Southwest Florida owners in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Estero, and Bonita Springs often put real miles on a new vehicle, between everyday driving and seasonal travel. Some people live in Lee County only part of the year. That fact does not, by itself, decide anything. What matters is whether the new vehicle was sold or leased in Florida, and whether the defect was reported inside the 24-month Lemon Law Rights Period. A vehicle purchased outside Florida is a different question. Say so at the start of the case review.

Authorized repair shops in this metro tend to sit along Colonial Boulevard, U.S. 41, and the residential corridors in Estero and Cape Coral. The stack of repair orders is local. The statute that reads them is Chapter 681, the same law that applies in Tampa, Naples, and the rest of Florida. Luxury and EV defect patterns are described on the luxury and electric vehicle pages.

Recalde Law Firm represents vehicle owners throughout Florida, including Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Estero, and the rest of Southwest Florida. We handle Lee County cases under Chapter 681 from the case review through resolution. Neighbors in Collier County can use the Naples page — it is the same firm and the same statute.

Seasonal residents and Florida delivery

If you took delivery in Florida, spending summer somewhere else does not move the vehicle into another state's lemon law. The rights period still runs from the original delivery date to the first consumer. Keep the purchase or lease contract and every Southwest Florida repair order. If part of the service history is from another state, include that too, and we will tell you on the review whether the Florida statute is the right framework.

The Florida Lemon Law still governs a Fort Myers repair history

Florida's Motor Vehicle Warranty Enforcement Act, Fla. Stat. ch. 681, applies to new motor vehicles sold or leased in Florida primarily for personal, family, or household use. The Lemon Law Rights Period is 24 months from original delivery to the first consumer. A nonconformity is a defect that substantially impairs the use, value, or safety of the vehicle. Florida law presumes the manufacturer has had a reasonable number of attempts when the same nonconformity has had three or more repair attempts and the defect continues, or when the vehicle has been out of service for 15 or more cumulative days for warranty repairs.

Those thresholds do not change because the dealer is in Fort Myers. Repair orders from an authorized dealer in the Southwest Florida area are the record. The law that reads that record is statewide. Leased vehicles can qualify when the lease term is at least one year — see leased vehicles under the Florida Lemon Law.

Before a buyback or replacement demand, the consumer generally must give the manufacturer a final written repair opportunity. Many claims then go through a state-certified arbitration program, often BBB AUTO LINE, or the Florida New Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board. How a claim works walks through that sequence. What qualifies as a lemon and how many repair attempts matter answer the two questions people ask first.

Contingency fee

If the applicable Lemon Law allows recovering attorney's fees from the manufacturer in addition to your recovery, we pursue that route. Otherwise the contingency fee is 30% of the gross recovery. That fee is based on the gross recovery and is not reduced by lease or loan payoffs, mileage offsets, use deductions, negative equity, or similar items outside our control.

You pay no upfront attorney fee and no retainer. If we don't recover for you, you owe no attorney fee. Court costs and expenses, if any, are disclosed in the engagement — they are not a retainer.

Related Florida Lemon Law pages

Other Florida metros

We also represent owners in these Florida cities: