Louisiana Lemon Law Refund Calculator

How the Louisiana buyback is calculated

Under the Louisiana Motor Vehicle Warranties Act.

• If after four or more attempts within the warranty term or the first year after original delivery, whichever ends first, the defect has not been repaired, or the vehicle has been out of service for repair for a cumulative forty-five or more calendar days during the warranty period, the manufacturer must replace it with a comparable new vehicle or, at its option, accept return and refund your money (La. R.S. 51:1944(A)). If the manufacturer has established an informal dispute procedure that substantially complies with 16 C.F.R. Part 703, the refund and replacement provisions do not apply to a consumer who has not first resorted to it (La. R.S. 51:1944(D)).
• The refund is the full purchase price plus any amounts you paid at the point of sale, and all collateral costs, less a reasonable allowance for use. Collateral costs are sales tax, license fees, registration fees and similar governmental charges (La. R.S. 51:1941(1)). It is paid to you or to the holder of a perfected security interest, as their interest may appear (La. R.S. 51:1944(A)).
• The allowance for use is the amount directly attributable to your use before you first notified the manufacturer, agent or dealer of the nonconformity, and during any later period when the vehicle is not out of service for repair (La. R.S. 51:1944(C)). The statute gives no per-mile or percentage formula.
• Because the statute has no formula, the calculator deducts a practice proxy: the price times the miles you have driven, less miles that are not yours (those on the odometer at delivery, and repair and test-drive miles), divided by 100,000. That figure is not in the statute; the allowance a manufacturer or court applies can differ.
• The refund clause lists no towing, rental or out-of-pocket repair costs, so the calculator does not add them. A rental vehicle reimbursement of up to twenty dollars a day is a separate duty when a repair period exceeds ten work days or the same defect has been tendered on two previous occasions, for the warranty term or two years, whichever is first (La. R.S. 51:1948). Other remedies under other law are preserved (La. R.S. 51:1946).
• If you lease, the manufacturer may replace the vehicle or, if the lessor is willing, accept return and reimburse you for all reasonable expenditures in connection with the lease, and further satisfy all conditions of the lease in connection with early termination and related charges. You remain liable for a reasonable allowance for use (La. R.S. 51:1944(B)). The lease estimate here takes your payments, cap-cost reduction and deposit as that reimbursement and is an approximation.

Louisiana lemon law: frequently asked questions

Who chooses between a refund and a replacement in Louisiana?

The manufacturer. The statute says the manufacturer shall replace the vehicle with a comparable new one "or, at its option," accept return and refund (La. R.S. 51:1944(A)). The consumer does not get to choose.

What does a Louisiana refund include?

The full purchase price plus any amounts paid at the point of sale and all collateral costs (sales tax, license fees, registration fees and similar governmental charges), less a reasonable allowance for use (La. R.S. 51:1944(A) and 51:1941(1)). Finance charges you paid on the loan count as amounts paid at the point of sale: a Louisiana appeal court so held in Williams v. Chrysler Corp., 530 So. 2d 1214 (La. App. 2 Cir. 1988), so the estimate includes them when you enter them. Incidental damages such as towing or a rental are not listed in the refund clause.

How is the allowance for use calculated?

It is the amount directly attributable to your use before your first notice of the nonconformity and during any later period when the vehicle is not out of service for repair (La. R.S. 51:1944(C)). Louisiana gives no per-mile or percentage formula, so the amount is not fixed by statute; the calculator uses a labelled practice proxy.

How fast must the manufacturer pay?

Within thirty days after your offer to transfer title, or within thirty days after a decision by the manufacturer's informal dispute procedure awarding a refund or replacement. You surrender the vehicle with the certificate of title (La. R.S. 51:1945).

Can I recover attorney fees?

Yes, if you have complied with the requirements of the chapter and a judgment is rendered in part or whole in your favor: you are entitled to reasonable attorney fees actually incurred (La. R.S. 51:1947). The lemon law provides no multiplied damages.

Is there a rental car reimbursement?

Yes, in the cases La. R.S. 51:1948 lists: up to twenty dollars per day for the repair period when it exceeds ten work days or the same defect has been tendered for repair on two previous occasions. It runs for the warranty term or two years, whichever is first, and does not apply to personal watercraft or all-terrain vehicles.