SEATTLE — It may be painted orange, but Washington state law agreed with Ralph Gertz that his 2008 Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder 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
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