In this guide 9 sections
A lemon law buyback refunds what the car cost you, including sales tax and registration fees, minus a use deduction; in California, Florida and Texas that deduction is the price × your miles ÷ 120,000 for cars and trucks. They differ on which miles count and whether loan interest comes back. If you financed, the lender's payoff comes out of the refund and the rest is yours. Start with the purchase contract and the first repair order for the defect: in California and Texas, their odometer readings set the deduction.
The buyback formula, line by line
Every buyback offer adds three lines and subtracts one: what you paid for the car (contract price with factory options and destination), sales tax and government fees (title, license, registration), and costs the defect caused (towing, rentals, repair bills), minus the use deduction.
| State | Price used for the deduction | Miles that count | Loan interest |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | Price with transportation and manufacturer-installed options | Delivery to the first repair visit for the defect | Finance charges you paid are refunded |
| Florida | Base selling price on the invoice, without taxes, government fees or dealer fees | Your miles up to the settlement or arbitration hearing, whichever comes first | Earned finance charges are refunded |
| Texas | Total purchase price with tax, title and license | Full rate to the first report of the defect, half rate from then to the hearing | Interest and finance charges are left out |
Brand request routes are in our manufacturer buyback guide; buying a returned car is covered in whether a buyback car is worth buying.
California lemon law buyback formula
California restitution is the actual price paid or payable, including transportation and manufacturer-installed options, plus sales or use tax, license, registration and other official fees, plus repair, towing and rental costs you actually paid. Finance charges you have paid are refunded too. Items the dealer or you installed that the manufacturer did not supply stay out.
Price with transportation and factory options × (odometer at first repair visit for the defect − odometer at delivery) ÷ 120,000 = deduction
A $30,000 car delivered at 200 miles and first brought in for the defect at 12,200 miles has 12,000 miles of use, so the deduction is $3,000. Add $2,900 in tax and fees and $600 in towing and rental receipts: $30,000 + $2,900 + $600 − $3,000 = $30,500, plus finance charges paid. If $18,000 is still owed, the lender receives $18,000 and you receive $12,500 plus the finance charges you paid.
In a lawsuit against a manufacturer on the state's opt-in list, negative equity from a trade-in, add-ons bought from third parties (dealer-sold add-ons stay in) and manufacturer rebates come out of the price. That manufacturer must finish an agreed buyback within 30 days of your signed release or pay $50 a day, and it sends the payoff within one business day of the car's return.
California lemon law buyback calculator
Enter the price with transportation and factory options, the two odometer readings, and your other charges: tax, official fees, finance charges paid, towing and rentals.
California Lemon Law Buyback Calculator
Use the first authorized repair visit for the defect involved in the buyback, rather than an unrelated service visit or today's odometer.
These example inputs assume delivery at zero miles. Replace all four values with your records. Include only charges you can document and have a basis to claim.
Florida lemon law repurchase calculation
Florida gives the manufacturer 40 days to repurchase once it fails to fix the defect after a reasonable number of attempts. The refund is the full purchase price, counting your trade-in allowance, plus collateral charges (sales tax, title charges, earned finance charges, items the manufacturer or dealer installed) and incidental charges (reasonable costs the defect caused, such as towing, rentals and warranty deductibles), minus a reasonable offset for use.
Base selling price (less any manufacturer rebate) × your miles up to the settlement or arbitration hearing ÷ 120,000 = offset
Your miles exclude delivery mileage and test drives by repair shops, manufacturer inspectors and arbitrators. Take a $32,000 base price and 15,000 of your miles at settlement: the offset is $4,000. With a $3,000 down payment, $10,800 in monthly payments (principal and interest), a $2,000 trade-in allowance and $350 in towing and rental receipts, your share is $3,000 + $10,800 + $2,000 − $4,000 + $350 = $12,150. The manufacturer pays the lender the payoff as of the repurchase date.
If the dealer inflated your trade-in to cover an old loan and the manufacturer rejects that figure, the board uses the trade-in's NADA retail value minus that debt, which can turn the trade-in line negative. The Attorney General's Request for Arbitration form must arrive within 60 days after your 24-month Lemon Law rights period ends, or 30 days after a manufacturer program's final action if later. Form questions go to 850-414-3500.
