Oregon Lemon Law Refund Calculator

How the Oregon buyback is calculated

Under the Oregon Lemon Law.

• When a manufacturer cannot fix a covered defect after a reasonable number of attempts, Oregon requires it to replace the vehicle with a new one, or accept the vehicle back and refund the full purchase or lease price and collateral charges you paid, less a reasonable allowance for your use (ORS 646A.404).
• The allowance is a formula, not a judgment call: the vehicle's mileage when the manufacturer replaces it or accepts it back, multiplied by the combined cash or lease price and collateral charges you paid, divided by 120,000. For a motorcycle the divisor is 25,000, and for a motor home it is 90,000.
• The mileage in that formula is reduced by 10 miles for miles the vehicle traveled during any period you did not have use of it because the manufacturer or its dealer was repairing it.
• Collateral charges are a "such as" list, so it is not exhaustive. It includes sales, property or use tax; license, registration or title fees; finance charges; prepayment penalties; undercoating, rust-proofing and factory or dealer installed options; and aftermarket items bought within 20 days after delivery. For an aftermarket item the manufacturer may instead remove it without damage and return it to you.
• Refunds are paid to you and to any lienholder as your interests appear. In a court case where you win a remedy, the court shall also award up to three times your damages, not more than $50,000 over the amount due to you, if it finds the manufacturer did not act in good faith.
• The calculator follows the formula: the price plus all the collateral charges you enter (tax, fees, finance charge, options), times the odometer reading less 10 miles, divided by 120,000. For a lease, enter the lease price: the allowance is taken on it plus the collateral charges, and you receive what you paid under the lease and the collateral charges less that allowance (the statute does not say how the refund is divided with the lessor, so this is your share). Without a lease price the allowance is taken on the amounts you paid and is understated.

Oregon lemon law: frequently asked questions

How is the deduction for my use of the car calculated in Oregon?

By a statutory formula (ORS 646A.404(3)): the mileage when the manufacturer replaces the vehicle or accepts it back, less 10 miles for miles driven while you did not have the vehicle because it was being repaired, multiplied by the combined cash or lease price and collateral charges you paid, divided by 120,000. A motorcycle uses 25,000 and a motor home uses 90,000. Our calculator applies it to the odometer reading you give it (less the 10 miles) and to the price and the collateral charges you enter.

What does an Oregon refund include?

The full purchase or lease price and the collateral charges you paid, less the allowance for use. The statute lists collateral charges "such as" sales, property or use tax, license, registration and title fees, finance charges, prepayment penalties, undercoating, rust-proofing, factory or dealer installed options, and aftermarket items bought within 20 days after delivery. The refund clause does not list towing, rental or repair costs, so the calculator does not add them; whether they are recoverable under the lemon law is not addressed in the statute we reviewed, and other law is not limited (ORS 646A.418).

Can I get more than the refund?

Under this act, only in a court action. If you win a remedy, the court may award reasonable attorney fees, expert witness fees and costs, and if it finds the manufacturer did not act in good faith you shall also be awarded up to three times your damages, not to exceed $50,000 over and above the amount due to you (ORS 646A.412). The calculator shows this as a conditional ceiling, not an expected result. If you pursue another remedy in court, the lemon-law recovery is limited to what ORS 646A.404 authorizes unless you prove fault resulting in greater damages (ORS 646A.418).

Do I choose between a refund and a replacement?

The statute says the manufacturer "shall" replace the vehicle with a new one or accept return and refund, but it does not say who chooses. The calculator estimates the refund only.

Do I have to use the manufacturer's arbitration program first?

Only if the manufacturer has set up or takes part in an informal dispute procedure that substantially complies with the federal rule 16 C.F.R. part 703 (as in effect on June 23, 2009) and has told you about it. In that case the lemon-law remedy does not apply until you have first used it. The decision binds the manufacturer but not you (ORS 646A.408). The act does not set up a state-run program.

What happens to the vehicle after the manufacturer takes it back?

The manufacturer must request that the Department of Transportation title the vehicle in its name with the notation "Lemon Law Buyback" on the title. Anyone who later sells or leases it and knows or should have known about the buyback must give the buyer a signed notice saying so (ORS 646A.405).