Would you buy a GM Buyback (lemon) C7?
 

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?

Personally, I wouldn't touch one.

Personally, I wouldn’t touch one. Too much money tied up in a car with known issues. Even if they claim fixed I’d still run away. Find a good used one from a forum member.

Actually, I wouldn't, either. I'm just curious to know how the deals work out for the buyer. I would hate to try to re-sell one three years after buying it.

Well , at least it would not have a lot of miles put on it as it would be spending a lot of time back at the dealers getting more warranty work done .........to fix all the crap they could not fix previously, which is why it got bought back in the first place.

:nono::nono::nono::nono:

I bought a 2015 Z51 which I still have in the fall of '15 that was a buyback car due to the air bag light being on which apparently scared the original owner. The sensing diagnostic module was replaced prior to my purchase and nary a problem since i've had it. Not sure how it is in other states but in Illinois the title has no mention of it being a buyback. The 3 year manufacturer warranty is up in December but i already purchased the GMEPP just in case.

My personal opinion is.

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.

The C7 buyback cars have a track record of being overpriced. When I was looking at used C7s there were several lemon law buybacks available. Some had a few thousand off the going price, some were priced almost the same as a car without that stigma.
Unless there is a serious discount compared to the same used car without the lemon law buyback, I wouldn't touch it. Keep in mind, it's not just what the title says, what about Carfax, GM's Service Record. Computers have a long memory.

This is an interesting question. I suspect many "lemon-lawed" cars are the result of dealer service department incompetence. It could easily be for something that was relatively minor, but the dealer just badly mis-handled the diagnosis and repair, the state lemon law clocked timed out, or it was 3 strikes, and they were out.

If the price were right, and it was exactly what I was looking for, I'd do a lot of research on the cause. It could just well be one of the most reliable cars you've ever owned if properly repaired.

What the heck does this mean?


:confused2:

:lol::lol: I think he was telling the OP not to buy one of these cars.:thumbs:

Short answer: Maybe.
Longer answer: Get all the history on the car. Check the status of the remaining warranty. Negotiate an extended warranty. Some buybacks are for rather trivial issues, others are major ones. It all depends on the exact scenario. Due diligence is the key.:cheers:

Not even at gunpoint.

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 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.

Here in my hood is a dealer Lavery Chevrolet in Alliance Ohio who sells many of these GM buy back cars. I know 3 folks who have bought Corvettes and one a Camaro. All were/are very please with the discount and their resale experiences. A good friend bought the Camaro because the original owner said the roof leaked. GM bought it back and "fixed" it. Friend had it tested at the local car wash on the test drive and never had a leak. Then traded it a year later no issues.

I guess it all depends what the issue is that caused the buyback.

Dealers are not always accurate or truthful about the used cars they are selling.
(I know, that's a surprise).

I would check everything carefully and look for a possible warranty block. The manufacturer could have "bought it back" from the Ron Fellows school or some other place that runs 'em hard.

Yes, but GMVIS tells all.

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.

Nooooooo!