b333s333

Anyone have any knowledge or experience regarding the GM "Buy-Back" Program for cars considered to be a "Lemon"? I'm considering the possible purchase of a C7, Z06, with 8sp auto, that was a "buy back" (under the state's "Lemon Law") by GM for "rear differential noise". The car was then repaired and sold at auction to a different Chevrolet dealership in another state. Balance of original GM warranty comes with the car. (23 mths or 20,000 miles) Anyone familiar with a similar scenario or should I walk away from the deal?

capevettes

Having been through a GM buy back myself, I wouldn't dream of buying into a nightmare. My new 2005 had so many issues, GM agreed to buy it back. Not easy to accomplish.
The car you are considering will always have a diminished value. Not worth it even if it can be purchased reasonably. I'm sure you will get many that will say that if the issue was resolved, it may be a good deal. I would be very surprised if the rear end was the only issue.
Don't know anything about the actual car you are considering. I would rather pay a little more to own a car with no stories and issues.

Boba Fett

good information/response up there^^^

ray soletic

I went through a lemmon law experience with a 2005 corvette.GM Bought car back, increased discount on new one with a few bucks for my hassle. Did this through a lemmon law attorney. GM doesn't care about its customers. Even their flagship corvette owners. I had a lemmon from acura, 1 phone call and I had a new car in 48 hours. Love the corvette, GM has no interest in its customers. Are you listening Mary Barra?

23/C8Z

If you found original owner (phone or email etc) and he or she could explain what the problem was to a degree of certainty that you could then inspect and verify has been taken care of then at at least 25% or more of a discount over used car trade in price for it maybe then and only THEN it's worth a gamble.

those are a lot of hurdles right there. And i dont think you could make it as far talking to original owner.

is that enough hurdles for you to walk away? Lol

why take on a nightmare like was already posted... stress and aggravation knowing you bought it like that and then being stuck. For a way less valued Z06. Save a little more and buy better one imo

I lease most vehicles because I get bored quick. The vette I didn't but I did a balloon payment loan 3 yrs at 1.74. Like a lease it may go to someone else.
I went through lemon law once on a lease gm paid me 3k to keep it I said f it. And eventually the dealer did fix the problem on the 7th try lol. Simplest solution ever. Clutch fan on my envoy they changed every other part in the world. One per trip swore it was fixed.

that car probably isn't fixed.

breakskeet

Welcome to the forum b**ls**t!

You must of been lurking around here for a long time since you have been a member since 2011 and this is your first post!

If the deal is sweet enough, I think you can consider it. Is the title branded lemon byback or does it show up on carfax?

If it was truly just a rear diff and it was replaced and all is good now then go for it.

jcthorne

There is a wide range of reasons for buy backs.

But the vast majority of them boil down to poor communication between owner, dealer repair shop and the manufacture.

IF the problems are well understood by the new prospective buyer and can be remedied, purchasing a buy back with warranty coverage can be a good deal.

I have owned several vehicles that the previous owner gave up on. Not buy backs but pretty frustrated owners. Worked to fix them or have them fixed at shops better able to diagnose the real underlying cause. They went on to be extremely reliable vehicles for me. One mans trash can be another mans treasure if he knows how to deal with it.

JoesC5

GM bought the car back(lemon law) because they couldn't fix it when the original owner had it. What makes you think that they somehow "magically" fixed it after they bought it back from the original owner? They had a lot of incentive to get the car fixed right for the original owner as that would have been cheaper on GM's part vs a lemon law buy back. What incentive did they have to fix it correctly after it was bought back(costing GM more money in addition to the buy back)

My opinion is that they just stick it on the used car lot in the same condition as they bought it back, and wait and see if the new owner has problems(and then they will repair it if it's still under warranty).

Personally, I would never buy a car with a branded title. Too many "if's".

