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Lemon buyback?

3K views 19 replies 16 participants last post by  Delmarva 
#1 ·
I am currently driving a 2018 XC 60. I absolutely love it. I recently got solar power on my house, and now feel like I should at least be driving a hybrid. (I'm not quite yet ready for a Tesla.)

There is one available at my local dealer, identical to my car. It's a little bit too pricey for me to do the XC 60 right now.

But… There is a 2017 XC 90 T8 inscription. It is just about identical to my car in terms of features, looks terrific inside and out, 22,000 miles. $55,000

Here's the catch-the Carfax report identifies it as a lemon/manufacturers buyback.

https://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistory/p/Report.cfx?partner=DLR_3&vin=YV4BC0PLXH1182471

What is your opinion? Has anyone purchased one of these? It appears the issue was "check engine light/hybrid system." Was this an issue?

Any input is appreciated,

Profiler.
 
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#6 ·
A car that has been repurchased from the factory cannot be Certified. They will have to sell it with a Volvo VIP warranty, instead.
 
#5 · (Edited)
...
But… There is a 2017 XC 90 T8 inscription. It is just about identical to my car in terms of features, looks terrific inside and out, 22,000 miles. $55,000

Here's the catch-the Carfax report identifies it as a lemon/manufacturers buyback.

What is your opinion? Has anyone purchased one of these? It appears the issue was "check engine light/hybrid system." Was this an issue?

Any input is appreciated,

Profiler.
I have not purchased a buyback or ever had a buyback. However, +1 for the suggestions above. There are buybacks because really inconvenienced or disgruntled customers and then there are the rare lemons - recognizing that lemon laws are not uniform across the states. (Maybe federal preemption of state laws would resolve that but that is an aside. )

CarFax has limited information and is sometimes right, but mostly general and potentially misleading. Having a full disclosure by the original dealer of service and damage history would be prudent and having an extended warranty would be good insurance. I would tend to walk from a "true" lemon but I would not have CarFax's labeling be the criteria. It is a orange flag - beyond yellow but not necessarily red without some prudent investigation, disclosures and extended warranty.
 
#7 ·
Our first 2016 XC90 T8 was a lemon. Instead of having it branded as a lemon, Volvo took it back and gave us the same amount they would have had to pay us for a "lemon" branded car, and applied that to a new 2017 XC90 T8. Thus - they got the car back without the "Lemon" branded title.

If you are considering purchasing the car, I would suggest - as others above - that you have them include the highest VIP warranty available on it.
 
#9 ·
If the car has a branded title, I would not purchase it, even if you are able to determine that it has been properly repaired. The title brand will reduce the value of the car on resale and for insurance purposes if the car is ever totaled. I don’t think the risks are outweighed by the benefits. Just ask Samcrac or Steve Lehto on Youtube. Samcrac bought what he thought was a bargain — a new Lincoln SUV with less than 1,000 miles that had been lemoned for half off MSRP. Steve Lehto is a Michigan lemon law attorney who talked about Samcrac’s purchase and whether lemon cars are ever fixed.

I would recommend finding a new or CPO car from your retailer.
 
#10 ·
A Lemon car is not the same thing as a salvaged car. Often the Lemon was a customer accommodation, while the salvage could be a flooded car, a crashed car etcetera. The reason a car received a lemon designation can often be repaired. While I have seen salvage on the title is Lemon also part of the registration and pink slip? Sometimes that is a way to get a great deal on a vehicle. Where as a salvage title will no longer have any manufacturers warranty remaining a Lemon could in fact have a warranty. As for insurance many years ago I purchased a Jeep Wrangler that had been stolen and stripped. It carried a salvage title. Auto Club insured it, and told me it would be treated like any other car. No discount because of the salvage title. If in an accident I would get it repaired as if it was a normal car. That was a few years ago and not sure they still treat salvage cars like that. I have some friends that have purchased salvaged sports cars at great discounts. There is currently a 2017 NSX at $87,000 that has 2000 miles on it. Front end damage with pictures. Listed as a salvage title. About $35,000 of normal price. Only big problem is losing the new car warranty. It would always be worth less than the equivalent non salvage titled car.
 
