporter Rick Jurgens, is a riveting must-read for anyone who is planning to buy a car on credit...

Consumer Literacy - A Case for Doing the Numbers

Posted on April 10, 2010
We are bombarded daily with advertisements for new cars, used cars, leased cars, rental cars, sales, auctions and swaps. When you can?t tell the ?no-down? from the ?low-down,? I say it?s time to slow down. Do the math. Don?t cringe! The fact is things cost money...

Repossession Class Action Settlements

Posted on April 02, 2010
The car repossession business is merciless, leaving consumers stranded without transportation. The idea that the repo man visits only deadbeats is a myth. We have heard nightmare stories of a car taken in the night after one late payment or a glitch in the way a dealer set up an electronic account...

Toyota Closes NUMMI Plant in California

Posted on April 01, 2010
The curtain closes this week on an iconic scene in American industrial history, when the last Tacoma truck and Toyota Corolla roll off the NUMMI assembly line in Fremont, California. Thus ends the last act of a drama in which 4,700 workers lost their jobs and the only major automotive factory west of the Rockies closed its doors...

Motorcycle Financing ? A Bumpy Ride on the Open Road

Posted on March 30, 2010
Motorcyles are all about freedom and fun and wind in your face. But that "open road" fantasy fades fast when the bills pile up in a frightening heap. For 50 years, Californians have enjoyed protections provided by the Rees Levering Act. This law applies to most street-legal motorbikes when sold with closed-end financing...

CERTIFIED USED CARS ? Is ?Certified? the new ?Organic??

Posted on March 29, 2010
?Certified? is one of those ambiguous marketing words like ?fresh? or ?natural? or ?organic.? These adjectives have different meanings for different people, but they all send the same message: ?Buy me - I?m better.? What about ?certified? used cars? Who certifies them, and how, and what does that mean? Before we get to the heart of the matter, consumers should know that dealers don?t even call these cars ?used? anymore...

Lemon Law Coverage for Wheel Chairs and Adapted Vehicles

Posted on March 24, 2010
This week, we received notification from NHTSA's Office of Defects and Investigation concerning Ricon wheelchair lifts used in Diamond Coaches. These vehicles are small buses used to transport senior citizens and others who are unable to drive. The defect notices involve nonconformities in the restraint belt and lift software which could result in possible injury to wheelchair occupants...

Daimler AG Settles Case Alleging Massive Bribery Scheme

Posted on March 23, 2010
Ever wonder why foreign dictators are so often depicted in black Mercedes Benz sedans? The answer might lie buried in court documents filed by the U.S. Justice Department today. The result of several years of criminal investigation, this case charges Daimler A...

Tire Recalls Remind Us All to Check the Tread

Posted on March 16, 2010
Several tire recalls went unnoticed last month, with media attention focused on Toyota recalls regarding sudden acceleration. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration notices, regularly delivered to my "lemon law" inbox, included manufacturer's voluntary recalls of SUV tires having a tendency to shred or exhibit ?chunking,? with potential crash consequences...

Kemnitzer, Barron & Krieg Launches New Website

Posted on March 16, 2010
Kemnitzer, Barron & Krieg LLP, the host of this California Lemon Law Blog, has just launched a new website with a Q&A section on a variety of consumer protection areas, ongoing consumer alerts, attorney biographies, internet resources, a bibliography and contact links...

Used Car History At Your Fingertips

Posted on March 10, 2010
Car buyers in the market for a used car now have a powerful tool to protect against dealer fraud, title washing, sale of rebuilt wrecks and other deceptive practices. The National Motor Vehicle Titling Information System (NMVTIS), a nation-wide database of used vehicle history is up and running...

Repossessions Have Serious Effect on Credit Score

Posted on March 07, 2010
Your credit score affects not only your ability to get a loan, but the interest rate you pay and many other aspects of personal finance. A car repossession is a big black blotch on your credit score. Contrary to popular belief, a voluntary surrender has the same negative impact on your credit report as a repo does...

Stopping Sudden Acceleration in Cars and Trucks

Posted on February 26, 2010
Even as Toyota struggles to find the source of sudden acceleration, the U.S. Department of Transportation is offering advice on what do to if sudden acceleration happens while you are driving. Until either the company or federal investigators discover what component is causing the problem, no advice is a sure thing...

Ford Motor Credit Company Repossession Class Action Settlement

Posted on February 12, 2010
Ford Motor Credit Company ("FMCC") has settled a class action involving 15,877 vehicle repossessions. For details on this case and other similar cases, click on Class Actions. FMCC will stop collection of approximately $110,810,774 in outstanding deficiency balances...

Buying Cars on eBay

Posted on November 15, 2009
eBay Motors states over 3 million vehicles have been sold through its site. No doubt the vast majority of buyers were satisfied, but attorneys in this office have talked to buyers who were defrauded by sellers using eBay. For example, one buyer found that the classic car he bought from an Arizona car dealer was rusted out...

Governor Signs Car Buyers Protection Bills

Posted on October 12, 2009
Gov Schwarzenegger signed two car buyer protection bills. Given the fact his own administration had publicly opposed them both, this is a stunning reversal. Senate Bill 95(Corbett) will require auto dealers to pay off liens on cars that were traded in with negative equity, before they can sell or transfer them -- which usually happens within a day or two -- or within 21 days (if they keep them that long)...

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