Glendale Lemon Law

Most Song-Beverly cases by Glendale residents are filed at the Los Angeles County Superior Court's Stanley Mosk Courthouse at 111 N. Hill Street in downtown Los Angeles. Cases are filed against the manufacturer, not the dealer. Los Angeles County is the proper venue if you reside there or bought or serviced the vehicle locally. Filing fees for unlimited civil cases run around $435. Most lemon-law attorneys file electronically and handle venue selection for you, so you generally don't appear in person unless trial is set. Armenian, Spanish, and Korean bilingual representation is widely available.

Yes. Cal. Civ. Code 1791(g) defines 'buyer' to include a lessee under a retail lease, and the Tanner Act expressly applies to leased new vehicles. Recovery on a lease lemon typically includes lease termination, refund of all monthly payments and capitalized cost reduction, official fees (tax, license, registration), and the manufacturer's payoff of the residual to the lessor. The use offset under Cal. Civ. Code 1793.2(d)(2)(C) still applies, but the formula remains favorable when defects appear early in the lease. Keep your lease agreement, payment history, and every Repair Order.

If four documented repair attempts on the same nonconformity occurred within 18 months or 18,000 miles, the Tanner Act presumption under Cal. Civ. Code 1793.22(b) likely applies, meaning the manufacturer is presumed to have failed a 'reasonable number of attempts.' At that point, you can demand a buyback (full refund minus use offset) or replacement under Cal. Civ. Code 1793.2(d). If BMW refuses, you can sue and seek up to a 2x civil penalty for willful violation under 1794(c), plus attorneys' fees under 1794(d). Most California lemon-law firms handle these on contingency.

Generally yes. Song-Beverly covers any nonconformity that substantially impairs use, value, or safety, and software-induced defects (phantom braking, Autopilot dropouts, infotainment failures, charging faults) count as nonconformities when documented. Tesla's mobile service visits and Service Center invoices both qualify as 'repair attempts' if they address the same complaint. You'll want a printed or PDF copy of each service invoice. Over-the-air software updates that don't generate an invoice are harder to count, so request a written repair record for every visit, even short ones.

Cal. Civ. Code 1793.2(d)(2)(C) reduces your refund by a use offset calculated as (purchase price x miles driven before first delivery to the dealer for repair of the nonconformity) / 120,000. So if you paid $70,000 and the defect first appeared at 5,000 miles, the offset is ($70,000 x 5,000) / 120,000 = $2,917. Only mileage before the first repair attempt counts, not total miles. Refund also includes taxes, license, registration, finance charges, and incidental damages. The earlier the defect appears, the smaller the offset, which is why early-warranty defects often produce the strongest recoveries.

Nothing upfront. California lemon-law cases are typically handled on contingency because Cal. Civ. Code 1794(d) requires the manufacturer to pay the prevailing consumer's reasonable attorneys' fees and costs separately from your recovery. You keep your full refund or replacement; the manufacturer pays your attorney's fees on top. Be cautious of any firm that asks for an hourly retainer or a percentage of your refund proceeds. A reputable Song-Beverly firm should provide a written no-fee engagement letter that clearly explains the contingency structure before you sign anything. Bilingual representation is widely available.