Gnaigle

Anyone have any thoughts or history on why one should stay away from a Mercedes E Class Low Mileage Buy Back or Lemon Law car that has been put back in service by Mercedes as OK.

Barry45RPM

I can't believe that MBUSA could ever buy back a car from a consumer and then decide that it is really an OK car and put it back on the market for resale.

I am further sure that if MBUSA spent money to end a cunsumer's misery it would mark the VIN in MB computer systems as a Buy Back, and that it shouldn't be bought/sold or serviced by any MB Dealer because it would then be another financial/warranty liability to MBUSA, wouldn't it? So what would they have saved by buying it back to resell and hurt another potential customer?

That doesn't mean that a used car lot couldn't buy one at auction. MB would sell any mechanic all the parts he needed, but wouldn't have the service/warranty headaches (except for Recall Work).

If you know that this car is in fact a Buy Back or Lemon Law car, you'd have to be crazy to buy it.

JRAMGV8

I agree with Barry. I can't believe how the dealers would try to sell these cars again, just dont buy it.

MARK CUMMINS

On Lemon and or Buy back cars..The dealer is giver at least Four shots at correcting the complaint Before its a Lemon or Buy back...

If The Dealer cannot fix it in FOUR visits ...Do YOU Think its Repaired Now?
As it would be a LOT cheaper for MB to fix the car rather than buy it back
and feed the lawyers
Some cars cannot be repaired...I Have seen several MBs that the factory could NOT FIX...

Also Lemon/Buy back cars are red flagged when doing a title search or Car Fax..So resale is aprox 20/30 percent LESS

Most MBs that are tagged are sent to the auction

Gnaigle

Thanks All, I just wanted cofirmation that what I thought as well was right. I looked at one a dealer had and it sure looked great but when I read the Buy back statement on the report it raised the red flag, however the dealer stated that MB would honor all warranty work even the same item as they originally bought the car back for. That just does't ring true to me.

Gullwing

Why was is bought back? Could just be a problem that the owner picked and complained about just so it would get bought back after finding out he could not afford the car...
Some cars are bought back even after being fixed correctly just to make the owner happy so he will continue to come back.
Then again it could just be a POS.

Barry45RPM

You're kidding, right? We're talking about an "official" Buy Back, not a dealer accepting a trade in.

ThemisN

I wouldnt...Mercedes is not quick to buy back a vehicle...trust me, the issues arent going away, and you have something better to do with your time than bring it in for service.

NCE500

If you check Ebay, you will see MB "Buybacks" at reduced prices pretty frequently, generally offered by non MB dealers.

In my view, given the complexities and associated repair costs of these cars, the risks are way too high to justify the savings. I would either pay a little more and get a CPO car, or buy one a year or so older that suits your budget.

Gullwing

NO, I have seen it happen several times while working at dealerships.
Saw one car that was bought back after 50 miles, and was fixed on the first attempt. All that was wrong, a loose connection at the alternator.

Benz-O-Rama

Well this is very sound advice from some very respected members of this forum. But I will have to politely disagree.

You see, I purchased my 2004 E500 as a factory buy-back **GASP**!

The car was purchased back from the original owner by MBUSA due to rough 1-2 and 2-1 shifts. I purchased the car with 28K on the clock, it now as 61K and has been mostly a great car. As many remember these cars had umpteen transmission updates before they finally got it right. The original owner was unhappy and MB graciously purchased the car back. When I purchased it, I received a letter from MBUSA stating that it was a buy back and what was done to fix the problem before they resold it. As we all know, the transmission software updates and valve body replacements continued through 2006. Shortly after I purchased my car a new transmission software update became available and I had my local MB dealer apply it along with the newest valve body. To this day, the car shifts perfectly both up and down.

The notion that these cars will not be bought/sold or serviced by any MB Dealer because it would then be another financial/warranty liability to MBUSA is false. It's true that I didn't purchase my car from a MB dealer but my local MB dealer has not treated me or my car any differently than if I purchased it from them. All repairs I've had were covered under warranty and I was given a MB loaner every time. Not to mention that all of my scheduled maintenance was covered as well since it was a 2004.

Now, I most certainly could've been lucky. I'm sure most buy back stories aren't as great as mine but if you do you research, deals can be had on these cars with no significant increase in repairs. At the time, similarly equipped non-buyback cars were selling for 7-9K more than what I paid. And at the time I planned on keeping this car until it died, so it was a no brainer for me.

