Free calculator · Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania lemon law buyback calculator
Under Pennsylvania’s Automobile Lemon Law, a $45,000 vehicle at 6,000 miles works out to about $27,750 in cash after the lender is paid. Put your own numbers in below — every line is itemized and cited to the statute, and the deduction shows its working.
In plain English
If a serious fault keeps coming back, Pennsylvania law can force the manufacturer to buy the car back from you. The usual trigger is 3 tries at the same problem, or the car being off the road for 30 days — counted across the whole time you have owned it, not per visit.
What you get is not what the car is worth today. It is what you PAID, including the sales tax and the fees you paid to register it, minus an allowance for the driving you already got out of the car. That allowance is capped: it can never exceed 10% of what you paid, however far you drove.
Anything still owing on your loan is paid off out of that money first, and the rest reaches you. If you owe more than the refund comes to, the loan clears and no cash arrives — which is worth knowing before you start.
That is the whole shape of it. Everything below is the arithmetic, the statute it comes from, and the parts nobody can promise you.
Your vehicle
Only the miles you drove BEFORE first reporting the problem count against you. Miles added while the dealer is failing to fix the car do not increase the deduction.
What you paid
Repair history
What Pennsylvania law says you are owed
| Vehicle purchase price | $45,000 |
| Sales and use tax paid | $2,700 |
| Title, license and registration fees | $200 |
| Incidental costs (towing, rental, out-of-pocket repairs) | $450 |
| Less: allowance for your use before the first repair | −$600 |
| Manufacturer’s total obligation | $47,750 |
| Less: paid directly to your lender | −$20,000 |
| Cash that reaches you | $27,750 |
How the deduction was worked out: The lesser of 10¢ × 6,000 miles = $600, and 10% of $45,000 = $4,500. The per-mile figure is lower, so the deduction is $600. On this price the two are equal at 45,000 miles; beyond that the deduction stops growing.
Does this meet Pennsylvania’s repair-attempt presumption?
- 3 repair attempts at the same problem — 3 of 3 attempts.
- 30 cumulative days out of service — 18 of 30 days.
Meeting a statutory path is not the same as having a case. The defect must also substantially impair the vehicle’s use, value or safety — a judgment no calculator can make for you. This tool is information, not legal advice.
What this figure assumes, and what it leaves out
- Figures follow Pennsylvania's Automobile Lemon Law as written; they are an estimate of the statutory refund, not an offer and not legal advice.
- Only the miles you drove BEFORE first reporting the problem count against you. Miles added while the dealer is failing to fix the car do not increase the deduction.
- Your remaining loan balance of $20,000 is paid directly to the lender out of the same money, so the cash reaching you is $27,750.
- You have paid roughly $24,200 out of pocket so far (down payment plus payments made). That figure is shown for context — the statutory refund is built from the price and the charges above, not from payments to date.
- Pennsylvania’s statute says "full purchase price ... including all collateral charges" without listing what counts as a collateral charge. Tax, tags and title are conventionally included; finance charges and out-of-pocket costs such as towing and rental are commonly claimed but are settled by case law and negotiation, not by the text of the act.
- A refund is paid "to the purchaser and lienholder, if any, as their interests may appear" (§ 1955) — your lender is paid first out of the same money, and only the remainder reaches you.
Not included in the number above:
- Civil penalties, which some states allow where a manufacturer refuses in bad faith
- Attorney fees and court costs. § 1958 entitles a prevailing purchaser to reasonable attorneys’ fees and court costs from the manufacturer, paid on top of the refund and separately from it. That is why most Pennsylvania lemon law representation costs the owner nothing up front, and it is not part of the figure above.
- Any amount a manufacturer, arbitrator or court may actually agree to, which depends on facts and advocacy this tool cannot see
- The value of choosing a replacement vehicle instead of a refund
Figures verified against primary law on 2026-08-09. This is information, not legal advice, and it is not an offer from any manufacturer.
