New York Lemon Law Buyback Calculator

In New York, a lemon law buyback (repurchase) refunds what you paid for the vehicle minus an allowance for the use you got from it. New York General Business Law section 198-a sets that allowance by its mileage deduction formula: the mileage in excess of the first 12,000 miles, multiplied by the purchase price (or the lease price), divided by 100,000. No allowance is taken for the first 12,000 miles. Illustration only: 6,000 counted miles on a $35,000 price is an allowance of $2,100. Our calculator applies the 100,000-mile divisor to the mileage above 12,000 that you enter for when the defect first appeared, so treat its figure as an estimate: the statute's own count of miles controls, and a licensed attorney can confirm how it applies to your purchase or lease.

New York 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 4 repair attempts, or if the vehicle is out of service for a cumulative 30 days, the vehicle is presumed to be a lemon. This presumption generally applies within the first 24 months or 18,000 miles of ownership.

New York is among the states whose lemon law extends to qualifying used vehicles sold with a manufacturer's warranty, not just new cars.

You generally have 4 years to bring a lemon law claim in New York, longer than the national average of 2.4 years. Acting before the warranty expires and while repair records are fresh protects your claim. When a vehicle qualifies, New York requires the manufacturer to repurchase or replace it rather than keep attempting repairs. New York's lemon law lets the court award attorney fees to a consumer who wins (New York General Business Law 198-a(l)); whether to award them is up to the court.