What happens to the buyback Jeeps?

[Dkretden]

I had a 2006 Trailblazer SS that was a lemon. I used the bbb to fight it. Learned real quick lemon law is biased to the manufacture, and that's why I worked with FCA directly this time. Much better outcome.

However, I ended up getting a lifetime warranty and then sold it myself. Crazy story with the person who bought it, long story short the DEA and ATF got involved and the vehicle ended up government property. Down the road it ended up at the dealership I bought it from new, that fought me in repairs and was part of the lemon law process with bbb. I also called them to ask about it, and they did not disclose that it was a lemon, or that it had been seized by the government and used for cross country drug running. When I confronted them on their dishonesty they said t was not mine, and I was wrong. I showed them an old insurance card with the vin on it, and the original window sticker. They would not talk to me anymore. Moral of the story is that some dealers will disclose things, others will not. Due to this, I try t buy new as often as I can so I know the vehicle is maintained correctly etc.

If you sold it yourself, then the car wasn’t ‘legally’ a lemon with a lemon title, correct? I don’t see that the dealer did anything wrong or dishonest here. By definition, the car wasn’t a lemon because you didn’t complete the process. Right?

Sponsored

 

[Cypher]

If you sold it yourself, then the car wasn’t ‘legally’ a lemon with a lemon title, correct? I don’t see that the dealer did anything wrong or dishonest here. By definition, the car wasn’t a lemon because you didn’t complete the process. Right?

No, it was actually branded a lemon. Even though it was a lemon and I was awarded a buy back, due to the MO lemon law and BBB and the Arbitration agreement everyone signs when you purchase the car, there was no guarantee that I would get all the money back out of it. So due to the miles that were on it and the amount I owed the buyback was less that payoff and I would have actually lost money. When I mentioned that to the Arbitrations person (as required per contract and MO lemon law) I was offered another option of a lifetime warranty on it. I was able to sell it for quite a bit more than the buyback offer on my own even with that on the title.
I was dealing directly with GM and the dealership in Arbitration with the BBB in the middle. A lot of my claim was against the dealership because they were blatantly lying about some of the issues. I had them on video telling me one thing in the dealership about what was wrong but they filed something differently with the better business bureau and to GM. It was an actual safety issue that needed fixed. When merging or trying to pass on the highway, instead of downshifting into a lower gear it would essentially go into neutral. Very easy to replicate, and a single rode along by the arbitration lead was all it took. the dealer knew for sure that this one was a lemon because they physically had to go to arbitration with me. Second the vehicle itself was branded a lemon and was noted. When I see a lot of people that like jump right into lemon law i feel bad as in a lot of states they don't understand that it's not always in your best interest to do that, as you may end up with a vehicle branded a lemon but they don't actually buy it back because you won't get your fair amount for it. Lemon law does not necessarily give you back everything you put into it and make you whole. It seems like it does on paper, but in MO at the time in 2006 it did not. Taking on a major corporation is always a gamble as they have the upper hand. Arbitration requirements also are not in your best interest. That is why with my JLUR I did everything I could to work it out with FCA, and not push lemon law unless I had no other option. Staying calm and being patient worked well in this case for me and FCA is making it right. No missed work and hours and hours of effort needed that I would have had with lemon law.

 

[Dkretden]

No, it was actually branded a lemon. Even though it was a lemon and I was awarded a buy back, due to the MO lemon law and BBB and the Arbitration agreement everyone signs when you purchase the car, there was no guarantee that I would get all the money back out of it. So due to the miles that were on it and the amount I owed the buyback was less that payoff and I would have actually lost money. When I mentioned that to the Arbitrations person (as required per contract and MO lemon law) I was offered another option of a lifetime warranty on it. I was able to sell it for quite a bit more than the buyback offer on my own even with that on the title.
I was dealing directly with GM and the dealership in Arbitration with the BBB in the middle. A lot of my claim was against the dealership because they were blatantly lying about some of the issues. I had them on video telling me one thing in the dealership about what was wrong but they filed something differently with the better business bureau and to GM. It was an actual safety issue that needed fixed. When merging or trying to pass on the highway, instead of downshifting into a lower gear it would essentially go into neutral. Very easy to replicate, and a single rode along by the arbitration lead was all it took. the dealer knew for sure that this one was a lemon because they physically had to go to arbitration with me. Second the vehicle itself was branded a lemon and was noted. When I see a lot of people that like jump right into lemon law i feel bad as in a lot of states they don't understand that it's not always in your best interest to do that, as you may end up with a vehicle branded a lemon but they don't actually buy it back because you won't get your fair amount for it. Lemon law does not necessarily give you back everything you put into it and make you whole. It seems like it does on paper, but in MO at the time in 2006 it did not. Taking on a major corporation is always a gamble as they have the upper hand. Arbitration requirements also are not in your best interest. That is why with my JLUR I did everything I could to work it out with FCA, and not push lemon law unless I had no other option. Staying calm and being patient worked well in this case for me and FCA is making it right. No missed work and hours and hours of effort needed that I would have had with lemon law.

