Most clients ask within the first 24 hours. The practical answer is yes, with caveats. The legal answer is even better: driving after the first repair attempt does not increase your mileage offset, because the statutory formula locks in on pre-complaint miles only.
The single most important thing to understand about driving your lemon during the case: the mileage offset under Civil Code 1793.2(d)(2)(C) is calculated on miles driven before the first repair attempt for the defect. Every mile you put on the car after that point is legally irrelevant to the buyback calculation. The manufacturer cannot increase the offset based on miles you were forced to drive while the vehicle remained broken and it failed to fix it.
This matters because manufacturers sometimes argue informally that you should "stop driving the car" to preserve its value. That argument is marketing, not law. Your statutory buyback is fixed on the formula's inputs, and post-complaint miles are not one of them.
If the defect is safety-critical, a brake issue, steering fault, phantom braking on Tesla, stalling at highway speed, repeated airbag warnings, do not keep driving assuming the numbers work out. Demand a manufacturer-provided rental or loaner in writing. Keep the denial. The denial becomes part of the record and the rental costs become incidental damages recoverable in the buyback.
In Niedermeier v. FCA US LLC (2024), the California Supreme Court clarified how mileage offsets apply when a consumer sells or trades the lemon before resolution. The holding affects the accounting when a consumer pursues a claim after parting with the vehicle, and it can reduce recovery compared to a pre-sale buyback. The practical takeaway is simple: do not sell the vehicle without legal advice. Keeping the vehicle during the case preserves maximum statutory recovery.
Call today. A manufacturer that refuses a safety-defect rental hands you direct willfulness evidence. Tesla, Ford, GM, Stellantis, BMW, they all have loaner programs; demand them in writing.
For any of these, document the last event, demand a rental in writing, and stop driving pending the repair outcome. Your safety matters more than the buyback.
What if I put 15,000 miles on during the case?
Those miles are not part of the offset. They do not reduce your recovery under the statutory formula.
Can the manufacturer argue I "assumed the risk"?
Not meaningfully. Driving after a failed repair is the consumer's exercise of the statute, not assumption of risk.
What if the car gets totaled during the case?
Comprehensive insurance handles the total loss; the lemon law claim continues on a diminished-use theory. Insurance proceeds may offset certain damages; consult counsel immediately.
Free consultation. No fee unless we win. Manufacturer pays your attorney fees under Civil Code 1794(d).