My son in law is looking at a E350 Diesel 2012 3000 miles with a Leamon title $43,000 not from a MB Dealer but his local dealer said it is still covered under the warrenty? What are the riskes. he normally keeps his cars for 6 plus years.

 

Do you know what the problem was that made it a Lemon title?

 

He spoke to the dealer that did the repairs and they said it was a starting problem and they replaced a lot of parts and really never knew what fixed it but it seams to be fine now. Due to time it was in the shop it was replaced under the leamon law.

 

sounds like a headache I would not want

 

Verify from a Mercedes dealer that it is actually still under warranty and what the issues were. If they "don't know what fixed it but it seems to be working" then I guarantee you the same problems in the future.

If the manufacturer says "we bought the car back as a goodwill because it had been in the shop for more than 30 days but we know what the problem was and we fixed it" then I might be tempted at the right price.

A lemon that goes to auction is still a lemon.

 

The dealer that fixed it (Midland) and the local dealer (Austin) said that the remainer of the factory warrenty was still in place. But Midland said they did not know for sure what fixed it.

 

For $20,000....yes
For $43,000....No Way!

 

Original selling price and current used car selling price of a comparable non-lemon are two things I would look at.
It only has two years or so left on warranty. What about getting dealer to throw in at least two more years of warranty? Otherwise, they don't really think it is fixed.

 

If its all covered under warranty then sure I guess. Assuming anything that breaks is covered. Who knows you may get lucky and have all the issues taken out of it! I would not pay that really high price but if the price was right then yes.

 

I bet this car was picked up at the auction by this dealer for real cheap (due to lemon title) I would guess around 30k ish.

I would not pay more than 33k OTD for this car.

 

Hell no. Why buy a headache?

 

Lemon title cars come with different warranty provisions that vary state-to-state. Get everything in writing, and at least two separate parties to come to the same decision.

Or, just take the $43k and buy another CPO MB from another dealer.

My experience with lemons leads me to believe that they never have a single issue.

 

Warranty or not, it's gotta be a major stress driving this car knowing it had a problem with the starter and they don't know what they did but some how it works. What if you are out somewhere and the problem occurs? Definitely not worth the money they are asking.

 

I wouldn't buy a lemon car just because you will probably never be able to sell it.

 

I agree. In California a lemon law car is defined as a problem that occurred many times (3x) and could not be fixed. When a smart mechanic fixed it then by law had to be sold as a lemon law car. The advantage you should be able to purchase it at 30% less of the normal price the bad news is trying to sell it. Unless the mechanic can certify the work done then the carfax would kill the deal. I helped my sister purchased a California lemon law car from the dealership. The work completed gave her an additional 12mo warranty on the work done. However, what they (dealership) thought was the problem and tried to fix was not the core problem. My sister had to take her car to another dealer who then found the original problem. Good news was the older work had a warranty but the new fix did not. She did not mind because I got a great deal on the car (I got it for about 30% below fair market price). People get uneasy when the car has any negative history that will negatively affect the used car purchase price when you sell.

 

Look harder and try cars.com, you can find clear title 2012s for the same price and even less, maybe higher mileage but I'd rather have a few more thousand miles than a headache down the road.

 

Not quite correct. All lemon laws have several components:

A time period in which the fault occurs (usually 18 months or so)
The number of times the same fault occurs (usually 3+)
The fault has to have a substantial impact on the driveability (starter inop would clearly fall under that - a rattle would probably not)
Finally, there is a time threshold - generally a cumulative time in repair (not necessarily all at one time) of 30 days or so.

When looking at a lemon car one needs to consider the reasons for lemoning:

Dealer couldn't fix fault
or
Car stayed in the shop 30+ days

If the buyback was for time (and the dealer definitively states in writing that the issue was fixed and an extended warranty is provided for that fault, then you can consider it if the price it right. This price isn't as it is in line with similar cars that aren't lemons.

If the buyback was because the fault couldn't be fixed and they "think" the problem is fixed because it went away, then it will rear its ugly head again down the road.

I had a 98 Yukon with 120k miles. I loved that truck but there were a couple of times that the thing just wouldn't start.

The dealer said "the fuel pump is getting juice but isn't working" so a new fuel pump was installed. Worked great for a month.

The second time they said "it is the throttle position sensor" so that was replaced. Worked great for a while.

Then it wouldn't start in a parking garage and was towed to the dealer. It sat the night at the dealer lot and started right away. This time they blamed it on the coil wire, replaced it and it was running fine for a month or so until I sold it.

Did the coil wire fix it? Who knows. I just know that a week after they replaced the fuel pump I would have said "they fixed it."

Do you really want to risk being stranded somewhere and not even having gotten a good deal?

 

I had to lemon my 2008 CPO E350 within 5 months of ownership.

Overheated 4 times in a row and was in the dealership for at least a month during those 5 months.

Don't see how it is possibly worth the headache and hassle even if warrantied.

If you can't afford a non-lemon used one for a similar price or lil more... don't bother buying one.

 

Every state is different and I think California is most favorable of all toward owners. In South Carolina, the car has to be either unsafe to drive or will not run and cannot be repaired to be considered a lemon. A 3rd party paid by manufacturer will arbitrate the issue. Then you can get an attorney, but the law is the same-not safe or won't run and cannot be fixed.

 

While California may have the most consumer friendly laws, the South Carolina lemon law is not quite as dire as you make it out.

From the consumer affairs division it seems that the time period for reporting (12k miles or 12 months) is shorter than California's but the 30 days and the 3 defects are identical. Most states (California included) require arbitration if the manufacturer has a procedure for such in place.

"1. was bought on or after October 3, 1989; 2. has a defect that impairs its use or will lower its market value substantially; and 3. which the manufacturer cannot repair within a reasonable time. Q.What is covered in the law?A.Defects which do not substantially impair the vehicle's use, market value or safety are not covered. Also not covered are defects caused by the consumer's abuse, neglect or unauthorized alteration of the car, or defects that do not show within the first 12,000 miles or 12 months, whichever occurs first. Q.Does the lemon law cover anything other than new motor vehicles? A.No. It only covers passenger motor vehicles (cars, vans, small trucks). "

California is odd. In addition to the traditional "lemon law" (# of repairs, 30 days in shop, 18k/18month), they also have the Beverly-Song warranty act which extends protection under some circumstances to the time/mileage period covered by the manufacturer's warranty. AFAIK, no other state is quite that consumer friendly.

 

RE S.C. law - been there, done that! Manufacturer can try to fix it as many times as you can take it in. Also, must be unsafe to drive or not able to drive.

 

Nope. Please read the link in my post.

 

No.

 

Just to have a lemon title drops you car value way down. They say it is fixed but don't know what fixed it, i.e. it is NOT fixed.

I would offer to buy it for $33 000 with a signed contract for a year that allows you to return the car back for the purchase price minus some money for the mileage driven. The dealer would probably not make a deal like this so forget it. Not worth the risk even when under warranty. And MB might not even sell extended varranty for this car as it is a lemon.

 

A offer was made. Not as low as some suggested but, a few thousand less out the door. They did no more than $1000 less. Time to more on. I think he did.