Tools
Lemon law buyback calculator
Enter the price, the charges and the miles driven before the first repair: the calculator applies your state’s offset formula when its law sets one, and shows an example when it does not.
Lemon law buyback: what would the refund be?
Estimated refund in Florida
$43,400
| Price and charges | $45,500 |
| Use offset deducted | $2,100 |
| Formula: base price × miles ÷ 120,000 | |
Formula read in the state text. Loan payoff, incidental costs and what is refundable vary by state. Fla. Stat. ch. 681 (Motor Vehicle Warranty Enforcement Act)
A lemon law buyback is a refund of what the car cost, less an allowance for the use the owner had before the defect appeared. The refund usually includes the price and the collateral charges, such as sales tax, title and registration fees and dealer charges, and some states add incidental costs such as towing or a rental. The use allowance is where the states differ. Connecticut, Florida, North Carolina, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Oklahoma, Alabama, Colorado, Hawaii, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Delaware and Montana divide the price by a fixed mileage figure and multiply by the miles driven; North Dakota and Pennsylvania cap the allowance at ten cents a mile or ten percent of the price; Maryland caps it at 15 percent; the District allows nothing for the first 12,000 miles, and Oklahoma nothing for the first 15,000; Mississippi charges 20 cents a mile; Ohio’s section sets no deduction at all. Many other states call the allowance reasonable and set no formula. The calculator above applies the rule of your state as read on November 1, 2026, and labels the example it uses where the law is silent.
Quick estimate: the use offset in a buyback
Deducted for your use
$1,667
| Refund before charges | $38,333 |
| Formula | contract price × miles ÷ 120,000 |
State laws read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
The offset formulas the laws set
These are the jurisdictions whose text, as we read it, sets a figure for the use allowance. In the others, the allowance is called reasonable and is argued case by case, or decided by the program or the court.
| State | Use allowance |
|---|---|
| Connecticut | contract price × miles ÷ 120,000 |
| Florida | base price × miles ÷ 120,000 |
| North Carolina | price × miles up to the 3rd attempt or the 20th day ÷ 120,000 |
| Arkansas | price × miles before the car is first delivered for repair ÷ 120,000 |
| Georgia | price × miles at the first delivery for repair ÷ 120,000 (÷ 90,000 for a motor home) |
| Idaho | at most price × miles up to the arbitration hearing ÷ 120,000 |
| Oklahoma | price × miles beyond 15,000 ÷ 120,000 |
| Alabama | full purchase price × miles before the first report ÷ 100,000 |
| Colorado | price × (miles before the first repair visit + later miles not for repair) ÷ 100,000 |
| Hawaii | 1% of the price per 1,000 miles, up to the 3rd attempt, the 1st safety attempt or the 30th day |
| Indiana | price × miles before the manufacturer accepts the return ÷ 100,000 |
| Massachusetts | price × miles up to the return ÷ 100,000 (÷ 25,000 for a motorcycle) |
| Michigan | price × (miles before the first report + miles beyond 25,000) ÷ 100,000 |
| New Hampshire | price × miles before the first attempt ÷ 100,000 (lower divisors for motorcycles and off-highway vehicles) |
| New Jersey | price × miles at the first repair visit ÷ 100,000 |
| Rhode Island | price × miles before the first report ÷ 100,000 |
| South Dakota | price × miles before the first report ÷ 100,000 |
| Wisconsin | at most price × miles before the first report ÷ 100,000 (÷ 20,000 for a motorcycle) |
| Mississippi | 20 cents a mile for all miles driven |
| Ohio | no deduction for use in § 1345.72: full purchase price and incidental charges |
| Maine | at most the lesser of 1/3 of the IRS mileage rate × the miles counted or 10% of the price |
| Delaware | price × miles ÷ 100,000 |
| Montana | contract price × miles ÷ 100,000 |
| North Dakota | 10 cents a mile or 10% of the price, whichever is less |
| Pennsylvania | 10 cents a mile or 10% of the price, whichever is less |
| Maryland | a reasonable allowance capped at 15% of the price |
| District of Columbia | 10 cents a mile beyond 12,000 miles |
Which miles count
The miles that reduce a refund are not always the miles on the odometer today. Most formulas count the miles driven before the owner first reported the defect, so the months spent going back and forth to the dealer cost nothing. Iowa counts up to the third attempt, the first for a safety defect, or the twentieth day out of service. Connecticut and Montana count the miles before the manufacturer accepts the return. Enter the figure your state uses; the state pages say which it is when the text is clear.
Refund or replacement
Most laws offer two remedies, a refund or a comparable new car, and the text of each state says who chooses between them. Read the state page before accepting a replacement. Compare the two offers with the same numbers: the refund shown above is what the replacement must be worth to be fair.
What the calculator leaves out
It does not model incidental damages, rental costs, the finance charges some states refund, or negative equity rolled in from a trade-in. Those depend on the contract and on the text of each law. Use the figure as a first estimate to compare with the manufacturer’s offer, not as the amount you are owed.