Unsatisfied Customer Getting "Lemon Law" Refund on His Lamborghini Gallardo Spider
08-26-09 | 09:48 AM
#1
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Unsatisfied Customer Getting "Lemon Law" Refund on His Lamborghini Gallardo Spider
Ralph Gertz received a full refund of $240,000 for his 2008 Lamborghini Gallardo Spider under Washington's state lemon law after the dealer was unable to resolve a chronic issue with squeaky brakes.
SEATTLE — It may be painted orange, but Washington state law agreed with Ralph Gertz that his 2008 Lamborghini Gallardo Spider convertible was a "lemon" and made the exotic sports car manufacturer give him the full $240,000 purchase price back.
Gertz, who previously owned the same car from the 2007 model year in yellow, called the Gallardo "wonderful" and praised its "unmatched" level of craftsmanship. However, he couldn't get satisfaction for his complaint that the brakes squealed, after repeated visits to the dealer in both Seattle and his winter home in Scottsdale, Arizona. Even after Lamborghini flew in technicians to work on the Gallardo, the brakes still were too noisy, complained Gertz.
He said he gave up hope when Lamborghini concluded the problem was unfixable and stopped talking to him. The Washington state office of the attorney general runs the state's lemon-law arbitration program, which was updated earlier this year to be more inclusive. The arbitration panel ruled in Gertz's favor and said Lamborghini must give Gertz his money back.
Washington's law states that if a vehicle has been in for repairs at least twice in 12 months and attempts to fix the problem have not succeeded, the customer can get his or her money back.
Scottsdale's ABC station broadcast an interview showing Gertz behind the wheel, telling his story.
Other Washington residents who have a similar complaint can read all about the lemon law regulations on the state's Web site.
Inside Line says: Bad news day for Lamborghini. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent
Gertz, who previously owned the same car from the 2007 model year in yellow, called the Gallardo "wonderful" and praised its "unmatched" level of craftsmanship. However, he couldn't get satisfaction for his complaint that the brakes squealed, after repeated visits to the dealer in both Seattle and his winter home in Scottsdale, Arizona. Even after Lamborghini flew in technicians to work on the Gallardo, the brakes still were too noisy, complained Gertz.
He said he gave up hope when Lamborghini concluded the problem was unfixable and stopped talking to him. The Washington state office of the attorney general runs the state's lemon-law arbitration program, which was updated earlier this year to be more inclusive. The arbitration panel ruled in Gertz's favor and said Lamborghini must give Gertz his money back.
Washington's law states that if a vehicle has been in for repairs at least twice in 12 months and attempts to fix the problem have not succeeded, the customer can get his or her money back.
Scottsdale's ABC station broadcast an interview showing Gertz behind the wheel, telling his story.
Other Washington residents who have a similar complaint can read all about the lemon law regulations on the state's Web site.
Inside Line says: Bad news day for Lamborghini. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent
08-26-09 | 11:03 AM
#3
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That's what first came to my mind too, but if Gertz's Gallardo Spider is the only example that shows this behavior (which I suspect to be the case since it was taken seriously enough to have technicians flown in for inspection), then he does have grounds to complain.
Last edited by Mister Two; 08-26-09 at 11:07 AM.
08-26-09 | 11:34 AM
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Wow..I can see where he is coming from. We have people here complaining about "they spent 60k on a car and it shouldn't rattle" which is a valid arguement.
Imagine spending 240k on a vehicle and you feel there is a defect? Surely you would insist on it being right!
Imagine spending 240k on a vehicle and you feel there is a defect? Surely you would insist on it being right!
08-26-09 | 11:58 AM
#7
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I would probably understand, however, that brake squealing and hissing is normal on a high performance supercar. You don't see me complaining about the IS-F's occasional hiss.
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08-26-09 | 12:11 PM
#8
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We can assume its similar but I have a feeling it must have been pretty bad. The guy DID own a Gallardo before. Clearly these brakes must have been very very loud for whatever reason.
08-26-09 | 01:23 PM
#9
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From: CA
If that was the only problem I would be happy to buy it "back" for a fraction of the cost due to the lemon title. 
It amaze me how dumb those techs working at the dealerships are, my benz had the same squeeling brake problem and they can't fix it after I repeately took it back, I was able to finally fix it by taking it to my local indy suspension shop after my guy applied some brake paste to the pads. 40 bucks and I am squeel free for over two years. ha
It amaze me how dumb those techs working at the dealerships are, my benz had the same squeeling brake problem and they can't fix it after I repeately took it back, I was able to finally fix it by taking it to my local indy suspension shop after my guy applied some brake paste to the pads. 40 bucks and I am squeel free for over two years. ha
08-26-09 | 02:25 PM
#13
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I wouldn't consider a slight brake squeal to be a lemon-law issue (there are too many cars out there, even new ones, with REAL problems 
). As long as the noise wasn't from prematurely worn-out pads (which causes a screeching/squealing noise when the wear-tabs contact the spinning rotors, indicating the need for an immediate brake job) or other premature brake problem (and most warranties don't cover brake pads/rotors, which are considered normal-wear items), then I don't see how the car is eligible for a quarter-million-dollar refund. If you are going to buy what is more or less a street-legal racing car, then don't complain about the noises from high-performance equipment. That's like buying a Porsche GT2 or GT3 and then complaining that the exhaust is too loud.
Apparantly he didn't (or must not have had) a similiar noise on his former 2007 model, but it's possible that Lambo is using different (and more effective) brake pads now.
). As long as the noise wasn't from prematurely worn-out pads (which causes a screeching/squealing noise when the wear-tabs contact the spinning rotors, indicating the need for an immediate brake job) or other premature brake problem (and most warranties don't cover brake pads/rotors, which are considered normal-wear items), then I don't see how the car is eligible for a quarter-million-dollar refund. If you are going to buy what is more or less a street-legal racing car, then don't complain about the noises from high-performance equipment. That's like buying a Porsche GT2 or GT3 and then complaining that the exhaust is too loud.Apparantly he didn't (or must not have had) a similiar noise on his former 2007 model, but it's possible that Lambo is using different (and more effective) brake pads now.
Last edited by mmarshall; 08-26-09 at 02:42 PM.
08-26-09 | 02:34 PM
#14
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The Gallardos were substantially upgraded in the 2008 model year. Most of the upgrades were interior and simply technology and convenience options, but I do believe that the Gallardo saw a revised braking and suspension system.
