Lemon law buyback calculator

How the estimate works

In a lemon law repurchase, the manufacturer generally pays off what you still owe on the vehicle and refunds what you have already paid, along with sales tax, registration and other official fees, and out-of-pocket costs such as repairs, towing, and rental cars. If you financed, your taxes and fees are usually already inside the payments and payoff you entered, so the calculator doesn't add them a second time.

The manufacturer can then subtract a usage deduction. Civil Code section 1793.2(d)(2)(C) sets the formula: take the miles on the vehicle when you first brought it in for the defect, divide by 120,000, and multiply by the price of the vehicle. A $45,000 car first taken in at 6,200 miles carries an offset of 6,200 ÷ 120,000 × $45,000, which is $2,325. Drive 20,000 miles before the first repair and the same car's offset grows to $7,500, so reporting a problem early protects your refund.

What can change the real number

• Dealer-installed add-ons and aftermarket products are not part of the price for restitution.
• Manufacturers that opted into the 2025 procedures can subtract some third-party products, negative equity from an earlier car, and manufacturer rebates. What changed in 2025.
• Finance charges you have paid can be part of restitution, and interest you would no longer owe is not.
• Lease buybacks follow the lease contract and work differently from purchases.

Want the full explanation of refunds and replacements? Read what a lemon law buyback includes.

Calculator questions

Which mileage goes into the offset?

The odometer reading when you first brought the vehicle in for the problem that turned out to be the defect. It is not today's mileage. You will find it printed on that first repair order.

Does the manufacturer have to take the offset?

No. The statute says restitution may be reduced by the offset, so it is a deduction the manufacturer can ask for, not one it must take. In negotiated settlements it is often part of the discussion.

I traded in my old car. Does that lower my refund?

Your trade-in credit counts toward what you paid. In 2024 the California Supreme Court held that money a consumer receives from trading in or selling the lemon itself does not reduce restitution (Niedermeier v. FCA US). Negative equity rolled in from an older car is treated differently for manufacturers under the 2025 procedures.

Does this work for a leased car?

Only roughly. Lease buybacks usually refund the payments you made and pay off the leasing company, but lease contracts vary. See leased car lemon law.