Advice on Lemon buyback

[Hoofer]

I don’t understand how they can price it at this, I mean it’s slightly under what it would be if it was clean, but a lemon would drop it I think 10-20 or 30 percent?

OP, let’s say you buy it. Then in, say 1-2 years, you want to sell it.

How’s that going to go? What challenges do you thing you’ll have trying to sell it?

Personally, I’d stay far away from it.

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[Skye]

Agree with others: this dealer is asking full-price for something with a replacement engine.

I can't speak to what the discount should be, but there should be one. Or less of a discount + and extended warranty. Something.

Looking at comparables within 500 miles of my zip, dealers are asking similar pricing as the dealer you're considering, for something that's had no damage, no major repairs, same package and mileage.

Edit,

I'm still trolling this dealer's inventory, but they have at least two GTs which were buy backs, both selling at full price.

Looking at the inventory further still, there's a blue '22 GT for the same general price, with more mileage, no outstanding issues. As with the lemons, they are charging a premium for this one. I'm finding other, similar GTs with close to half the mileage as the blue one, at the same price.

What this dealer is doing might not be unique. Maybe this is their way of adding some room for haggling while still drawing a profit. IDK.

 

[Johnny maverick]

I would keep looking even with a warranty. Paying that kind of money you want a clean car. Also did they install a reman engine or new? Do you really want to have this in the back of your mind the whole time you're owning it. Nah. Not me. Good luck.

 

[geep81]

I ordered and received a 2019 that came with bad paint. Eventually after 10 months Ford took it back and replaced it.

During that time, yes I had a perfectly fine working car, but my stress levels and worrying was thru the roof.

That's how I'd feel buying a buyback/lemon car. Constantly wondering if today was the day it makes me regret it.

And if you have issues, it will probably be something that pops up once in a while but is hard to verify / get a tech to see the problem, so you'll go to enjoy your car and always some issues preventing it or bothering you while you're in it.

I would never buy a car if I thought I was gonna have a headache with it. Since you're looking at a 2022 I bet it's still expensive and not a very large discount compared to a car without history. I'd keep looking.

My original 2019 buyback sat on a lot for a year, then was sold again several states away, and then lemon lawed AGAIN from records I see online. I'm pretty positive someone bought my buyback and also had problems over it. I feel bad for them. I don't want to be in that position ever.

 

[originalgiraffe87]

Agree with others: this dealer is asking full-price for something with a replacement engine.

I can't speak to what the discount should be, but there should be one. Or less of a discount + and extended warranty. Something.

Looking at comparables within 500 miles of my zip, dealers are asking similar pricing as the dealer you're considering, for something that's had no damage, no major repairs, same package and mileage.

Edit,

I'm still trolling this dealer's inventory, but they have at least two GTs which were buy backs, both selling at full price.

Looking at the inventory further still, there's a blue '22 GT for the same general price, with more mileage, no outstanding issues. As with the lemons, they are charging a premium for this one. I'm finding other, similar GTs with close to half the mileage as the blue one, at the same price.

What this dealer is doing might not be unique. Maybe this is their way of adding some room for haggling while still drawing a profit. IDK.

I ordered and received a 2019 that came with bad paint. Eventually after 10 months Ford took it back and replaced it.

During that time, yes I had a perfectly fine working car, but my stress levels and worrying was thru the roof.

That's how I'd feel buying a buyback/lemon car. Constantly wondering if today was the day it makes me regret it.

And if you have issues, it will probably be something that pops up once in a while but is hard to verify / get a tech to see the problem, so you'll go to enjoy your car and always some issues preventing it or bothering you while you're in it.

I would never buy a car if I thought I was gonna have a headache with it. Since you're looking at a 2022 I bet it's still expensive and not a very large discount compared to a car without history. I'd keep looking.

My original 2019 buyback sat on a lot for a year, then was sold again several states away, and then lemon lawed AGAIN from records I see online. I'm pretty positive someone bought my buyback and also had problems over it. I feel bad for them. I don't want to be in that position ever.

I have confirmed with Ford directly and a different dealership running the VIN that the factory 36 month/36k warranty is still active, with 25k miles or 19 months left. Does this change anything?

 

[geep81]

I have confirmed with Ford directly and a different dealership running the VIN that the factory 36 month/36k warranty is still active, with 25k miles or 19 months left. Does this change anything?

Heck no. They could extend the warranty to ten years and I’d still never buy it.

 

[originalgiraffe87]

Heck no. They could extend the warranty to ten years and I’d still never buy it.

Okay. Could you help me understand your thinking there? I’m sorry if I sound stupid - never bought a new car/mustang. My thought was that the warranty being alive for a while would be able to put some security for any glaring current problems.

 

[mavisky]

Pricing has to be right and this car isn't.

We bought my wife a buyback Lincoln Aviator a few years back. Car was 2 years old, 10,000 miles, fully loaded Black Label Grand Touring which is a 90K sticker and we paid 50K for it. It had a few little hiccups afterwards, but all under warranty. Bought an extended warranty for it direct through Lincoln and now have 0 concerns and got it for about half price and practically brand new.

Your deal doesn't sound anything as nice as our deal was.

 

[originalgiraffe87]

Pricing has to be right and this car isn't.

We bought my wife a buyback Lincoln Aviator a few years back. Car was 2 years old, 10,000 miles, fully loaded Black Label Grand Touring which is a 90K sticker and we paid 50K for it. It had a few little hiccups afterwards, but all under warranty. Bought an extended warranty for it direct through Lincoln and now have 0 concerns and got it for about half price and practically brand new.

