Can Hiring A Lemon Lawyer Cost Me Nothing?

A defective vehicle may turn your life upside down, especially if it is your only means of transportation. Even if it isn’t, you spent money on a car that is continuously breaking down, or worse, the defects are putting you and your family at risk.

When someone informs you that attorneys represent clients who have bought lemons, you may dismiss it. Why? Because it’s an added expense on top of a building pile of them. Though you may not be charged each time the manufacturer attempts to resolve your car’s defective aspect (or aspects), there could be indirect costs that you inherit. However, there is good news—great news, perhaps.

Lemon Law Attorneys Aren’t An Extra Charge

Is a lemon lawyer free? No, they are not. But as a client, you will not be the one paying their fees; the manufacturer will.

You may already know that lemon laws enable you, the consumer, to have your car replaced. Or the manufacturer will buy back the vehicle. Where do the attorney’s fees come from if your car gets replaced?

California’s lemon law statute states that the car manufacturer pays the attorney’s fees and costs. You may be familiar with the concept that an attorney doesn’t get paid unless you win. When you are awarded a settlement, the attorney takes a percentage of it. This is not how lemon law attorneys operate. If you obtain compensation from the manufacturer who produced the defective car, none of that money goes to your attorney.

Any compensation you receive stays with you. The attorney who represented you keeps detailed records of the time and money spent on your case. You will never see this because it goes directly to the manufacturer.

A Different Perspective

In essence, a lemon law attorney only gets paid when they win. The benefit to you is that they have every bit of incentive to represent you vigorously. The critical difference is how they receive compensation for their services and where they come from.

An easier way to think of this is that you are entitled to recover your attorney’s fees despite never having to come out of pocket for them. You are on the receiving end of a bad deal, and it wouldn’t be just for you to have to pay to rectify the situation—to include potentially losing some of your financial compensation.

San Diego Lemon Law

If you have bought a lemon, there is nothing to lose and everything to gain by hiring an attorney. Attorney Doug Sohn has been practicing law for over four decades and has spent the last twenty years solely focusing on lemon law. If you have further questions or need an attorney to represent you because you bought a defective car, contact us at (619) 237-7646 for a free case review.