Seeking a Fresher Lemon Law

* Putting the squeeze on legislators

Representatives from a couple of consumer groups dumped a wheelbarrow full of lemons on the doorstep of Assemblyman Jim Morrissey’s campaign office on Wednesday to protest his role in killing a revised and strengthened lemon law in the last legislative session.

Although California was one of the first states in the nation to pass a lemon law, which allows new-car buyers to return defective automobiles, it desperately needs updating, says Rosemary Shahan, executive director of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety.

Why? It doesn’t apply to vehicles that are used for business. So real estate agents who buy a car to cart around prospective clients; contractors who rely on trucks to get them and their equipment to work; and tour bus operators, who carry tourists up the coast, don’t get the same protections as everyone else.

And while many other states allow a car with severe safety defects--faulty steering or brakes, for example--to be returned as a lemon after only two failed repair attempts, California law requires consumers to risk their lives four times over, Shahan says.

Finally, the state’s auto arbitration procedure allows manufacturers to stack the deck in their own favor--at times refusing to allow consumers to speak on their own behalf and holding arbitration hearings hundreds of miles from the consumers’ homes, she adds. In the end, arbitrators aren’t even required to adhere to the law. They merely must “take it into account.”

The proposed lemon law, which died in Morrissey’s Consumer Protection Committee, would require arbitrators to apply the existing law, extend lemon law protection to anyone buying up to five vehicles and would reduce the required number of repair attempts for cars with serious safety defects to two.

Shahan acknowledges that dumping lemons at Morrissey’s doorstep won’t revive the lemon law this session, but she’s trying to put pressure on legislators to reintroduce and pass the bill next time.

In the meantime, a Northern California law firm has put up a terrific Web site to help people with questions about lemon laws. The site, at https://www.lemonlaws.com, explains the nuts and bolts of California’s law and has a hot link to a national consumer organization that can provide additional help--no matter where you live.

The site also provides helpful tips on buying a car, including the toll-free numbers for auto-buying services that help you determine an appropriate price to pay for both new and used cars.

* How to become a million-dollar retiree

A new group that caters to individuals who have 401(k) plans but don’t know how to use them is offering a free, two-page report called “Eight Ways to Make $1 Million With Your 401(k) Plan.” Despite the title, the report is largely devoid of hype and simply explains how much you’d have to contribute to save $1 million by retirement at different ages.

To receive a copy, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: National Assn. of 401(k) Investors, P.O. Box 410755-A, Melbourne, FL 32941.

* A visit to the doctor--online

Need a little free medical advice? Stanford University Medical Center operates a Web site at https://www-med.stanford.edu/center/Communications/HealthTips/. If you can type all that into your computer, you’re not suffering from repetitive stress injuries. So call it up and you’ll find tips on spotting teen drug use, determining where to go in a medical emergency and the dangers of certain diet drugs. An interesting fact from the Web site: Roughly 100 million Americans suffer from occasional or chronic heartburn. However, with a few simple diet revisions, a good portion of the $3.7 billion that’s spent each year on antacids could be saved. The required revisions: Eating smaller meals more frequently and cutting back on fatty foods, caffeine and chocolate. (I said “simple,” not easy.)

* Their X files include extra assets

Generation X is probably the thriftiest demographic group in decades, according to a study by the Investment Company Institute. ICI surveyed about 1,000 individuals on their investments and found that the group between the ages of 18 and 30 had saved nearly 38% of their household assets in mutual funds, compared with 27% of household assets in funds for the baby-boom generation, ages 31 to 50. In addition, 45% of Gen-Xers own individual stocks and 18% own individual bonds. So, stop calling them slackers.

Consumer Checklist is a weekly feature that covers a range of pocketbook issues of interest to Californians. To contribute information about new legislation, products, services or surveys, write to Kathy M. Kristof, Business Section, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053; or e-mail kathy.kristof@latimes.com.