Question: Is there any way to determine what someone might have paid at an auto auction for a car that was determined to be a lemon?
June 2, 2005
Tony
Is there any way to determine what someone might have paid at an auto auction?
I have a guy who has the vehicle I want. It was a buyback/lemon. After talking to the dealership where it was serviced(they are not selling it), it sounds like the owner was overly zealous on things that were wrong (wind noise, you know what I mean). They also claim the car is fine.
The guy who has it now bought it at a autction. It clearly states lemon/buyback and he is not hiding that fact.
My big question is what type of discounts do these guys get at the auto auction? Is there any ballpark figure I can go buy?
Thanks,
Mark
Answer:
Hi Mark,
There's no way that I know of where you can find out what he paid. Just because the car was a buyback doesn't mean that the car sold for a huge discount.
Just as you surmise from the servicing dealers feedback, many so called "lemons" are bought back by the factory just to appease the owner. Sometimes people get hung up on minor problems. Stuff that many people wouldn't lose a wink of sleep over.
I've dealt with people like this.
They let the little noise or the little squeak or whatever drive them nuts until they become obsessed. They drive the dealership crazy; they drive the factory rep crazy until the factory says "Hey...enough! We'll buy the car back from you, and you can get something else!"
Sometimes there's a serious problem, but more often it's the owner...not the car!
So, if the car had minor stuff it would probably sell for close to it's normal price. You could always offer the guy selling it a ridiculously low price. Justify it buy the fact that the car is a "lemon." Then see how he reacts.
He might say you're crazy, but come back with a price that's still low. Especially if he bought the car cheap. Tell him that when it comes time for you to sell it you're going to have the same problem, because it's a "lemon!" Tell him the value of the car is extremely diminished due to that fact. He might come back at you with an attractive price.
You never know until you try, right? Other than that you'll just have to trust your instincts. There's no set rules when it comes to these types of cars.
I hope this helps.
All my very best...
Tony Iorio
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