DEAR SUZANNE
By Suzanne Henderson
LETTER 162 – From Land Rover Complainant
Dear Suzanne,
I once saw somewhere that the Land Rover Range Rover is the embodiment of perfection when it comes to transportation.
With its sleek build and interior architecture, it makes it a state-of-the-art multipurpose vehicle.
This was partially what prompted me to get the 2020 model.
I got the car brand new at a Land Rover dealership in California and it has less than 20,000 miles on it as of now.
Ever since I purchased this car, I’ve had to take it to the dealership several times, and even now it’s sitting at the repair shop.
In fact, in the past three months, I’ve taken the car in for repairs no less than three times. For what you ask?
All because random mechanical and electrical parts of the car keep malfunctioning.
Tailgate Party Foul
With the tailgate, the issue is that it sometimes doesn’t close all the way.
If you are familiar with how the Ranger Rover trunk works, you know the tailgate has both the upper and lower parts, and as such, people refer to it as “the dinosaur mouth”.
The problem is that sometimes when opening the trunk, only the upper part opens, the lower portion seems jammed. Sometimes, it could be that the lower part opens halfway while other times it’s even less.
Alongside the issue with opening the trunk, it is also a struggle to get it to close.
Sometimes when we close the tailgate, it doesn’t fold all the way to latch. Other times, it could be that the bottom part closes while the upper part doesn’t.
After reporting this issue to the dealership, they have tried everything within their means to get the problem resolved to no avail.
They replaced a part of the tailgate in hopes of fixing it, but still no luck.
As for the other times I’ve taken the car in, the dealership claims they can’t replicate the issue, so they had nothing to fix.
There was a particular occasion that remains vivid in my mind that occurred during a recent move.
I just got the new house and I needed to pack my stuff and get it over to my new place.
As careful as I was while driving, the car hit a speed bump and the half-closed tailgate opened all the way and emptied its contents on the road.
Thankfully, there were no other vehicles behind me at the time, so it didn’t cause an accident.
The only damage done was to the contents of my load. Some things were broken, but all in all, the important things were safe.
Tailgate Troubles to Infotainment Input Lag
Now, as for the electrical issues, the problem had to do with an extreme delay where pressing the buttons on the screen didn’t bring an immediate response.
Usually, the delay causes it to respond about six to seven seconds after hitting the buttons.
Another issue is that when connecting to the Apple CarPlay, the display on the screen shifts to the right so it becomes impossible to see the full screen.
All of these issues are still very much affecting the car and it seems like multiple visits to the dealership have yielded no results.
Even now, they are saying they want to order some parts to see if that would fix the problem.
I don’t believe that would have any impact since this is not the first replacement they’ve done.
Now, I don’t really know anything about the lemon law.
I was venting about my car problems to my friend and he asked me to check out if lemon law could help.
What do you suggest for moving forward?
Land Rover Complainant
You May Need to Dump Your 2020 Range Rover Like It Dumped Your Stuff in The Street
Dear Complainant,
I’m sorry to hear about the nonstop issues plaguing your Range Rover.
Once you find out you own a lemon vehicle, the next thing to do is get a lemon law attorney who can help with your case.
Usually, your attorney would look at how many times you have taken your car to the dealership for repairs.
This would be the opportunity they had to try to fix the issue while still covered by the manufacturer’s warranty.
In simple terms, the lemon law allows you and your attorney to submit a lemon lawsuit against the manufacturer.
This is because it’s the automakers that are responsible for making and selling these defective vehicles.
In the state of California, a vehicle is deemed defective if the dealership has tried to repair it twice regarding the same issue with no success.
If the dealership has tried repairing different issues at least three times without any solution, this also counts.
If the car has been at the repair shop for over a month, then it also counts as a lemon no matter the number of repair attempts.
Note that each of these visits must have occurred within the manufacturer’s warranty period.
Once you submit the claim, your attorney’s job is to help you get the most out of any of the following three options:
The Repurchase Offer
The repurchase offer, also known as the buyback option, is where the automakers repurchase the car from you and pay back what you spent on the vehicle.
In essence, they refund you your down payment, and monthly payments, your taxes and even the interest.
If you took out a loan on your vehicle, they would have to repay the financing company as well. This way, your credit doesn’t get affected in a negative way.
The only problem with this option is the factor called the mileage offset which allows the automakers to deduct a certain percentage from the buyback amount.
Essentially the automakers charge you for the period you drove the vehicle without the issues affecting it. They usually base this on the number of miles you had on the car when you took it in for the first repair.
The Cash And Keep
The cash and keep option is the one to go for if you don’t wish to get rid of your vehicle.
Here, the manufacturer asks you to withdraw the lawsuit while they give you cash compensation for the issues you faced with the car.
They allow you to keep the car as well as the warranty on the car.
You also get to have a clean title on the car so if you later sell it, you don’t have to tag it as a lemon vehicle.
The cash compensation they provide is based on the issues you had, the number of times you took the car in, and how long it spent at the dealership.
With this option, you can keep taking your car in for free repairs while still under the original warranty.
Note that once you exceed the warranty, you have to pay for any further repairs and you can no longer file another lemon case against the manufacturers.
The Replacement Option
The third option, although not particularly recommended, is the replacement or trade-in option.
This offer involves the automakers giving you the option of exchanging your Range Rover for another one with the same mileage, same market price, and same model as yours.
The problem with this offer is that you may end up getting another defective vehicle or worse as a replacement.
Lawyers Fees
Because you purchased your vehicle in California, submitting a lemon law case is 100% free for you.
This is because all lemon law cases are taken on a no win-no fee basis in this consumer-friendly state.
This means that you don’t have to worry about paying the automakers; it’s the manufacturers that pay off your lawyers.
This way, 100% of the original settlement goes over to you.
I hope after reading this you’re able to figure out where to go from here.
If there is any part of the lemon law that confuses you, feel free to reach out for clarification. Best of luck!
Suzanne
Featured Image: 2020 Range Rover Evoque in Fuji White by ©Elise240SX (CC Attribution Share-Alike 4.0 license)
Free Legal Advice About Your 2020 Land Rover Lemon Law Claim
Dear reader, are your vehicle problems ruining your life? Confused about what legal route to take? We’re here to help! Find information about California’s lemon law protections here, fill out the form on this page, or give us a call at (323) 553-7525 to discuss your situation with someone who understands how frustrating it can be to have a lemon car, and what to do about it.
DEAR SUZANNE is a weekly column written by Suzanne Henderson and published in LemonLawyers.ORG. If you have a defective lemon vehicle and have questions about California Lemon Lawyer or how to file a claim in California, please write to help@lemonlawyers.org. While not guaranteed, we will try to feature your letter in this column to provide you the answers you need, as well as enlighten other consumers who may have lemon problems similar to yours.
Disclaimer: Suzanne Henderson is not a lawyer and the points discussed here are intended for general information and reference purposes only and not to be construed as legal advice. Please consult a CA Lemon Law Attorney to get proper legal advice about your lemon law claim.
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