My car has no "lemon" or "buyback" or "POS" stickers on it whatsoever. However, if you run a carfax on it, it does state "Manufacturer Buyback". That's the only clue that this car has a bit of history with it.

tanktube67

good to know
thanks

tashakes

Benz-o-rama is absolutely correct. The cars will have a FULL warranty and be treated like any other car, unlike salvage titled cars, and an extended warranty may be purchased as well. Manheim (wholesale auctions) fully make the dealer disclose the reason of the buy-back, and will not deliver the title to the delaer until the consumer has signed the buy-back paperwork. That way, you can always decide if you want to get in or not. Furthermore, BMW (not sure of MB) will warranty the issue at least for 12 months, even if the original warranty expires. If the price is right, I would do it. But thats just my .02.

**EDIT Oh, I forgot, an acquaitance of mine had a lemon-law buy-back on an Audi S4 because they were not able to fix the power seat memory in 4 tries.... Just think if you could live with something like that for $5000 less than a comparable non-branded car....

Davel

MB did a buy back in 03 and 04 not because there were problems, but that if you ordered a new 03 with navigation, MB first told customers it would be a retro-fit available in 5-7 months. Then MB told customers that it could NOT be done, so they offered to buy back any customers car that ordered the navigation option. I opted for a free portable nav unit from my dealer and a few other goodies (roof rack with bicycle and ski, and leather MB jacket) in stead of another car. Car has been great and i'm a happy camper

NCE500

While I'm sure there are exceptions, and if one does their homework pertaining to the reason for the buyback, i.e. there are undoubtedly some returned for a frivalous reason.

I have simply seen too much scary metal go through the auctions, and have turned into a big chicken when it comes to buybacks.

That being said, kudos to those who are/were able to get a good car for substantial savings, and are happy with the outcome, there are also good deals out there. You guys who have done so are a lot bolder than I am.

NO_WUR_E

So if a car reflected on CARFAX shows car auctioned.....is that an indicator that it might be a buyback.

I recently purchased a CPO E350 2006. Carfax & service record was clean. A friend of mine is looking at an E500 '04, 24K miles...CARFAX shows "Vehicle serviced
Electrical system serviced" THEN it was auctioned off later. Not a CPO and sold at one of those small car lots. Car listed around 26K.
Is this a bad sign?

boymom

Hello. I'm hoping someone can answer this. I have an E500 2004 that my husband bought in 2005 at a dealer auction. It was a lemon buyback, and came with a long list of what was repaired. There was nothing major. Stereo buzz, something about wipers, shockingly minor stuff. It almost seemed as if the previous owner just wanted out of the car. Anyway, all of those items were repaired came with warranty, along with the car itself, obviously. It's been a great car, and nothing on the list ever came up. Or anything else, for that matter.

Anyway, I'm planning on trading the car in at MB for something else. Bluebook does not give a value for lemon buybacks, so I'm wondering what to expect. If it weren't for the lemon brand, the car would fetch about 20k-22k on trade in, according to Kelley.

So, what can I expect? Will they take it at all? I certainly hope so.

Any thoughts appreciated.

sosh

Absolutly NO. There are many fine cars that go thru dealer auctions. Not unusual for a dealer to auction a trade in that is not his cup of tea to sell used on his lot.

tashakes

Well it does have a branded title and you did purchase it at a discount, so expect a lower price to be offered at the time of trade-in in return. Auction data shows the car at $18K-$21K with 42K miles avg, so you can most likely expect the lower price to be offered. If the car is in good condition and it has low miles, you may be better off selling it yourself instead of trading it in. I have never traded in, as dealers offer lower prices than private buyers, since they must make money on them. If they plan on running the vehicle through auction, they will see the same data I just did and offer you accordingly.

Good luck, Edward.

mkaresh

I hear about cars being bought back fairly often, since I operate a panel with over 25,000 cars in it. As Gullwing says, the severity of the problem varies greatly. Sometimes it's a severe problem. Sometimes it's something that some people would not care about or even notice.

So I'd say the key thing is to learn why the car was bought back, and see if you can detect the problem and whether it bothers you.

Rainman15

I've seen 3 07's lately on ebay listed as buy back cars and they specifically listed the problems as steering system related. Is that a common issue on the 07's? That is the model year I'm been looking to buy much later this year, like Christmas.

JRAMGV8

All I can say, I'd never purchase a buy back car... that's just me

Barry45RPM

11,000 Miles on my '07. Absolutely problem free!