A new law in Calfornia will require new and used car dealers to first check their vehicles against a federal database, which could potentially indicate a problem with the car.
Salvage yards and other companies that deal with wrecked vehicles must submit information on VIN numbers to a federal database, which is open to consumers for a small fee. This is also where services such as Carfax get much of their data. However, the new lemon law compels dealers to check each of their cars themselves, and affix a red warning sticker to any car that has a checkered past, reports The New York Times.
Bob Blumenfield, the State Assemblyman who introduced the bill, told the news source that the bill had been a long time coming for the state.
"This is a protection that has been sought by consumer advocates for a decade, and at long last we have achieved it for the state that purchases more cars than any other in the country," said Blumenfield.
While lemon laws are certainly nice protection, buyers should never rush into a decision on a used car. It might cost a few extra bucks, but taking the vehicle into a certified and independent auto maintenance expert is worth any future car repair problems that could occur down the road.