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New Jersey Lemon Law

New Jersey’s New Car Lemon Law protects people who buy or lease a new vehicle when a covered defect cannot be fixed after a reasonable number of repair attempts, as long as the problem shows up within the first 24,000 miles or two years, whichever comes first. If the car qualifies, the manufacturer must buy it back and refund you. Here is how it works in New Jersey.

24k
Miles / 2 yrs
3
Repair tries
20
Days in shop

Is your car a lemon in New Jersey?

A new car is presumed a lemon when a covered defect meets this test:

Within the window
24,000
miles
or 2 years · whichever first
AND
The repairs fail
3×
same defect repaired, still broken
OR
20
days out of service, total
→

Your car is presumed a lemon. New Jersey requires the manufacturer to buy the vehicle back and refund the full purchase price, minus a mileage allowance for the use you got out of it.

One required step: after the third repair or 20 days out of service, you must notify the manufacturer in writing by certified mail and give it one final chance to fix the car within 10 days before the presumption applies.

New Jersey Lemon Law Buyback Calculator

Use Allowance

In a New Jersey lemon law buyback, the manufacturer can subtract a reasonable allowance for vehicle use. The deduction is based on your mileage at the first repair visit for the defect, not your mileage today.

Your Vehicle
$

The total purchase price of the vehicle. Leases use the lease price, which this calculator does not cover.

Miles

The odometer reading when you first took the car in for this problem. It is printed on your first repair order.

Try an example

Buyback Starting Point
$0

Your price minus the use deduction below. The statute also refunds items like sales tax, license and registration fees, finance charges, towing, and rental car costs while the car was out of service. If you have a loan, the lender is paid from the refund. This is the base, not the final amount.

Use deduction $0

The deduction is based on the mileage at your first repair visit for the defect. It locks in at that visit and does not grow with the miles you drive afterward, so the earlier the problem was reported, the smaller the deduction.

Miles at first repair × price ÷ 100,000

New Jersey’s lemon law covers problems first reported during the first 24,000 miles or two years after delivery, whichever comes first.

At this mileage, the deduction equals or exceeds the full price, so the starting point shows $0.

Replacement: The manufacturer may offer a comparable replacement vehicle instead of a refund, but you can turn down that offer and demand the refund.

Educational estimate only This is not legal advice. It assumes your vehicle has already been found to be a lemon, and real results depend on the facts of your case. The formula comes from N.J.A.C. 13:45A-26.11(b), which applies the use allowance in N.J.S.A. 56:12-32. Used cars fall under a separate New Jersey law with a different deduction.

New Jersey Lemon Law Articles

New Jersey at a Glance
StatuteN.J.S.A. 56:12-29
Coverage24,000 mi or 2 yrs
Repair attempts3 or more
Days out of service20 or more
Final noticeCertified mail, 10-day cure
RemedyFull refund (buyback)

Other States

New York › Connecticut › Florida ›
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