A correction worth knowing
What you will read elsewhere: That Pennsylvania deducts (miles driven before your first repair ÷ 100,000) × the purchase price — a formula that currently appears on page one of Google.
What the statute says: The statute caps the deduction at 10¢ per mile or 10% of the purchase price, whichever is LESS. On a $45,000 car the ÷100,000 formula charges 45¢ a mile — four and a half times what the law allows — and understates your refund by thousands.
What the Pennsylvania deduction actually comes to
Find the row nearest your price and the column nearest your mileage. These are computed from 73 P.S. §§ 1951–1963 by the same code that runs the calculator above — not typed in by hand, which is how published tables drift from the statute they cite.
| Purchase price | 3,000 mi | 6,000 mi | 12,000 mi | 20,000 mi | 40,000 mi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $25,000 | $300 | $600 | $1,200 | $2,000 | $2,500 † |
| $35,000 | $300 | $600 | $1,200 | $2,000 | $3,500 † |
| $45,000 | $300 | $600 | $1,200 | $2,000 | $4,000 |
| $60,000 | $300 | $600 | $1,200 | $2,000 | $4,000 |
† the statutory ceiling produced this figure, not the per-mile rate — beyond this point the deduction stops growing. Figures are the allowance for use only. What reaches you is this subtracted from the refund, then your loan settled — use the calculator above for that.
On a $45,000 vehicle in Pennsylvania, the deduction is $600 at 6,000 miles and $2,000 at 20,000. It stops growing at 45,000 miles, where the 10% ceiling takes over from the 10¢-a-mile rate and caps it at $4,500 however far you drive.
Notice what the table does NOT do: at 6,000 miles the deduction is $600 on a $25,000 car and $600 on a $60,000 one. A 10¢-per-mile rate does not care what you paid, which is why Pennsylvania deductions stay small on expensive cars and why the widely-published "price ÷ 100,000" version of this formula overstates them so badly.
How Pennsylvania builds the refund
A buyback is not a used-car offer. It is a statutory refund, assembled from specific components the law names, less one deduction. Most calculators skip the components and model only the deduction — which is why their numbers come in low. Where Pennsylvania leaves something out, the row below says who you get it from instead rather than just saying no.
| Component | Included? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Vehicle purchase price | Yes | The base of every buyback calculation. |
| Sales and use tax | Yes | Conventionally treated as a collateral charge under § 1955, which refunds the "full purchase price ... including all collateral charges" without listing what qualifies. |
| Title, license and registration | Yes | Tags and title are the least contested items inside "all collateral charges" (§ 1955). |
| Towing, rental, out-of-pocket repairs | Yes | Towing, rental and out-of-pocket repairs are commonly claimed as collateral charges, but the boundary is settled by case law and negotiation rather than by the text of the act. |
| Finance charges paid to date | Yes | Commonly claimed under "all collateral charges" (§ 1955); like the incidentals, the act does not enumerate them. |
| Allowance for your use | Deducted | The deduction is capped at 10¢ a mile or 10% of the purchase price, whichever is less. |
| Attorney fees | Separate | § 1958 entitles a prevailing purchaser to reasonable attorneys’ fees and court costs from the manufacturer, paid on top of the refund and separately from it. That is why most Pennsylvania lemon law representation costs the owner nothing up front, and it is not part of the figure above. |
When Pennsylvania presumes the manufacturer has had enough tries
Every state sets a point past which the law stops giving the manufacturer the benefit of the doubt. Reaching it does not decide your case — the defect must still substantially impair the vehicle’s use, value or safety — but it shifts the argument.
- 3 repair visits for the same unfixed problem.
- No reduced count for safety defects. Pennsylvania sets the same bar whatever the problem is — safety bears on whether the defect is serious enough to count at all, not on how many attempts are required.
- 30 cumulative days out of service, counted across the whole ownership, not per visit.
- The problem must first have appeared within 12 months, 12,000 miles or the warranty term, whichever comes first.
