If you have a defective vehicle that cannot be repaired while covered by a manufacturer's warranty, you may be entitled to compensation through the Lemon Law. California’s Lemon Law, also known as the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, ensures drivers aren’t stuck with a lemon vehicle. Your lemon car may qualify you for a buyback.
The Lemon Pros help you estimate your payout and file the Lemon law claim on your behalf. With a practice area focused on getting the maximum settlement amount from the manufacturer, we've secured millions in compensation for our clients. Contact us for a free consultation today.
With this page, you get the basics of the Lemon law calculator in California and learn how to estimate compensation. You can test out the lemon buyback calculator for yourself and learn why it’s critical to work with an attorney for a better outcome.
Lemon law is designed to protect consumers from defective vehicles. As experts in the field, The Lemon Pros has helped thousands claim what’s owed to them. You can estimate your potential payout with our lemon law buyback calculator or schedule a free consultation with us today.
A lemon law buyback calculator helps you estimate what the manufacturer may owe you for your defective vehicle. It’s easy to use and provides a general estimate of the potential compensation.
You may be eligible for a lemon law buyback if you’ve purchased or leased a defective vehicle in California. The lemon law refund buyback means that the manufacturer or dealership compensates you for the defective vehicle, and you return it.
Not all defective cars are eligible for a buyback compensation. The car must qualify as a lemon vehicle, and the manufacturer or dealership must agree to the buyback. In some cases, other arrangements are made to deal with the defective car under California lemon law.
An experienced lemon law attorney can negotiate the terms of cash compensation for the buyback. Manufacturers also have the option to offer a replacement vehicle of equal or greater value. Aside from that, some manufacturers give a smaller lemon law refund and let you keep the vehicle. The outcome depends solely on the circumstances involved.
The best time to figure out an estimated refund will be at the first sign that the vehicle may be a lemon. If your car has been in the shop multiple times for the same repair without remedy and is still under warranty, it’s time to think about filing a lemon law claim.
By estimating the possible payout before you contact a lawyer, you can see what you may be entitled to. Of course, this calculator only provides an estimate, but it gives you a foundation with which to move forward.
When estimating lemon law refunds, it’s important to enter every field for an accurate representation. We will walk you through one potential case to show you the possible outcome.
For the purchase price of our example vehicle, we input $45,000. We assume that the first repair attempt occurred at 6,000 miles, so that is also entered. With $9,000 down, our monthly payments are $679. We put that we made 18 payments before filing the claim, so the calculator gave us an estimated usage fee of $2,250 and an estimated refund of $18,972.
Of course, your results will likely be different because you won’t have the same expenses. You may enter a different loan balance or have varying mileage offset inputs. Lemon laws are tricky to navigate without having all of the details, which is why an experienced attorney is necessary. Once you calculate the potential refund, it’s time to contact an experienced attorney that can start the claim for you.
The purchase price is the first place to start, considering that you are entitled to receive your money back from when you bought the vehicle or leased it. It’s important to have all of your original purchase paperwork available when submitting your claim. In this agreement, the registration fees, sales tax, finance charges and other expenses should be outlined so they can also be included with the claim. In addition to the down payment, the outstanding loan amount needs to be factored into the equation, considering you haven’t technically paid this price yet. There isn’t going to be a refund on the remaining loan balance, but it may be wiped clean. If you are leasing the vehicle, the remaining lease obligations may also be rescinded as part of a settlement. Don’t forget to include any monthly payments and the total number of payments, as these factors change the outcome.
Any time that you’ve driven the car without the defect is going to be excluded from your settlement. For example, if you had the car for six months and drove it for 6,000 miles before the problem arose, those miles are going to be counted as your own, and depreciation will be in effect. The manufacturer is not responsible for any time that the vehicle was operating as it should.
You are not responsible for any fees incurred because of the defect. While all of the repairs should have been covered through the warranty or service contracts, there are other costs, such as towing, to think about. You may have also paid rental car fees that should be reimbursed.
As you figure out the lemon law claim settlement, don’t forget to consider what you are spending on attorney fees. Many attorneys offer a free consultation, so you won’t need to pay anything upfront. The lawyer may also have a fee structure where you pay hourly or after a settlement is received. It’s important to get these specifics figured out before deciding what lawyer to use.