This is very confusing to me and your pose is dense.

If YOU sold the car to a third party, YOU had the title, right? It is unclear to me how the car was “branded” a lemon if you had the title and did not got through the lemon law process in your state. I don’t know what “branding’ means either in practice or legally. It’s either on the title or it isn’t, right? The title would only reflect the lemon law issue if it was transferred as part of that law, right?

It kinda boggles my mind that you have had two “lemon-ish” issues with two cars in only about 10 years. The car above and now your Jeep.

 

[Cypher]

This is very confusing to me and your pose is dense.

If YOU sold the car to a third party, YOU had the title, right? It is unclear to me how the car was “branded” a lemon if you had the title and did not got through the lemon law process in your state. I don’t know what “branding’ means either in practice or legally. It’s either on the title or it isn’t, right? The title would only reflect the lemon law issue if it was transferred as part of that law, right?

It kinda boggles my mind that you have had two “lemon-ish” issues with two cars in only about 10 years. The car above and now your Jeep.

Well, considering this is close to my 40th vehicle, with many being first year new models or redesigns without the bugs worked out it is easy to assume I may get a few bad ones. I have also had many, many new and used cars in the last 10 years that were fine. I had a 2017 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk I miss greatly, and if it was better performing off road I would buy another in a heartbeat.

My JL is not a "Lemon" it is being repurchased by FCA Voluntarily. My 2006 trailblazer SS was a lemon, the actions there were not voluntary. I took them through the arbitration process via bbb and MO Lemon Law. I do not know what was put on the title exactly, but I did have to send it through registration again with paperwork provided as part of the process for something to be noted on it. I was also told when I sell it I had to disclose to the buyer that it was part of a lemon law settlement.

I know the risks of buying a new model vehicle, but I still do it. A large majority of the time I have had no issues at all, but there have been a few.

I was here to give advice that it is actually not a good idea to jump right to "lemon law" as there is a good chance you will lose money. You are much better off working with the dealership or the manufacture to get the vehicle fixed or give them a chance to remedy. In my case I could have sent it back in for another few weeks or more or get a new one. I chose to let them have this one back and place a new order that hopefully won't need to have the work done this one has. I am not bashing Jeep at all, after all I plan to buy another. But I think people should be very informed before the get a lawyer, or formally go through the lemon law process as it may not quite work out as well in the end.

And I apologize for any spelling or grammar errors in my posts. I use a mobile device and talk to text so there are a lot of cases where I miss things. It is frustrating for me as well, but easier than typing.

 

[Greg H]

My 18 JLUR was an FCA buyback. Nothing on the title indicates it was a Lemon. Only clue on the Carfax is it shows reported at auction as a manufacturer vehicle. If it was bought back in a state that doesn't have a Lemon branded title it wont be flagged as a Lemon. I bought mine in December with 3900 miles on it. It now has 9500 miles. Only issue I've had was the start/stop kept saying Unavailable battery charging. I took it in and the dealer replaced the auxiliary battery. No issue since. I did have to sign a disclosure when I bought it saying it was a manufacturer buyback for stalling issues that were repaired and that FCA was extending the 3/36 bumper to bumper warranty to 48 months unlimited miles. I bought it for a little over $9k off the original MSRP.

 

[Cypher]

My 18 JLUR was an FCA buyback. Nothing on the title indicates it was a Lemon. Only clue on the Carfax is it shows reported at auction as a manufacturer vehicle. If it was bought back in a state that doesn't have a Lemon branded title it wont be flagged as a Lemon. I bought mine in December with 3900 miles on it. It now has 9500 miles. Only issue I've had was the start/stop kept saying Unavailable battery charging. I took it in and the dealer replaced the auxiliary battery. No issue since. I did have to sign a disclosure when I bought it saying it was a manufacturer buyback for stalling issues that were repaired and that FCA was extending the 3/36 bumper to bumper warranty to 48 months unlimited miles. I bought it for a little over $9k off the original MSRP.

A buyback and a lemon are not always the same things. You can have a buyback that is not a lemon, and you can have a lemon that is not bought back. Lemon law is a set of guidelines to determine state by state what is considered a bad vehicle. However, even if you meet Lemon criteria, it may not result in a buyback. You could get a extended warranty as well. It is actually a little confusing, the only reason I know is I spent about a year with the BBB and GM on a Lemon Law claim in MO and learned a lot.

 

[Gron86]

I would stay away from a buyback, I made the mistake of buying a 2003 Infiniti G35 coupe had about 2300 miles and 10k off msrp (unheard of at the time) everything was excellent during the time I owned it, after a few years I traded it in for a new 2008 JK Sahara. It was then that I realized the true disadvantage of purchasing a buyback. The car fax was showing a dealer buy back and I was offered about 5k bellow KBB. I tried other dealers and it was the same situation. After finally getting rid of the Infiniti I swore I would never purchase a buy back no matter how good the deal was, unless you plan to keep it forever then that’s a different story.

Sponsored