Virginia Lemon Law Buyback Calculator

In Virginia, a lemon law buyback (repurchase) refunds what you paid for the vehicle minus an allowance for the use you got from it. Virginia Code section 59.1-207.11 caps that allowance at one-half of the Internal Revenue Service per-mile rate for business use of a personal vehicle, plus any loss in value from damage beyond normal wear and tear that the defect did not cause; section 59.1-207.13 counts use up to the first notice of the nonconformity. The statute sets no mileage divisor, so our calculator's allowance is only an estimate: it divides the mileage you enter for when the defect first appeared by 120,000, the figure California's and Florida's lemon statutes use, and multiplies by the price, then holds the result to the statute's cap of one-half of the Internal Revenue Service business mileage rate for each mile (the rate is 76 cents a mile from July 1, 2026, so 38 cents). A licensed attorney can confirm how the allowance applies to your purchase or lease.

Virginia 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 30 days, the vehicle is presumed to be a lemon. This presumption generally applies within the first 18 months of ownership.

Virginia'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.

You generally have 18 months to bring a lemon law claim in Virginia, shorter 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, Virginia requires the manufacturer to repurchase or replace it rather than keep attempting repairs. Virginia's lemon law provides for an award of attorney fees to a consumer who wins (Code of Virginia 59.1-207.14).