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BTW, the Spring Mountain cars are not "buybacks." They are delivered to SM brand new from GM w/ powertrain and suspension system warranty blocks before they ever go into service. SM gets a big discount as a result. They are sold usually at 3-4K miles to an independent dealership in SoCal, which discloses those warranty blocks, which remain in place.
However, they are also very well-maintained.
SM told me that they completely refurb their cars before they are sold off. New tires, brake pads and rotors, suspension parts and anything else they need to deem it "like new". if buying used I wouls buy a SM car without fear. I understand they ship to a dealer somewhere in the sanctuary of California
SM told me that they completely refurb their cars before they are sold off. New tires, brake pads and rotors, suspension parts and anything else they need to deem it "like new". if buying used I wouls buy a SM car without fear. I understand they ship to a dealer somewhere in the sanctuary of California
Yes, I'm aware of that, and I'm not all that concerned about the fact that they were used at SM. The vast majority of students don't push them hard enough to cause excessive wear and tear.
However, the prices I've seen aren't discounted enough to make up for the lack of a power-train warranty. These cars are young and any other comparable car would have at least 4 years, and 55k miles of power-train warranty left. There are plenty of those out there.
At any rate, the SM cars are off-topic. "Lemon-law" cars retain the full remaining warranty coverage from their in-service date. SM cars don't.
1) I would need to know what system was malfunctioning (lemon, yes, but electrical, engine, trans, what?).
2) I wouldn't pay much for it.
3) I would likely only buy it if I was planning on modding the snot out of it.
Especially on point #3.
If you're planning to gut it, install a full roll cage and build it into a GT race car, and if the price is right, they can be a great value.
I've built some good race cars on really questionable histories/titles. If the price is right, go for it.
I'd probably pass if you ever plan to resell it for someone to drive on the street. As others have said, computers these days have long memories, and there will be a black mark on the history that will show at the dealerships and possibly on CarFax.
Last edited by C6_Racer_X; 10-12-2017 at 04:29 PM.
NFW !!!!!!! Why get involved with a question mark vehicle that will be hard to unload. Too many non problem child well cared for vettes out there.
Sounds like you missed some of the main points here. A lot of lemon-law cars probably really weren't problem children and were also well-cared for. They were the victim of a lousy service department.
Sounds like you missed some of the main points here. A lot of lemon-law cars probably really weren't problem children and were also well-cared for. They were the victim of a lousy service department.
That's what happened with my wife's T bird. Big water leak into the trunk. After three failed attempts by the dealer to fix it the lemon law came into play. We gave them one more chance. Same thing as before, "We fixed it this time". Nope. At this point my wife climbed in the trunk and found a unsealed spot where light came through. They probably were able to fix it after she found the leak but it was too late. Ford had to buy it back.
I would. With my stingray, it spent 18 days of the 30 required days in the shop getting a windshield replaced (factory air bubble defect). My Grand Sport has spent 21 days in the shop getting the alignment fixed as of tomorrow (Monday) I'm not saying anything because a) I have a free $65k SUV to drive around in and rack up miles on and b) if I hit 30 days, I'd lemon it and just buy it back. I only need 30 non-continuous days to lemon it I think (I dunno, just what I've heard)
Last edited by village idiot; 10-16-2017 at 12:36 AM.
Sounds like you missed some of the main points here. A lot of lemon-law cars probably really weren't problem children and were also well-cared for. They were the victim of a lousy service department.
Some are also "buyers remorse."
If you can get a "no fix" three times, even on something where the "defect" was created by the car buyer, it can be used to force a buy back under the "lemon laws."
Still, those vehicles take a huge hit on resale value, and might not have a complete warranty. If you can get enough of a discount, perhaps they can be a good deal.
As I mentioned, if you're going to be turning it into a race car, you won't have any warranty worries, and resale value has more to do with the quality of the build of the race add-ons than the base car, not to mention the on-track results.
I have been patiently looking for the right C7 convertible, and over the past couple of weeks I have seen several "Manufacturer Buyback" or "lemon law" cars offered by various dealers. In most cases the advertised price doesn't seem to be low enough to compensate for the branded title, but one or two of them had be tempted.
The question that I have relates to warranty coverage. If there is any of the original warranty period remaining, will GM still honor it? I figure that buying an extended warranty isn't going to happen.
Has anyone out there ever purchased one of these "manufacturer buyback" cars? If you did, did you sell it at a later date? Was the reason for the buyback resolved, or did it come back to haunt you after the purchase?
I wouldn't do it but that's my personal opinion about the matter. Why buy a car you know the previous owner had problems with as GM was given several attempts to fix the problem and obviously failed in doing so? Of course, you can buy anew car that later turns out to be a Lemon but why buy a lemon labeled car?
I wouldn't do it but that's my personal opinion about the matter. Why buy a car you know the previous owner had problems with as GM was given several attempts to fix the problem and obviously failed in doing so? Of course, you can buy anew car that later turns out to be a Lemon but why buy a lemon labeled car?
No, an incompetent dealer, who is an independent business, was too often given several chances to fix the problem. However, it's GM paying the price.
I do think GM, as well as other manufacturers, bear some responsibility in not maintaining tighter quality control over their dealer networks, but given the long history of US manufacturer-dealer relationships and long-standing agreements, that's a tough nut to crack. The newer, foreign franchises are somewhat more tightly controlled, but even they have problems with incompetent dealers.
The icing on the cake is that most states have laws forbidding manufacturers to sell directly to the public, which keeps independent franchise dealers in business. That's both a good and a bad thing depending upon one's perspective, but it's bad from the standpoint of manufacturer guaranteed and quality-controlled service.
Tesla is trying to hard to reverse some of those state laws against factory-owned dealerships with some limited success in some states.
I absolutely would buy 1 for the right price. I'm sure there are some cars with real problems, but most are not. Spend about an hour on this forum reading all the nut job posts about what's wrong with their new baby and you'll see what I'm talking about. Many Corvette buyers are hard to please.
I would if priced right. Cars are after all, just an assemblage of parts --- and parts are just parts. If they are not working together as intended, they can be taken apart, adjusted, and reassembled or replaced if defective. No mystery or voodoo magic needed.
Some people just overthink things to the point pf paralysis.
I purchased one several years ago a 2005 C6, The only reason I did was at the signing and after I was all set and excited to buy it the dealer decides to tell me its a buy back. He said that its no big deal at all and selling would be easy if I every wanted to sell it later. OK, it was truly one of the best vettes I ever had and I loved it. BUT.....trying to sell it down the road was a true PITA, a lot of banks would not give loans to perspective buyers because of it. I did finally sell the car but for a much lower price than I could have if it was a 100% good car. So, if it were me I would not ever do it again.
I was wondering if banks would give loans for lemons...
My car has 900 lightly used miles on it and has a paint issue and when I am done it will be a buyback if your interested. I am sure that they will get every nut and bolt back where it belongs with only a few left over. Should be a great car for someone that likes rattles .
10-12-2017, 02:59 PM
I'm not saying anything because a) I have a free $65k SUV to drive around in and rack up miles on and b) if I hit 30 days, I'd lemon it and just buy it back. I only need 30 non-continuous days to lemon it I think (I dunno, just what I've heard)