Understand California lemon law: Before you prepare a claim, you need to understand the governing laws and ensure they apply to your situation.
Document the defects: You want a record of all the defects and the repair attempts for the vehicle. Lemon vehicles only qualify if there have been multiple repair attempts, so you want a record of every time you’ve taken it to the dealership and the results. Also, your notes should include everyone you’ve spoken with.
Notify the manufacturer: If the vehicle meets all of the above factors, it’s time to notify the manufacturer. You want to send all of your documentation, including the same service contract or warranty paperwork that was given to you when you purchased or leased the vehicle. Make copies of everything to send and request a lemon law buyback.
Hire an experienced lemon law attorney: The legal process for lemon vehicles can get complicated and any small mistake could mean having the claim denied. As experienced lawyers, we’ve earned compensation for drivers of owned and leased vehicles totaling millions of dollars. Contact us to see what you might be owed.
File a claim: We can help you file your claim and estimate the possible payout based on the original vehicle purchase price, diminished value, and mileage deduction. We review all of the manufacturer or dealer options and help you determine when you should negotiate. If we need to go to court to fight for your rights, we will do that too.
Finalize the buyback: Once the payout is established, we will stick by your side to finalize all of the arrangements. We can navigate the return of the vehicle with you and allocate the refund based on what you owe us for our services. All you will need to think about is what car to buy next and the terms of your new loan.
A lemon law attorney understands how to navigate the state’s laws and get compensation for your defective vehicle. While there are plenty of other types of lawyers to choose from, they aren’t as versed in lemon laws and may miss a critical avenue to your potential recovery. The average lemon law attorney cost is between $400 and $600 an hour, but when you work with The Lemon Pros, this doesn’t need to be a concern.
Not only do we offer a free consultation, but we won’t charge you anything until we win your case. With this fee structure, you know we will fight as hard as possible, or we won’t earn anything either. You also know that we are going to be upfront about whether you have a case or not. We aren’t going to waste your time and give you false hope.
If you attempt to fight the manufacturer or dealer without a lawyer, it will be difficult to get the same outcome. When the manufacturer and dealer see a lawyer involved, they are less likely to find a way out of compensation. A qualified lawyer also knows how to keep negotiating for a better settlement, earning you more than you could on your own.
Using our lemon law buyback calculator helps you determine if fighting the manufacturer is going to be worth your time. However, you need to consult a lawyer to find out all of the particulars. There are so many factors involved that can change the payout that it’s best to get an expert opinion.
The Lemon Pros have won thousands of cases for clients just like you. We are regularly regarded as the best lemon law attorneys in California, always giving 100% to our customers. Contact us today for your free case evaluation.
Your vehicle may qualify under the california lemon law if the manufacturer’s authorized dealerships have been unable to repair a defect with your vehicle after a reasonable number of attempts within the warranty period.
Typically, the california lemon law requires 4 repair attempts for most defects. If there’s a serious safety issue, 2 is the minimum required. The reasonableness of repair attempts is determined on a case-by-case basis in relation to the severity of the defect. The requirement may also be satisfied if the vehicle is at the repair facility for over 30 days, regardless of the number of repair attempts.
Yes. Your vehicle can qualify as a “lemon” under the california lemon law if repair attempts were made within the warranty period. Learn more about your lemon law rights with a free case evaluation.
The buyer of a “lemon” under the california lemon law is entitled to receive the value of the down payment, monthly payments, and full loan payoff. The buyer may also recover costs for repairs, towing, and rental cars. Alternatively, the buyer may elect to receive a similar replacement vehicle. The manufacturer is entitled to a statutory mileage offset for the distance driven from the time of purchase to the first repair attempt. The mileage offset applies to a repurchase or replacement. Our lemon law buyback calculator can help you determine an approximate payout.
No. The fee shifting provision in the california lemon law requires the automobile manufacturer to pay for the consumer’s reasonably incurred attorneys’ fees costs, and expenses. The california lemon law allows consumers to pursue california lemon law claims even if attorneys’ fees and costs might otherwise prevent the consumer from bringing a claim.
Not typically, but our california lemon law lawyers may be able to sue the dealer if there was negligence or fraud involved. These are just a couple of the reasons to sue a car dealership.
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