Thoughts on Manufacturer Buy Back?

[X-rated]

RUN!!!

[GNVenom]

Bought a new Buick GS in 1996, and at about 1200 miles, it was stuck in a rain storm in which water filled into the passenger compartment up to the seating surface of the rear seat.

The insurance company would not total it, but instead, chose to fix it. Cost the company $14,000 to replace virtually everything in the interior including door panels, carpet, airbag modules, electrical items relating to seat and door controls, etc. In retrospect, I should have insisted on it being totaled.

Even after everything was replaced, on warm summer days the car would smell like a washcloth. Could not get that smell out of it.

Sold it a year later. Someone else's problem no doubt.

[sycraft]

title should be clear on a buyback, why would they brand the title.
?

[cadyshac]

OP you have stated 7K off the price but what is the price? Is it 7K off the original msrp or what?

[gajagfan]

Originally Posted by Chevy_cowboy

Also you probably should talk to your insurance company and find out their policy for insuring vehicles without clear title, some won't touch them, and others charge more or have other restrictions.

I would not be so sure that a buy back constitutes an un-clear title. This by no means is the same as a salvage. I agree ask, but I can not imagine there is a problem. I would check the car fax, and if it was clear, I would go for it.

[Evergreen6]

It's a Chevy Cruze...they are cheap, plentiful, and I'm sure you can find one closer than 2,000 miles away that doesn't smell like dead bodies.

[GetYouOne]

Car was bought and returned in FL. I have the buyback document from GM, but nothing on the actual issue at hand. Waiting on more paperwork and one of our forum members who works for GM is helping me out as well.

The car is what I want from the features, to the exterior color, interior color, etc. Course their are so many out there, but this is the only one in the country within my budget. I'm at a wait and see approach right now. If I can save 7k awesome if not I'll walk.

Car value is 19k I got them down to 12k. All cash not financing.

Originally Posted by f5journal

OP, out of curiosity, is the car in CA or AZ.

I once ended up in a situation where I did not know the car was a "buy back" until 3 years later when I received the title. This was a Honda, sold at an AZ Honda dealer, originally sold and bought back in CA

[Chevy_cowboy]

Originally Posted by gajagfan

I would not be so sure that a buy back constitutes an un-clear title. This by no means is the same as a salvage. I agree ask, but I can not imagine there is a problem. I would check the car fax, and if it was clear, I would go for it.

It might vary by state, but I think most states brand titles of buybacks in the same way they brand salvage titles.

Carfax is only going to show what was reported to them, usually by insurance companys or law enforcement. Dealerships doing their own repairs or maintenance/warranty issues usually will not be disclosed to carfax.

[Chevy_cowboy]

Originally Posted by Baba

Reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where, no matter what he tried, he couldn't get rid of the "funk" in his car after a valet had parked it. Ended up tossing the keys to a homeless guy.

I was thinking of the early Mythbusters episode where they sealed a hog carcass in a corvette for several months and then tried to get rid of the smell.


Personally I'd rather buy a car that had been wrecked or bought back for mechanical reasons than stench... fenders and engines can be fixed, but a stinky car is always a stinky car.

[gajagfan]

Originally Posted by Chevy_cowboy

It might vary by state, but I think most states brand titles of buybacks in the same way they brand salvage titles.

Carfax is only going to show what was reported to them, usually by insurance companys or law enforcement. Dealerships doing their own repairs or maintenance/warranty issues usually will not be disclosed to carfax.

Most Car Fax I have seen had dealer notes on them, so I assumed that it was common. I noticed this as I just went through quite a few in the hunt for an Avalanche for my wife.

[Chevy_cowboy]

Originally Posted by gajagfan

Most Car Fax I have seen had dealer notes on them, so I assumed that it was common. I noticed this as I just went through quite a few in the hunt for an Avalanche for my wife.

The thing to remember is everything on there is reported voluntarily. A dealership or a manufacturer doing repairs (say fixing body damage that happened on the lot or during shipping) is likely going to have good reason to not want to disclose that, or be very selective in what they disclose.

[gajagfan]

Originally Posted by Chevy_cowboy

The thing to remember is everything on there is reported voluntarily. A dealership or a manufacturer doing repairs (say fixing body damage that happened on the lot or during shipping) is likely going to have good reason to not want to disclose that, or be very selective in what they disclose.

I see your point.

[Dale_K]

I had a 2011 Cruze for a few years and belonged to the Cruzetalk forum. There is a known issue with some Cruzes where the car has a coolant smell inside the car. There are several factory bulletins about it. The last one I remember reading blamed it on a certain kind of grease inside the HVAC box. Whatever the cause plenty of Cruze owners complained about it. Mine had a little coolant smell under the hood but never inside the car.

So if you're sensitive to smells you might want to pass on it but if that kind of stuff doesn't bother you it could be a good deal. But you can be sure GM made an attempt to fix it and it didn't work so it will probably always be an issue with the car.

[GetYouOne]

According to my contact he gave me all the history on the car. Seems like the HVAC was replaced. No mention of a buy back at all or wasnt stated on the GM report, so the title is clean as of today. I'm so confused lol