Thomasmoto

I wouldn't even consider it. I worked at a Buick dealer many years ago and a real lemon is forever a lemon. I didn't use to believe so, but saw it happen more than once. The only way I would consider a car like that would be if it were going to be used ONLY as a race car and never driven on the street.

Crunch527

Why pay $50 or $60K for a known headache?

Les

That pretty much says it all. There are plenty of other well priced used Z06s to choose from.

Bill Dearborn

Actually a lot of times they couldn't fix it because the owner made it impossible to do the job right by placing excessive demands on them. There are also owners who consider something like the front tires skipping during tight turns to be fixed no matter what is normal.

I purchased a buy back 86 from them and it turned out to be one of the best cars I ever owned. I kept the car for 10 years and drove the hell out of it and it never let me down. I got top dollar for it when I sold it since it was in great shape and impressed the buyer with its performance.

Buying one of those cars is probably better than just buying any run of the mill used car from joe blow. Just like any used car you have to do your due diligence but you also can get a great car at a great price due to the unwarranted stigma noticed in this thread.

All you have to do is search on buy backs through the history of the forum and you see that a large percentage of those owners were sort of Dick Heads.

Bill

capevettes

Well I hope that you don't consider me meeting the dick head profile of GM buy back Forum members. My 05 had so many issues right from day 1 I almost have forgotten them. Dead battery syndrome (DBS) after 2 days. 5 dealership attempts to resolve it and they could not. Their answer was to shut it off in reverse. Of course I always had been (required on 05 M6). Bad clutch chatter they never fixed. Fuel sender/tank issues. I couldn't even put gas in the car. They fixed none of it. There were many other issues. I hung in there for 2 years not wanting to give up on the car. I never hired an attorney. GM finally admitted the car was no good. They wholesaled it and I don't know where it went, but good luck to whomever got it.

Don't consider myself hard to please. Most would have waved the white flag long before I did. When you go through that kind of nightmare, you wouldn't ever consider a buyback. Are there some good cars, perhaps but is it really worth the risk and the diminished value. NOPE, not in my opinion.

5thGear

GM bought back few C7's that had differential whine noise because it needed replacement but they were on a long backorder. This is a fact. The differential is supplied by ZF Germany. After 30 days at the shop, they bought them back. Any simple issue on top of not having parts available for a new car, it would make sense to process a buyback if that's what the owners wants.

Usually poor communications, technicians skill, parts availability are bigger factors in causing a buy back.

b333s333

The car's Title states LEMON LAW BUYBACK in a box titled "Vehicle History" at the top of the GM title AMD shows up on CarFax as "Branded Title: Buyback/Lemon". I'm going to check with my state's DMV and see if they transfer that out-of-state "Lemon Law Buy Back" title info to this state's new title.

NSC5

If you are going to keep the car for a long period of time AND the discount is worth it then I wouldn't worry about the buy back on the title. The big drop in value should be occurring at this transaction IF you get it for a good price (significantly below what a similarly equipped and mileage not buy back vehicle would cost).

I wouldn't consider a buy back that resulted because of numerous issues, particularly electrical. But in this case it appears it was a single issue which can be (and likely was) cured by a replacement differential.

If the price of this one looks great compared to other used models then I would buy it; if the price isn't that great then the dealer will get used to washing and displaying it

b333s333

The car's Title states LEMON LAW BUYBACK in a box titled "Vehicle History" at the top of the GM title AMD shows up on CarFax as "Branded Title: Buyback/Lemon". I'm going to check with my state's DMV and see if they transfer that out-of-state "Lemon Law Buy Back" title info to this state's new title.

BPSCZ06

my dealership sells buyback cars all the time. probably 15-20 per month that we buy at auction from GM. If the car was a buyback for transmission, and it was replaced, i wouldnt be worried. Even more so that it still under the powertrain warranty if somthing else popped up. In the 7 years ive worked there i can only remember 2 buybacks coming back a 2nd time for issues.

Z06NJ

run

b333s333

Now that's funny.