Would you buy a confirmed lemon? Found out why it was bought back.

[K enny]

I found a lightly used (under 1000mi.) 2021 Gladiator for sale at just over 10k off MSRP. The dealer uses Experian AutoCheck instead of Carfax and on the Experian check for this Gladiator it shows what they call a Lemon Brand, essentially it was found to be a lemon, in less than 1k miles/6 months of ownership no less, and I assume bought back. There is no indiction of what issues made it a lemon. It was sold at auction and bought by the dealer that has it now who has had it for 3 months or so. The pictures show a very nice Gladiator and the sticker shows it is a well optioned truck. I emailed the dealer asking about it being listed as a lemon, what the issues were and what was done to fix it but have not heard back yet.

So would you knowingly buy a vehicle that has already been found to have enough problems in less than 6 months/1k mi. for it to have been deemed a lemon?

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[Escape.idiocracy]

Is it sting gray?? ??

Edit- guess we don’t want to acknowledge the color- my in-laws went back 800 miles on…

 

[Dougstdig]

This would only be a question for a cash buyer since you’ll be hard-pressed to find a bank to lend money on it. 10,000 off sticker price is not near enough to deal with the ramifications of a compromise title now if you were to get it for 10 grand or 80% off it might be worth a gamble but keep in mind if you were to put your name on the dotted line you’re now burdened with shedding the turd as you’ll have to disclose it when you try and get rid of it and you may never get your money out of it.

 

[K enny]

Good point Doug. They have to let me know before I buy it and then it becomes my responsibility to do the same when I sell it. I did not think of that.

 

[Dougstdig]

Yeah it’s not like they’re getting rid of a dealer demo though they may try and convince you of that. Years ago I used to be over a consumer lending unit for a bank and there’s no way I would’ve touched it, no matter how shiny it was.

 

[RangerG]

I looked at buying one. Engine replaced. Should be good, right? I did a little research, found the following: Value of the car is only 60% of MSRP. $10000 of is not enough. Plus you will have a hard time latter in life to resale. If you keep it until it’s dead not a problem.

 

[Lunentucker]

It really all depends on what you'd do with it and what your abilities are mechanically.
I could see it making a nice donor for a build in which you're replacing or upgrading some of the expensive components that may have gotten it declared a lemon. Engine, transmission, etc.
At the end of the day they're all just a collection of parts.
So buy and drive, it's a gamble.
Buy and build, and it's saving money on things you were going to upgrade anyway.
But the value will be yours. As mentioned, it's not something to be flipped for a quick profit.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

+

I found a lightly used (under 1000mi.) 2021 Gladiator for sale at just over 10k off MSRP. The dealer uses Experian AutoCheck instead of Carfax and on the Experian check for this Gladiator it shows what they call a Lemon Brand, essentially it was found to be a lemon, in less than 1k miles/6 months of ownership no less, and I assume bought back. There is no indiction of what issues made it a lemon. It was sold at auction and bought by the dealer that has it now who has had it for 3 months or so. The pictures show a very nice Gladiator and the sticker shows it is a well optioned truck. I emailed the dealer asking about it being listed as a lemon, what the issues were and what was done to fix it but have not heard back yet.

So would you knowingly buy a vehicle that has already been found to have enough problems in less than 6 months/1k mi. for it to have been deemed a lemon?

The problem with a vehicle listed as a lemon is that you don't know if it was because there were multiple issues, one issue that they couldn't fix, or an issue or issues that were in the end fixed but that state's lemon law allowed the owner to get money or replacement because it was in the shop over 30 days or whatever their particular law says.
So it could be fine now - or have issues the original owner didn't like that weren't fixed, or anything in between really bad or meh, no problem now.

It's possible no one knows the issues, what was fixed or what wasn't.
There is no law or rule stating that repairs have to be reported to anyone. Carfax and others are only as good as what's reported - much of the time things never are. On the other hand, some vehicles have been incorrectly, wrongly labeled as having big problems when it was a simple bump in a parking lot. You can't even go by those reporting services.
No one HAS to report to them, and sometimes the way shops write what was done - wow, doesn't anyone pay attention in class any more?
I've looked at what has been written by shops about our vehicles in the "maintenance logs" on my mopar site - hard to figure what the hell they really did!

In short - you don't know, may never know.
Lemon means a lot of things from it took to long to it wasn't fixed to it was fixed after Jeep bought it back.

 

[Hootbro]

I would only buy one at part out value.

I am a believer that just about every lemon has a solvable problem. Just that the dealer service and warranty system is broken and someone with the right skills could figure and turn most of them around. If your skill set does not go beyond oil changing and pumping gas, I would not bother.

 

[USMC_1Wire6337]

Lot of good info. Don't forget to check with insurance, too. Might be a bigger impact on that as well.

 

[K enny]

It only took 4 emails for the dealer to answer the one question I asked but I got my answer. They emailed a scan of the FCA paperwork that shows:

1. Shifter not moving and had high RPMs.
Fix: Repaired connector.
2. Check engine light on.
Fix: Performed recall Z37 updating power control module.

That seems pretty minor to end up with a lemon law buy back but what do I know?

 

[Mr._Bill]

It depends on the Lemon Laws in the State where it occurred. In some, it has to still be a problem after three repair attempts, while in others it just needs to be out of service for thirty days.

 

[Barnaby’sdad]

It would have to be a LOT less than $10K off MSRP. I.e. $20K or more off + extended factory warranty + no hassle buy back (in writing) if it ends up being a lemon for you…maybe I’d consider it.

Having had a lemon vehicle years ago….my general advice is that it’s just not worth it. There’s enough aggravation in life as it is that I don’t get being like “challenge accepted” and taking on a vehicle like that. It’s just not worth it (to me).

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