My Girlfriend Broke Up With Me Over My Unreliable Tesla X

DEAR SUZANNE

By Suzanne Henderson
LETTER 71 – November 2022 | Broken-up

Dear Suzanne, 

I am here to rant about my car because it has led to a split between me and my girlfriend. I am sure your next question would be how did that happen? To answer that, I have to start from the very beginning. I have never been one to talk about my relationship issues with outsiders, but since it involves my car, and I want your lemon advice, there’s no avoiding it. 

A while back, I leased a 2019 Tesla Model X that was always my and my girlfriend’s fantasy. It was leased brand new, but ever since that day, it has been giving me a hard time and this eventually led to a split with my girlfriend. 

Due to the repetitive nature of the car’s defects, I have had to take it for several repairs which most times were unexpected. And inevitably, these visits often clashed with dates with my girlfriend and as a result, I had to cancel several of them. 

The most vivid was the day I was supposed to take her to the salon to get her hair done, I set out to pick her up only for the car to keep jerking. When this happened, I immediately called them at the Tesla dealership to explain the problem, but they didn’t seem too concerned. Thus, I had to drive my car in that state directly to the dealer for them to diagnose the issue. 

Now, because of the urgency of the situation, I forgot to call my girl to let her know I would be unable to make it. And since this isn’t the first time something like this would happen, she blew the matter up, said I was as unreliable as my car, and finally called things off with me. Now, I’m left with a faulty Tesla Model X that currently has 45,966 miles on it and a very pissed-off ex-girlfriend. 

Aside from these car jerking issues, I had to have road assistance and my dealer help me out by fixing the faulty windows. The problem is that both the driver and passenger sides’ windows fail to roll up completely. Whenever I try to wind it up, it simply reaches halfway and then automatically goes back down. 

They, at the dealership, have tried to repair it several times by replacing the windows, the motor, and even the regulator. However, none of these ‘solutions’ worked out and the fact that this has happened about 5 to 7 times is proof of that. Now, I have another appointment for either today or tomorrow – I can’t remember – but I hope this time is the good luck charm. 

I am not familiar with the way lemon law works but I have all the documentation for every single time I have had to take my car in for repairs. It is also on the Tesla app which updates itself automatically anytime I have issues with my car and have it fixed. 

But then, I have a couple of questions though before taking up this lemon lawsuit; hope it will not affect anything regarding my other Tesla car. This is because it is quite common to hear stuff like Tesla retaliating due to someone taking up the lemon law against them. If there is an assurance of this, then I’m ready to move on with lemon law. 

Broken-up

Get Justice With Lemon Law

Dear Broken-up,

It’s sad to hear that your relationship was broken up because of your car that kept breaking down. Your car, which is still under the manufacturer warranty, is covered for the next 8 years or 150,000 miles and so, your attorney can get started. Since you’re not familiar with the lemon law, let me give you a quick rundown. 

Now, for your vehicle to be considered a lemon, it must first be purchased at a Tesla dealership which you did. After that, the next requirement is that you must have had at least two visits to the dealership to fix the same issues or three visits for different problems. Or the car might as well have been at the dealership for more than a month and all of these visits must have been done within the warranty period. 

As a lemon owner, the options available to you are three and they include:

1. The Repurchase
2. The Cash and Keep
3. The Replacement 

The Repurchase offer is the one that involves the manufacturers repurchasing the vehicle from you and paying you back every dime you have spent on the car. This offer gets you back your down payment, monthly payments, taxes, and interests. Also, if you took out a loan on the vehicle, the automakers will pay for that as well so your credit will not be affected negatively. 

The only thing that you must note with this option is the mileage offset. This is the deduction that will be taken by the manufacturers as commission for the period you drove your car during which it had no issues. It would be based on your mileage when you first fixed an issue with the car. However, the main goal of your attorney would be to get you as much settlement money as possible so they may be able to waive this offset in full or half. 

The Cash and keep is an offer that allows you to keep the vehicle while you get cash compensation for the issues you have faced with the car. The good thing about this option is that your warranty will remain valid and if you want to sell your car later, you can do so without deeming it a lemon to the next owner. 

As for the replacement offer, you will be given another vehicle as a replacement for the one you have. This replacement vehicle will be an exact replica of yours having the same mileage, color, model, etc as your current Tesla. The only issue is that you run the risk of receiving a defective vehicle as a replacement. 

Furthermore, purchasing your vehicle in California gives you an added bonus as all lemon law cases are taken on contingency. This means that you will not be charged any attorney fees as your car manufacturer is responsible to pay all legal fees. Therefore, the total settlement money won will be going over to you. 

Also, you can keep taking the car for repairs between now and when the case will be settled. This will help pile up more evidence that your vehicle is defective and your attorney can use this to get you more money. This is because the more repair orders you have, the more proof you have, and the more money you can win. 

And don’t worry about potential retaliation. A lemon law claim isn’t a frivolous lawsuit, it’s the law’s way of ensuring that Tesla upholds their guarantee of a safe and reliable vehicle as outlined in the manufacturer’s warranty. So don’t let those concerns hold you back.

Suzanne

Free Legal Advice About Your Tesla X 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 CA Lemon Law 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.

Related Articles:

• Eight Things You Need To Know About California Lemon Law
• How To Avoid Buying A Lemon & What To Do If You Already Bought One
• 7 Mistakes You Don’t Want To Make When Filing A Lemon Law Case

Featured Image:

• Tesla X ©Vauxford (CC BY-SA 4.0 License)