Calculating a refund under the Florida Lemon Law is very straightforward. You’re entitled to the amount you’ve paid for your vehicle. This includes sales tax, finance interest, and other costs you’ve paid or accrued for the vehicle, including incidentals. However, the manufacturer is entitled to withhold a portion of the refund to offset the time you were able to use the vehicle without issue.
To calculate the maximum amount of the offset, take the vehicle’s purchase price, divide it by 120,000, and multiply the result by the number of miles driven up to the point that the case goes to arbitration. Even if the case ultimately goes to court, the offset is still limited by the vehicle’s mileage at the start of arbitration.
As an example, let’s consider a lemon vehicle with a purchase price of $60,000, including all additional costs. And let’s say the owner drove the car 8,000 miles by the time their case went to arbitration. Thus, the maximum offset would be $60,000 ÷ 120,000 x 8,000 = $4,000. So, assuming the vehicle was fully paid for, the refund would be $60,000 – $4,000 = $56,000.