Texas lemon law repurchase formula
In a Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) case, the refund is the total purchase price with tax, title and license, plus your $35 filing fee and reasonable, verifiable incidental costs such as alternate transportation, towing, and meals and lodging when the car failed on a trip, minus a reasonable allowance for use. Interest, finance charges and insurance premiums stay out, and the refund is split between you and your lender by each one's interest in the car.
(Price × miles from delivery to first report ÷ 120,000) + 50% × (price × miles from first report to the hearing ÷ 120,000) = allowance for use
A $40,000 total price, delivered at 10 miles, first reported at 6,010 and showing 18,010 on hearing day: $40,000 × 6,000 ÷ 120,000 = $2,000, plus half of $40,000 × 12,000 ÷ 120,000, another $2,000. The refund is $40,000 − $4,000 + $35 = $36,035. TxDMV's own buyback calculator is its repurchase calculation spreadsheet.
File within six months after the earliest of the warranty's expiration, 24 months after purchase, or 24,000 miles after delivery. The TxDMV Lemon Law Section answers at (888) 368-4689.
What to do today
- Pull the purchase contract. Copy the price, options, destination, tax and fees, trade-in, any manufacturer rebate and the delivery odometer.
- Find the first repair order for this defect and write down its date and odometer.
- Ask your lender for a written payoff and payment history. The history shows the interest you have paid, which California and Florida refund.
- Gather receipts for towing, rentals and repair bills.
- Run your state's formula before the manufacturer quotes a number.
- Make the demand in writing. California: apply to your brand's state-certified program, BBB Auto Line (800) 955-5100, CDSP (800) 777-8119 or CAP-Motors (800) 279-5343, matched by brand on the state arbitration page. If your brand is not listed, go to court or ask the New Motor Vehicle Board for mediation at (916) 445-1888. Florida: after the third repair attempt, notify the manufacturer by registered or express mail, then file with your brand's state-certified program if your warranty booklet names one (BBB Auto Line, NCDS or CAP Motors) within 60 days after the 24-month rights period, or with the Attorney General's arbitration form if it names none. Texas: file through the TxDMV online complaint system and give the manufacturer notice with a last chance to repair.
When the offer comes in lower than your math
- If a California offer uses today's odometer, send back the statute's formula with the first repair order's mileage.
- If a Texas offer charges every mile at the full rate, split the miles at your first report and halve the rate on the later miles.
- If paid interest is missing from a California or Florida offer, attach the lender's payment history.
- If you lease, Florida and Texas refund your lease payments and lease-signing money minus the use deduction; TxDMV has a lease spreadsheet.
Your leverage
- California: state-certified arbitration is free, decisions usually come within 40 days, and the manufacturer must carry out an accepted decision within 30 days. A buyer who wins in court recovers attorney's fees and costs, and a willful violation adds a civil penalty of up to twice the actual damages.
- Florida: the manufacturer has 40 days to comply with a board decision, after which the Attorney General can ask a court for a fine of up to $1,000 a day. After the board decides, a consumer who wins in court recovers attorney's fees; sue within one year of the board's final action.
- Texas: a TxDMV hearings examiner can order the buyback, and your $35 fee comes back in the refund.
Call a lemon law attorney when the manufacturer refuses in writing, stays thousands below your math, or your filing deadline is within a month.
Request an itemized buyback calculation
Subject: Itemized repurchase calculation, VIN [VIN]
Please send an itemized repurchase calculation showing the price used for the use deduction, the delivery mileage, the mileage used for the deduction and its repair order, tax and fees, finance charges, incidental costs, the lender payoff and the amount payable to me. My calculation is $[amount]; my contract, repair order [number, date, mileage] and receipts are attached. Please reply by [date].
Today: copy the first repair order's odometer reading, request the payoff letter, and run your state's formula. Next comes the manufacturer's itemized offer: compare it line by line with your number and answer any gap in writing that week.
Disclaimer: TurnYourClaim is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. This page provides general educational information only. Laws vary by state and change frequently — always consult a licensed attorney in your state for advice specific to your situation.