mschuyler

I must say that I don't understand this issue. So we have a USED car with a couple thousand miles on it that has had some problems and has somehow been "bought back," but is not technically a "lemon" in terms of the law. So OP reports he will get $12,000 off presumably MSRP. What exactly is MSRP? We don't know, but it appears it is somewhere between 15-20%--for a used car--that has had some problems. We know that you can purchase a BRAND NEW 2019 for 15-20% off MSRP with no miles, no reported problems. Just look at the forum dealers' web sites.

So why are you even considering this? And why are you arguing with us? And what's with this "Big Brother won't let me post" crap? We've given it our best shot. We've tried to give OP the benefit of our experience. Take it or leave it. Buy a used car for a new car price or don't. Your choice. There's really nothing more to say.

Kent1999

1) "Buy Back" and "Lemon" are functionally equivalent terms for any car repurchased by the manufacturer because of unrepairable problems, or problems that failed to be repaired in a designated number of attempts. One is a buy-back that has been forced by state law, and the other is a buy-back that often has been forced by the threat of state law.

2) Cars don't get bought-back for minor issues like a paint flaw or a radio **** that keeps falling off. Buying a Lemon/BuyBack in hopes that it was "something minor" is quite foolish.

3) A car that a person gets tired of fixing and so convinces the dealer to give him a good deal on trade on a new car is NOT labeled a "buy back" car.

hope2

Dave is correct, sometimes a "buyback" will be done by the dealer with help from GM for more or less "goodwill" and it will not brand the title. If GM is forced or otherwise takes it back thru corporate channel, title will be branded. From what you posted about service history, not much there AND without a title brand, you are in the drivers seat cheap. imop

Further, while it is true mfr won't just take a car back. If first owner had substantial previous dealings with dealer, quite possible they went to bat for him, got GM to kick in and took car back. I've seen it done.

Rapid Fred

A lotta red flags, but the IP doesn’t need you or anybody else to tell him that.

The dealer being shady does not alone invalidate the deal. Too much money for a too compromised car would.

robertbruce

You answered your own question. Run do not walk away from this POS.

hope2

If the title is not branded, and it looks like it isn't, dealer has no obligation to disclose or furnish information. For him to do so might remove the cloud of shady dealer, ya think?

Lurker14

What I meant was 12k off current dealer pricing, not from MSRP. And apparently I have pissed off a few people while just trying to get information so that I can make a decision. Your "experience" would be very valuable if I could say "here is what exactly was wrong with the car, and what do you think?" I started this thread asking HOW TO FIND OUT WHAT WAS THERE. but immediately assumptions were made and then opinions given with those assumptions that have not been verified. You may be right, it may be best to walk away, but until I know exactly what is up I can't make that decision.

No one is arguing here. Clarification maybe, like I just want to find out whats up with the car; I never asked anyone to make a decision for me, especially without knowing all the facts. Knowing that some dealer called it a buy-back car is all I know- and maybe he is an idiot and it isn't even that, who knows? No one here knows for sure, and I am simply trying to see if the "experience" here can help me find out. I did not ask for the "experience" to make an uniformed decision for me- rather I asked for help in getting the the information to make that decision.

"Big Brother wont let me post" was a joke because my posts were being deleted. If you had a sense of humor you would know that. Do not worry though, I won't be bothering you anymore with simple and sensible questions like "how do I find out?" I am out. Too much conflict here for a such a simple subject.

SilverGhost

You asked for advice, ok, you don't like what you heard.

Of course this is your vette you will buy and hold forever.

Until you decide to sell it.

Remember all those posters who said "run away!"?

Guess who your target audience for buying your lemon law buyback is?

Think they are gonna pay you top dollar with a carfax full of repair visits, a GMVIS that they too will research, and some will even do a search on this forum for prior posts from you.

99% are going to walk away without even contacting you, and you will be competing with 177,000 other c7 owners, most of whom don't have a wonky carfax for their ride.

Have fun, its just money.

Lurker14

here is cut and pasted my original post:

I have searched here and on the interweb in general; cannot find this answer. Looking at a 2019 1LT manual that the dealer tells me, after a few days of negotiating, is a “GM buyback”. How can I..., or can I?..., get the straight scoop on why this car was a buyback, what the customer reported, and what repairs have been done?

