California Lemon Law Guide: the Lemon Law Protects Buyers of Used Vehicles if the New Car Warranty Was Not Expired at Purchase: Jensen v. BMW

California’s Lemon Law applies to any car “sold with a balance remaining on the manufacturer’s new motor vehicle warranty.” Jensen v. BMW, 35 Cal.App.4th 112 (1995).  In the Jensen case, a car with over 7,000 miles was leased.  BMW refused to repurchase the vehicle despite continual brake shudder problems that they could not fix after 6 attempts over three years.  A jury trial resulted in victory for the consumer, forcing BMW to both buy back the car and pay a stiff penalty.