Covered: New and unused vehicles designed to carry no more than 15 people, bought or leased and registered in Pennsylvania, used primarily for personal, family or household purposes; Dealer demonstrators and dealer cars sold as new; Motorcycles, added by Act 151 of 2024, with a one-year coverage period of their own; Leased vehicles — the act covers a "purchaser" who obtained the vehicle by lease.
Not covered: Motor homes; Off-road vehicles; Dual sport motorcycles driven off road; Vehicles used primarily for business rather than personal, family or household purposes; Defects caused by abuse, neglect, or the owner’s own modification or alteration.
How long you have
The act sets no limitations period of its own. Pennsylvania courts apply the four-year period for breach of contract for the sale of goods (13 Pa.C.S. § 2725). Separately, § 1954(a) requires the defect itself to have first appeared within one year of delivery, within the first 12,000 miles, or during the warranty term — whichever comes first.
What you have to do before suing
Where the manufacturer runs an informal dispute settlement procedure meeting 16 CFR Pt. 703, § 1959 requires you to use it before filing suit. Its outcome is not binding on you.
Frequently asked questions
- How is the lemon law buyback amount calculated in Pennsylvania?
- Pennsylvania refunds what you paid for the vehicle — including sales tax and registration fees — less an allowance for your use of it. The deduction is capped at 10¢ a mile or 10% of the purchase price, whichever is less. On a $45,000 vehicle in the example above, that leaves about $27,750 in cash once the remaining loan is paid off.
- Is the Pennsylvania lemon law mileage deduction really what other calculators show?
- The statute caps the deduction at 10¢ per mile or 10% of the purchase price, whichever is LESS. On a $45,000 car the ÷100,000 formula charges 45¢ a mile — four and a half times what the law allows — and understates your refund by thousands. 73 P.S. §§ 1951–1963 is the controlling text.
- How many repair attempts do you need for the Pennsylvania lemon law?
- 3 visits for the same unfixed problem raises the statutory presumption in Pennsylvania, and there is no reduced count for safety defects — that rule is California’s. 30 cumulative days out of service is an independent path. The problem must first have appeared within 12 months, 12,000 miles or the warranty term, whichever comes first.
- Which odometer reading does the Pennsylvania mileage deduction use?
- Only the miles you drove BEFORE first reporting the problem count against you. Miles added while the dealer is failing to fix the car do not increase the deduction.
- Is sales tax refunded in a Pennsylvania lemon law buyback?
- Conventionally treated as a collateral charge under § 1955, which refunds the "full purchase price ... including all collateral charges" without listing what qualifies.
- What happens to my car loan in a Pennsylvania buyback?
- The manufacturer pays your lender the outstanding balance directly out of the same money, and you receive the remainder. If your loan balance is larger than the refund, the loan is settled and no cash reaches you — which is a real outcome on an upside-down loan and worth checking before you start.
- Do I pay a lawyer out of my Pennsylvania buyback?
- Usually not out of the refund itself. § 1958 entitles a prevailing purchaser to reasonable attorneys’ fees and court costs from the manufacturer, paid on top of the refund and separately from it. That is why most Pennsylvania lemon law representation costs the owner nothing up front, and it is not part of the figure above. That is why the figure above deliberately excludes legal fees.
Sources
- Automobile Lemon Law, Act of Mar. 28, 1984, P.L. 150, No. 28 — 73 P.S. §§ 1951–1963, Pennsylvania General Assembly. Read 2026-08-09.
Other states we model
Each state runs a different formula, so these are separate calculators rather than one tool with a dropdown:
- California lemon law buyback calculator — the deduction is the purchase price × miles ÷ 120,000, with no ceiling.
- Florida lemon law buyback calculator — the deduction is the base price before tax and fees × miles ÷ 120,000, with no ceiling.
- New York lemon law buyback calculator — the first 12,000 miles draw no deduction at all; beyond that it is the purchase price × the excess miles ÷ 100,000.
- Illinois lemon law buyback calculator — illinois sets no deduction formula: the statute describes the allowance in words and supplies no number, no denominator and no cap.