Lemon Law Buyback Calculator
A state lemon law lets the buyer of a new car that cannot be repaired after a set number of attempts ask the manufacturer to take it back for a refund or to replace it. In a buyback, the provisions read for this page let the manufacturer deduct an offset for the miles you drove. This page quotes each state's provisions where they were read, and the calculator applies the offset formula a state's provision states.
It quotes the lemon laws of 35 jurisdictions, read from their official code sites, and it computes an offset for fifteen whose provisions state a formula.
Estimate the offset in a lemon law buyback
Pick the state, enter the purchase price and the miles your state's provision counts, and the calculator applies the offset for use the provision states, with its words, then shows the price less that offset.
The price the provision names: the contract price, the full purchase price or the cash price, as quoted below.
The miles the provision measures, which differ by state: before the first repair report, up to a set repair attempt, or another point quoted below.
Offset for use and the price less it
Choose a state to see how its provision figures the offset for use.
This applies the offset formula the state's provision states for a passenger car. It does not decide whether the car qualifies, which miles count in your case, or the taxes, fees and other charges a refund adds or deducts, and it does not figure a lease, a motorcycle or a motor home.
What each state's lemon law says, before you call a lemon law lawyer
Pick a state to see its presumption of a reasonable number of repair attempts, the period it covers, the refund or replacement remedy, the offset for use, the deadline to sue, and any notice or arbitration step, each in the provision's own words, read from the state's official code site, with the section named.
Choose a state to see the provisions read for this page.
How a lemon law buyback works
The provisions quoted on this page share a pattern. A new car has a defect covered by the warranty that substantially impairs it. The manufacturer or its dealer gets a number of chances to repair it, or the car spends a number of days out of service, within a period after delivery. If the defect remains, the manufacturer must refund the price or replace the car.
Each state sets its own numbers, its own period and its own steps, and the panel below quotes them. A presumption is a starting point the statute sets, not the only way to show a car qualifies, and the state's own words say when it applies.
In a buyback, the refund is the price paid, plus or minus the amounts the state's provision names, less an offset for the consumer's use. That offset is what the calculator figures.
The offset in a lemon law buyback calculator
The provisions differ in how they figure the offset. For eight jurisdictions the calculator applies a fraction: the price times the miles the provision counts, divided by a number the provision names. For six it applies a ceiling the provision sets, and says the allowance may be less. Mississippi sets a rate per mile.
The miles that count also differ: before the first report of the defect, up to a set repair attempt, or up to another point the provision names. The calculator quotes that clause beside the figure, so you can count the miles the provision counts.
Where a state's provisions read for this page state no formula, the calculator shows no figure and says so. The panel still quotes what was read.
A lemon law buyback example
Say you bought a new car in Connecticut for $42,000.00, and the provision's miles come to 9,000. The provision divides by 120,000, so the offset is $3,150.00, and the price less the offset is $38,850.00.
The refund then adds or deducts what the state's provision names, such as taxes, registration and collateral charges. Those differ by state and by purchase, and the calculator does not figure them.
Notice, arbitration and the deadline
Some provisions require written notice to the manufacturer, a final repair attempt, or the use of an arbitration program before a suit; the panel quotes them where they were read (35 jurisdictions).
For timing, a provision can set a deadline to bring an action, and the panel quotes it where it was read (25 jurisdictions). Keep every repair order, because the dates and the mileage on them are the record the statute counts from.
The records a lemon law claim rests on
Keep every repair order, with the date in and out, the mileage, and what the dealer found or did. Keep your written reports of the defect, the letters to and from the manufacturer, the purchase or lease contract, and the warranty booklet.
Write down each day the car was out of service and why. A lemon law claim is counted in attempts and days, and the repair orders are how they are counted.
Talking to a lemon law lawyer
This site is not a law firm, does not refer anyone to a lawyer, and cannot say what a lawyer would recover. A lemon law lawyer is the person to ask whether your car meets your state's test, which miles count, what the refund adds and deducts, and whether a notice or arbitration step comes first.
Bring the repair orders, the contract, the letters, the provisions the panel quotes for your state, and the figure this calculator shows.