How much does this effect trade in or selling value? They have full documentation of it being an AC compressor issue that was fixed and warrantied, but it was branded in California.

 

A branded title will cost you approximately 25%-30% depending...

....and something doesn't sound right because they don't brand a title for an AC compressor... there is a lot more to this story that someone is not telling.

 

California branded title info
https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/vehicl...blems%2C%20etc.

Basically a branded/salvage/rebuilt title on a C7 means the car was totaled by the insurance company at some point in its life. Really watch out for flood damaged cars.

 

Maybe he means a manufacturer buyback ? Aka lemon law ?

 

Who cares what it means... it was bad news once and may well be for its lifetime. It's not worth the risk and potential, indefinite hassle, imho.

 

yes it was branded with buyback/lemon

The vehicle was reacquired because the AC compressor did not blow cold air.

 

Not only do branded titles result in diminished value, but the cars are normally hard to sell as the pool of buyers is small as many avoid branded titles like the plague.

FWIW - California Lemon Law
https://www.slpattorney.com/californ...n-law-buyback/

 

some financial institutions may not finance a vehicle with branded title also check with your insurance company too to see if they will insure it

 

Some very good advice here - unless you are getting one heck of a deal and are prepared to keep the car for a long time, buying one with a branded title is not a good way to go. Way too many cars out there without the bad history to choose from.

 

This would be a simple warranty repair, takes less than a day, and would not necessitate a Lemon Law buy back.

Something else is going on.

 

Unless the seller is practically giving the car away, do yourself a favor and not only walk away, but walk away fast.
There's just something that doesn't sound right about an AC issues initiating a branded title.

 

It is obvious on a car forum such as this, a branded title is the end of the world and the car should have been crushed. In real life, it is not nearly that dire of circumstances. I have sold and seen sold a number of buybacks that proved to be excellent vehicles for the purchaser and bought for a substantial discount.

The "Lemon Law" process can be very strange in many areas and it is not totally uncommon to see vehicles bought back with relatively minor problems that can easily be fixed but through a comedy of errors have not been properly taken care of. The important part would be a current inspection to ascertain current condition and I would want to have a VIS pulled to see what actual repairs have been done to the car. There are a lot of them bought back that I would not hesitate to personally own.

A branded title for a salvage vehicle could well be a 30% reduction in value or more and deservedly so. A buy-back would not have that kind of reduction for something like an air conditioning repair. Most often you should be able to get a few thousand dollars knocked off in comparison to a comparable car without the designation. If you are going to keep the car for some time, as many of us do, the impact of the title designation becomes less and less as time goes on and after going through multiple owners. A 20 year old C5 for example, would have little impact and value is based on current condition.

There certainly are a number of cars without a title designation for sale. The question is if you can save $5,000, the car passes a current inspection, and a review of factory warranty work shows no other "mysteries"...it can certainly be worth consideration.

 

It is branded for sure if its a buyback do to Lemon Law, i experienced it first hand.

 

OP, what troubles me about the description of this lemon law/buyback is, an AC compressor doesn't result in a lemon law buyback unless GM suddenly ran out of compressors. There's more to this that's not being disclosed and that would cause me to walk away. If they own up and give you the full story, them maybe you can consider it.
As to value, those who want to defend a lemon law car can do so all they want, but these cars have a flagged Carfax that turns off buyers. Many buyers don't even care what the reason is, they're not interested. The same for dealers who buy cars, they may or may not be interested. Those dealers that are interested only want them at a significant discount. When I was looking to buy a used C7, I saw quite a few lemon law buyback cars. Those that were priced at 8-10% lower than their clean carfax counterparts sat, and sat, and sat and didn't sell. The ones that did sell were closer to 20% lower than a clean carfax car. So as others have said, the discount needs to be big time, not a couple thousand lower.

 

Do not assume there is "more to this". I have been involved in a large number of "Lemon Law cases first hand and assuming anything would be useless. In most cases, three unsatisfactory repairs and or 30 total days in shop will trigger a buy-back. The consumer takes it in and tells the selling dealer it doesn't cool properly...he works on it. He takes it to a second dealer for another complaint about cooling and the dealer finds no problem. The consumer now takes it to a third dealer who looks at the history and really does not want involved. He makes a cursory inspection or even makes a repair of some type to cover time. The consumer then files stating it was never repaired properly and does not cool adequately in their opinion.

In most States, the case will ultimately go to a panel of folks who will listen to both sides of the question and in most cases will find for the consumer when it gets to that point. I have seen it too many times and have seen any actual problem easily taken care of before it is eventually sold to a dealer. What was actually done is exactly why you have a dealer pull the warranty service history to find how valid the claim might have been.

I appreciate your opinion but you do realize you represent the "forum" mentality. The vast majority of folks don't know the Corvette forum exists and a $5,000 savings on a $45,000 car speaks very loudly!

 

In one instance that I'm aware of, getting a lawyer involved to settle a valid lemon law claim, can not only get a satisfactory repair, but also a cash settlement from GM. It also avoids the branded title problem. The owner had "the A8 trans problem" that couldn't get resolved for nearly 40 days in the shop, because GM drug their feet authorizing solutions. After a 5 figure settlement (post lawyer fee) the dealer finally got the trans fixed too.
Apparently, GM feels financial pains from lemon law branded titles and pays to avoid them.

 

People who sell cars like that say 20%-25%.

People who buy cars like that say 50%.

 

You are absolutely right. The professional bases their opinion on the daily reality of the market and the results. The amateur buyer bases their opinion on what they wish to be true. Nothing wrong with that but seldom works in the favor of the buyer.

 

Yes and No... you hand picked a best case example... a branded title on a C2 or chrome bump C3 is the kiss of death to collecters.

A branded title just depends... if I was buying a Corvette to build a track car it wouldn't bother me in the least and I'd be happy to get a sizable discount.

Either way branded titles severely effect sales price and you have a small pool of willing buyers.

FWIW - Many C2 and C3's have branded titles because they were stolen at some point in their life, the insurance paid out, and the cars were eventually recovered. Many are beautiful, never wrecked and extremely well cared for... but it doesn't matter as the price takes a huge hit because of the branded title.

YMMV

 

Well stated and 100% correct in my experience.