Thanks in advance

I do not see anywhere above asking for advice from you, or anyone, other than to get information. Why is this so freaking hard to understand? If you sir had read the posts on here you would see that the title is not branded. I have been in many forums for my many cars and motorcycles, most are helpful and reasonable, some are a bit hard to deal with. I try to learn what I can and contribute whatever I can after I learn the car. This forum, by far, is the most confrontational and in my short time here I have seen more challenges to what I am trying to find out and generally ignoring the original question than all of the other forums combined! Even when myself and a few other posters try to bring it back. I hope that isn't a reflection of Corvette owners in general because I plan to become one soon. Not sure what else it would be though.

Jackie Chan

Eh. Gm buys back stuff way more than any manufacturer I've seen for some pretty minor issues. The craziest one that comes to kind is how some trucks and SUVs bound like the tires are out of balance when they have 22" wheels, they buy plenty of them back. Then there is the vette I have seen in the shop way more than the owner has seen in his garage for the last 6 months with a very good tech that has put a ridiculous amount of hours into trying to fix a check engine light.

pkincy

Why is everyone whining about this and that and ignoring the Service information the OP posted twice back in posts 31 and 35. Frankly it appears we are ragging on a guy that is asking a simple question and everybody is ignoring the answers he has given to the early questions. It is time for everyone to take a breath and unsubscribe from the thread if you can't be helpful.

Given the circumstances, I would say it is best to stay away unless you can save 10-15% off the best competing deal for a new zero mile MCO car that has the same equipment. The repairs are all unrelated and seemingly are only 4 in number. But the car is used and you don't know how it has been treated by the previous owner or the service department at the dealership. All you know is what is entered in the Service History. If they are offering a particularly good deal off a similarly used car so you are interested, the next step would be to go to the service department or have the sales droid do it and get copies of the actual service invoices for the four repairs. That should give you more detail and some dates to review. But if you can get 25-30% off MSRP (the normal 15 off plus another 10 or 15) and you have the full GM warranty why not consider it strongly.

ricks327

OP, it appears this car was originally from Michigan. Is the current selling dealer from Michigan and were they the dealership who delivered the car originally?

P.S. Hang in there, some of the C7 crowd can be rough around the edges.

HorsePower Junkie

Did you ever get the scoop on why GM bought this one back?


.

kennyjames21

I'll sum it up even if the dude probably isn't coming back...

The answer is, you shouldn't have to work so hard to find out this information. Why? Because if it was a minor issue, the seller would be happy to tell you all about it. The reality? The OP is trying like hell to find out why the car was bought back and we STILL don't know why, because the issue almost certainly wan't minor, which is why the seller didn't tell the OP why the car was bought back.

And ultimately, it's not worth going through all this trouble to save some money on a car that will almost certainly be a headache for the new owner, especially when you can get huge discounts on brand new c7s pretty much anywhere.

KCV

Zedred

If the title gets branded by the state and the warranty is blocked you can figure a 50% hit on resale or trade in value!

GS583

Due to medical issues with my knees I am changing to an automatic. I also desire a convertible as I had one before but thought the coupe would be okay.

And in a word, yes, to the hit on the value due to the "lemon" branded title.

Sambo1974

I worked for GM Service for many years. I met a lot of good techs and a lot of lazy ones. Before blaming the car, you really need to know the real history- let me explain. 1) Sometimes the customers find out they do not like the car or simply can't afford it. At this stage of the game customers will pick apart everything. 2) Sometimes customers get sick of hauling a new car in for a bunch of little warranty issues that keep taking up the customers time either in labor or waiting on parts. Buy back rules are not the same in every state however the small list of things that I read would not have GM writing a check for the car. The last element of the process and the part that always answers the bs meter, what vehicle did the customer buy after his car was bought back? Same car, same options and same color? If the answer was yes, the customer wanted a good trouble free car. If the answer was no to the above questions, the bs meter red lined and the customer was playing the game.

RACE U

This opinion is coming from someone that knows how much a buyback car can be. I had to make GM (they did not volunteer) buy a 2004 Cadillac SRX from me.

That vehicle was a total pain in the a__, Worried me to death. I COULD NOT WISH UPON MY WORST ENEMY TO PURCHASE THAT VEHICLE........AT ANY PRICE.

It's just not worth the worry , hassle, or heartache.

I hope you make the right decision.

Good luck (sincerely).

kennyjames21

Not necessarily. If I run into major issues with an A8 in my C7, and I got the car bought back, even though I love the C7, I might not get another one because I would not have faith than any C7 would have a good A8 in it and two, I might not want to deal with GM again if I had to fight them to buy back a lemon.