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If your car keeps breaking and the manufacturer is offering to buy it back, you may be owed a full refund of what you paid, plus the costs the defect put you through. Most initial offers fall short of what the law actually entitles you to.
Under California lemon law, if your car has a serious problem the manufacturer cannot fix after enough tries, the law gives you the right to make them buy it back. They take the car. You get your money.
Most consumers don’t realize the buyback covers far more than the purchase price. A credit for the miles you drove before the problem started gets deducted from the total, and independent third-party shop installs aren’t typically covered.
A proper buyback is more than the sticker price. It should account for every one of these.
The full price of the vehicle, plus official manufacturer and government fees.
Sales tax paid at or after the time of sale.
Your down payment and every monthly payment you’ve made to date.
Towing, rental cars, and repair costs you paid out of pocket because of the defect.
A statutory credit for the miles you drove before you first brought the car in for the problem, calculated by law.
The manufacturer’s first offer is rarely their best. Buyback claims are a routine cost of business for them. Here’s what we see left out, over and over.
The usage credit gets applied in the manufacturer’s favor, shrinking your refund.
Towing, rentals, and out-of-pocket repairs often don’t make it into the first offer.
The fine print may ask you to waive rights worth up to double the damages.
California lemon law gives you two main options: get your money back, or get a comparable new car. Replacement requires both you and the manufacturer to agree. Most people choose the buyback for the clean exit. The defective car is gone, the money is in your account, and you decide what to drive next.
A car that gets bought back receives a permanent “Lemon Law Buyback” notation on its title. If the manufacturer resells it, the next buyer must be told. If a dealer skips that disclosure, the next buyer may have their own dealer fraud claim.
Focused exclusively on automotive law. Lemon law, dealer fraud, and automotive class actions are all we do. Our focus is evident in our results.
20 years against manufacturers and dealers. They have strong legal teams, but we’ve been outmatching them for two decades, and they know it.
$400M+ recovered across 6,000+ cases. Manufacturers don’t pay fairly without a fight, and we know how to make them.
In-house inspection capability. The Margarian Garage lets us physically inspect and document your defect before we file, giving us evidence most firms simply don’t have.
A written, honest case assessment. Most firms tell you what you want to hear to get a signature. We tell you the truth before you sign a retainer.
It generally includes the purchase price, official fees, your down payment, all monthly payments made, sales tax, registration, and the other costs the defect put you through. A credit for the miles you drove before the defect started gets subtracted. We check every component against what the law entitles you to before responding to an offer.
No. Replacement only happens if both sides agree. The choice is yours, and most consumers choose the buyback.
It’s a credit, applied against your refund, for the miles you drove before the problem started. The formula is set by the California Civil Code, and it gets applied wrong often enough that we always check it.
If your car qualifies, yes. The law makes the manufacturer pay your attorney fees on a successful outcome, separately, on top of your refund. You do not pay out of pocket to pursue a valid claim.
Almost never without review. Initial offers commonly understate incidental costs, miscalculate the mileage credit, or exclude dealer-installed options. We’ll tell you what’s actually in it, and what’s missing.
The manufacturer takes possession and retitles it with a permanent “Lemon Law Buyback” brand. If they sell it later, California law requires them to disclose that history to the next buyer.
If you’ve been offered a buyback or think your car may qualify for one, get it reviewed before you sign. A free case review is easy, and it could change everything. Call (818) 553-1000.
Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Every case is evaluated on its individual merits. Outcomes vary based on the manufacturer, defect, repair history, and case posture. Attorney fees in qualifying lemon law cases are paid separately by the manufacturer upon a successful outcome under the California Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act.