Your deal doesn't sound anything as nice as our deal was.

That makes sense. Im trying to call that out to them; but probably going to get nowhere on price. Especially if they’re a buyback dealer that’s confident they can scam somebody else into thinking its worth it.

 

[Johnny maverick]

Sounds like you already made a decision. If you can't trust the dealership that you think could be scam artists you'll have that in the back of your head on top of the questionable car you purchased. Why was there a no start? Why did the oil pump (I only assume) fail? Did this car get beaten from day one? If it did now you have a drivetrain that could fail right after warranty is up. I personally wouldn't buy a vehicle (or anything for that matter)that someone else had so much trouble with that they demanded a refund.

 

[originalgiraffe87]

Sounds like you already made a decision. If you can't trust the dealership that you think could be scam artists you'll have that in the back of your head on top of the questionable car you purchased. Why was there a no start? Why did the oil pump (I only assume) fail? Did this car get beaten from day one? If it did now you have a drivetrain that could fail right after warranty is up. I personally wouldn't buy a vehicle (or anything for that matter)that someone else had so much trouble with that they demanded a refund.

Yeah I agree with you. The only positive in this scenario would be the warranty being intact, But outside of that, i’m not going to be able to really figure out if the replacement engine just “tada fixed it” or if I’m gonna have serious issues pop up. Honestly why I posted here in general. Yall know more than I do. Appreciate the comments.

 

[geep81]

Okay. Could you help me understand your thinking there? I’m sorry if I sound stupid - never bought a new car/mustang. My thought was that the warranty being alive for a while would be able to put some security for any glaring current problems.

How much is a warranty worth to you if it's likely the car will be in the shop/having problems more than another car, because it's a buyback/lemon with known issues and an engine replacement?

I want to buy and enjoy my car, not buy and worry about what will happen to it.

And everyone loves to jerk you around on warranty work. Just because you have a warranty does not mean because you notice an issue that will get resolved. What it means is you will have a headache of taking the car to the shop and dealing with more problems than a new car should have.

On top of ALL that, the price of the cars you list is terrible for the issues they've had. They are pricing these as pristine options, and they are not.

Ford already makes a junk enough car, you don't need to buy one of their even junkier ones.

You've shown us 0 good reasons to bite the bullet on these lemons is the other one. The only real incentive to get a lemon and deal with all the troubles it might have would be a HUGE discount.

 

[originalgiraffe87]

How much is a warranty worth to you if it's likely the car will be in the shop/having problems more than another car, because it's a buyback/lemon with known issues and an engine replacement?

I want to buy and enjoy my car, not buy and worry about what will happen to it.

And everyone loves to jerk you around on warranty work. Just because you have a warranty does not mean because you notice an issue that will get resolved. What it means is you will have a headache of taking the car to the shop and dealing with more problems than a new car should have.

On top of ALL that, the price of the cars you list is terrible for the issues they've had. They are pricing these as pristine options, and they are not.

Ford already makes a junk enough car, you don't need to buy one of their even junkier ones.

You've shown us 0 good reasons to bite the bullet on these lemons is the other one. The only real incentive to get a lemon and deal with all the troubles it might have would be a HUGE discount.

You’re right. The warranty to me at least, is a little peace of mind that if the car just straight up blows up, it’s not fully on me. My thinking may be wrong, like I said, new to this. Since the entire engine is a new one, it didn’t seem to me that the base issue or future issues related to that could be even as close to that in terms of cost or annoyance. The no start/oil pressure (pump probably) would be isolated to the things they fixed? I don’t know.

Im in no way even a little committed to this car, just with all that I thought if I could get it down in price a decent amount that it could be an opportunity.

 

[geep81]

Yeah I agree with you. The only positive in this scenario would be the warranty being intact, But outside of that, i’m not going to be able to really figure out if the replacement engine just “tada fixed it” or if I’m gonna have serious issues pop up. Honestly why I posted here in general. Yall know more than I do. Appreciate the comments.

You’re right. The warranty to me at least, is a little peace of mind that if the car just straight up blows up, it’s not fully on me. My thinking may be wrong, like I said, new to this. Since the entire engine is a new one, it didn’t seem to me that the base issue or future issues related to that could be even as close to that in terms of cost or annoyance. The no start/oil pressure (pump probably) would be isolated to the things they fixed? I don’t know.

Im in no way even a little committed to this car, just with all that I thought if I could get it down in price a decent amount that it could be an opportunity.

You don’t even know that the new engine solved whatever issues were there. Possible it didn’t and the owner finally had enough and dumped it to be someone else’s problem.

 

[Skye]

I have confirmed with Ford directly and a different dealership running the VIN that the factory 36 month/36k warranty is still active, with 25k miles or 19 months left. Does this change anything?

In my mind, no. I've found other cars, similar builds, mileage, with the same warranty, for the same price that were not buybacks.

I feel I'm assuming a greater amount of risk and a long-term devaluation, purchasing a buyback. Under what circumstances the failure occurred. By who and how well the repairs were accomplished. If all the problems were captured and repaired. Long-term, people re-purchasing the car from me would feel same: "It's a buyback and now they're selling. Why? What's wrong? I should get a discount, to hedge against any problems I'm not aware of."

Those mechanical and valuation risks that concern me, I'd look forward to some form of compensation. An extended warranty, plus a discount.

Best Wishes in whatever you decide.

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