Tampa Bay service usually runs through dealers on Dale Mabry, in Westshore, Brandon, or Wesley Chapel, and across the bay in St. Petersburg and Clearwater. The invoice may say Hillsborough or Pinellas. Chapter 681 asks a different set of questions: was the new vehicle sold or leased in Florida, does the defect substantially impair use, value, or safety, and has the manufacturer had a reasonable number of attempts inside the 24-month Lemon Law Rights Period?

South Tampa, St. Petersburg, and the Clearwater side of the bay have a visible share of luxury vehicles and EVs. A new vehicle that keeps going back for the same electrical, suspension, driver-assistance, or battery complaint is not a Tampa-only problem with a local rulebook. It is a Florida Lemon Law fact pattern with a local repair history. Owners in Brandon and Wesley Chapel are in the same statute as owners in Hyde Park.

Recalde Law Firm represents vehicle owners throughout Florida, and that includes Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater. Chapter 681 applies statewide, and we handle Tampa Bay cases from the first review through the end.

Repair records from both sides of the bay

It is common for one vehicle to accumulate tickets in Tampa and then in Pinellas, or the other way around, when the closest loaner or the brand's service bay changes. Bring every visit. The presumption under Florida law looks at attempts on the same nonconformity, and at cumulative days out of service, not at whether each visit was in the same city.

If the vehicle is a Tesla, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Range Rover, or another new luxury or electric model, start with the brand pages and the Florida Lemon Law overview. The thresholds on this page are the same ones used there.

The Florida Lemon Law still governs a Tampa 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 Tampa. Repair orders from an authorized dealer in the Tampa Bay 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: