Colorado Lemon Law Buyback Calculator

In Colorado, a lemon law buyback (repurchase) refunds what you paid for the vehicle minus an allowance for the use you got from it. For a vehicle sold or leased on or after August 7, 2024, Colorado Revised Statutes section 42-10-103(4) sets that allowance as the total contract price or lessee cost multiplied by a fraction: the miles the vehicle traveled before you first presented it for repair of the defect, plus the miles it traveled during any later period when it was not out of service for repair, divided by 100,000. For a vehicle sold or leased before that date, the statute sets no divisor: the allowance is the amount directly attributable to use by the consumer and any previous consumer before the consumer's first written report of the defect and during any later period when the vehicle was not out of service for repair (Colorado Revised Statutes 42-10-103(1), before Senate Bill 24-192). For a vehicle you enter as bought or leased on or after August 7, 2024, our calculator divides the mileage you enter for when the defect first appeared by 100,000 and multiplies by the price; the statute also counts later miles, so its allowance can be higher. For an earlier vehicle the statute sets no divisor, and the calculator's 120,000 (also used when no purchase date is entered) is only an estimate. A licensed attorney can confirm how the allowance applies to your purchase or lease.

Colorado recognizes a "lemon presumption" that shifts the burden to the manufacturer once your repair history crosses set thresholds. If the dealer cannot fix the same substantial, warranty-covered defect after 3 repair attempts, or if the vehicle is out of service for a cumulative 24 business days, the vehicle is presumed to be a lemon. For a vehicle sold or leased on or after August 7, 2024, these figures apply within the first 24,000 miles or 2 years after original delivery, whichever occurs earlier (Colorado Revised Statutes 42-10-103(2)(a)); for an earlier vehicle the law required four repair attempts or 30 business days out of service within the warranty term or one year after delivery, whichever was earlier (Colorado Revised Statutes 42-10-103(2), before Senate Bill 24-192).

Colorado's state lemon law generally covers new vehicles purchased with a manufacturer's warranty. If your vehicle is used or falls outside the state statute, you may still have a claim under the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, which applies to written warranties nationwide.

Colorado Revised Statutes 42-10-107, as amended by Senate Bill 24-192 for vehicles sold or leased on or after August 7, 2024, requires an action to enforce the lemon law to be commenced within 30 months following the date of the vehicle's original delivery to a consumer, and the period is tolled while the consumer has submitted to arbitration under the manufacturer's informal dispute settlement procedure (section 42-10-106) or while the vehicle is not available for use because of repair. For a vehicle sold or leased before August 7, 2024, the earlier text of section 42-10-107 required an action to be commenced within 6 months following the expiration of any warranty term or within 1 year following the date of original delivery, whichever was earlier, tolled while the consumer had submitted to arbitration under section 42-10-106. A licensed attorney can confirm which deadline applies to your vehicle. When a vehicle qualifies, Colorado requires the manufacturer to repurchase or replace it rather than keep attempting repairs. Colorado's lemon law requires the court to award reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing side in an action to enforce it (Colorado Revised Statutes 42-10-103(3)), so a consumer who wins is awarded fees, and so is a manufacturer that wins.