#11 · (Edited)
I am currently driving a 2018 XC 60. I absolutely love it. I recently got solar power on my house, and now feel like I should at least be driving a hybrid. (I'm not quite yet ready for a Tesla.)

There is one available at my local dealer, identical to my car. It's a little bit too pricey for me to do the XC 60 right now.

But… There is a 2017 XC 90 T8 inscription. It is just about identical to my car in terms of features, looks terrific inside and out, 22,000 miles. $55,000
I always start with Autotrader, because one way airfare anywhere in the country is (comparatively) cheap, and you can probably drive 1200-1500 miles home over a weekend without taking a lot of PTO from a job.

With a Lemon Buyback that shows up on Carfax, you're not going to get the same value when you go to sell the car on as you would with a clean Carfax. The only way you can turn that into a non-loss for you is to get that same discount on your purchase price up front. Hitting up Autotrader, 13 out of 18 (72% of) 2017 XC90 T8s are already below that 55k price point. Buying what should be the lowest priced XC90 at one of the highest price points is nutzo.

In your shoes, I think I'd go for this clean carfax T8 Inscription POLESTAR from Vroom - and have them drop it off at your doorstep, with no fly'n'buy needed, at fair price, and no concerns about how big a hit you'll take from the dirty Carfax when you sell it.

If you're insistent about using your local dealer, then I'd beat them up until they sold me the car somewhere in the $45-48k range WITH the top tier VIP warranty included in that price. That would certainly keep your future losses on the vehicle to a minimum. My guess is that they won't bite, and you've got at least 13 better options waiting for you on Autotrader, so there's no pain in just walking out of your local dealer.

 
#12 ·
In your shoes, I think I'd go for this clean carfax T8 Inscription POLESTAR from Vroom - and have them drop it off at your doorstep, with no fly'n'buy needed, at fair price, and no concerns about how big a hit you'll take from the dirty Carfax when you sell it.
Totally agree with Tomahawk at this price, there are too many non lemon cars available with a little travel or shipping.

One question looking at the linked vehicle above - T8 with polestar in the U.S.? Did I miss something or is there a little badge adding action going on there :D
 
#15 ·
@Profiler Did you end up buying this vehicle or what did you end up doing? I ask as I find myself potentially in a similar situation but I wonder what your process was like in negotiating with the dealer for the buyback (apologize ahead of time for bringing this thread back from the grave).
 
#19 ·
Well this thread was from 2019.....so not sure you'll be getting any reply.

Vehicles are lemon'ed for many reasons. From simple and mundane there's a bug that owner took in and couldn't be repaired to major mechanical issues.

Buying a Lemon is like playing the lottery. You're almost guaranteed to lose.

1. A Lemon Vehicle will never have resale or trade in value. These cars are hard to sell because they'll forever have a branded title.

General Note: Theoretically, it's possible to get a salvage or lemon titled white washed by passing it through several states, but that should also show up on a CarFax / Autocheck in most cases.

2. You're taking a huge risk that the reason the vehicle was Lemon'ed is now fixed.

3. Buying a Lemon is similar to buying an Accident Vehicle. It's a huge gamble, and for some, the only way to enter a brand. Still, this comes with a huge Caveat Emptor - Buyer Beware.
 
#16 ·
Buying a used lemon title requires a lot of research to be done. It can be a costly mistake as others have illustrated above. Sometimes the owner just has buyers remorse, but more often, there is a legitimate problem which could not be rectified by the dealer.
It can comparable to starting a relationship with someone who has been divorced, especially with children. It can look good on the surface, but there is a reason they got divorced. Sometimes you can get lucky, but other times the longer the relationship goes on, the more you can discover as to why they got divorced. In the end it can be a costly mistake.
 
#17 ·
Any car could get problem sometime down the road. It is a probability game. When you buy a car without warranty, the probability certainly varies but you can't predict right now anyways. The problem with lemon car is it is hard to resell with the lemon label. So if the price is right and low, you can certainly buy it with some money reserved to fix it in future.

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