South Carolina Lemon Law Refund Calculator

How the South Carolina buyback is calculated

Under the SC Motor Vehicle Express Warranties Act.

• The manufacturer chooses the remedy: it replaces the vehicle with a comparable one or, at its option, takes the vehicle back and refunds the purchase price. The choice is the manufacturer's, not yours.
• The refund starts from the full purchase price as delivered, including applicable finance charges, sales taxes, license fees, registration fees, and any other similar governmental charges. It goes to you and the lienholder, if any, as your interests appear on the Department of Motor Vehicles record of ownership.
• From that, the law subtracts a reasonable allowance for your use, "that amount directly attributable to use by the consumer before his first report of the nonconformity". It is set by formula: the full purchase price multiplied by a fraction, with the miles the vehicle traveled before you first reported the problem on top and 120,000 on the bottom.
• On a $30,000 vehicle with 6,000 miles before the first report, the allowance is $30,000 x 6,000 / 120,000, or $1,500. The calculator applies the same formula to your numbers.
• The chapter provides no multiplied damages. A court may allow a consumer who finally prevails to recover costs and expenses, including attorney's fees based on actual time expended, but that is up to the court. Towing, a rental car and other out-of-pocket costs are not part of the refund clause, so the calculator does not add them. The chapter has no lease refund rule, so a lease estimate is an approximation.

South Carolina lemon law: frequently asked questions

How is the allowance for use calculated in South Carolina?

It is the full purchase price multiplied by a fraction. The top of the fraction is the number of miles the vehicle traveled before you first reported the nonconformity to the manufacturer, its agent, or the dealer, and the bottom is 120,000. Only the miles before your first report count.

What does the refund include?

The full purchase price as delivered, including applicable finance charges, sales taxes, license fees, registration fees, and any other similar governmental charges, less the allowance for use. The refund goes to you and any lienholder as your interests appear on the Department of Motor Vehicles record of ownership.

Do I choose between a refund and a replacement?

No. Under S.C. Code Ann. § 56-28-40 the manufacturer replaces the vehicle with a comparable motor vehicle or, at its option, accepts return of the vehicle and refunds the purchase price. The choice is the manufacturer's.

Can I recover attorney's fees?

A consumer who finally prevails may be allowed by the court to recover costs and expenses, including attorney's fees based on actual time expended, unless the court decides that an award of attorney's fees would be inappropriate. The award is discretionary, not mandatory.

Does South Carolina add extra damages for a lemon?

The chapter does not provide multiplied damages. It does provide administrative penalties against manufacturers that fail to report, up to one thousand dollars per violation, and against sellers that fail to notify a later purchaser of a repurchase, up to five hundred dollars per vehicle. Those are administrative penalties the state may impose; the chapter does not award them to the consumer.

Do miles on the vehicle when I took delivery count against me?

The allowance is "that amount directly attributable to use by the consumer", while the numerator is "the number of miles that the vehicle traveled before the first report of nonconformity". The calculator takes miles on the odometer at delivery out of the count if you enter them; the statute does not say which reading controls.

Does the calculator cover a leased vehicle?

The Act names the "purchaser or lessor" as a consumer, but the chapter says nothing about how a lease refund is figured. The lease figure adds what you paid under the lease and takes the same allowance; it is an approximation to discuss with an attorney.