Ford Buy Back Question
04-30-2020, 09:36 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Ford Buy Back Question
I am in the market for my first Ford and have been looking at lot at F150s. I found one that ticks all the boxes but now I just noticed that it states it was a Ford Motor Company Buy Back. Should I walk away or run? I get that there may be a lot of reasons a truck gets bought back and I haven't spoken to the dealer yet to find out the story. I am thinking at a minimum I am going to ask for full service records. Ask about warranty. What else should I ask or forget it?
It is a 2018 F150 Platinum with about 25K miles. It has Max Tow, FX4 and Equipment Group 701A Luxury. They are asking $40K.
The only thing it doesn't have is the towing mirrors.
I am new here so if this is the wrong area please move.
Thanks
It is a 2018 F150 Platinum with about 25K miles. It has Max Tow, FX4 and Equipment Group 701A Luxury. They are asking $40K.
The only thing it doesn't have is the towing mirrors.
I am new here so if this is the wrong area please move.
Thanks
04-30-2020, 10:13 PM
#2
Senior Member
In general, a manufacturer will not buyback a vehicle, which meets the "can't be fixed" criteria, magically find the fix, correct it, and resale. They usually lie about the problem and try to unload it. The first positive step is that it is disclosed as a buyback. If it is the original dealer, you should ask for all maintenance records and a copy, if they will provide them, or at least the opportunity to read the mechanic's notes. The mechanic's notes are a detailed summary of the work which justifies warranty claims. The maintenance records are usually typed by a guy or gal in service department (i.e. advisor) who has never worked on a vehicle. I lemon lawed a vehicle and was fortunate to get copies of all the mechanic's notes in addition to the service summaries.
There are some circumstances where it may be worthwhile if everything is documented and satisfies you.
There are some circumstances where it may be worthwhile if everything is documented and satisfies you.
Last edited by GMC to Ford; 04-30-2020 at 10:16 PM.
04-30-2020, 10:45 PM
#3
has left the building
If one of the boxes on you list that needs to be checked is "buy somebody else's problem' then sounds like the truck for you has shown up.
There is probably more to the story than what you think though, doesn't seem logical to be re-sold. There was a thread not to long ago where the question was different than yours, however the interpretation of the person asking the question was entirely wrong. Ended up being the line items were for recall fixes that had been done. The one asking the question thought those items were something to do with a vehicle that had been returned.
I paid too much money for my used vehicle to be okay with a buy back vehicle that was proven to be a nightmare. I mean if it costs as much as it does for these things, why not get one that works?
Just FYI: there are people here a couple times a month asking for how does a lemon law work, or buy backs. These people are rightfully frustrated having had their vehicle in the shop for weeks at a time, or 'fixed' only to have person drive right back and ask them to fix it again.
If that vehicle is a buyback as the name would imply, you may be in for a situation where you are willing to drive it in and wait a month for it to come back. And maybe not get a loaner -it is sometimes difficult for a dealership to have a loaner vehicle available or 21 straight days, for example.
There is probably more to the story than what you think though, doesn't seem logical to be re-sold. There was a thread not to long ago where the question was different than yours, however the interpretation of the person asking the question was entirely wrong. Ended up being the line items were for recall fixes that had been done. The one asking the question thought those items were something to do with a vehicle that had been returned.
I paid too much money for my used vehicle to be okay with a buy back vehicle that was proven to be a nightmare. I mean if it costs as much as it does for these things, why not get one that works?
Just FYI: there are people here a couple times a month asking for how does a lemon law work, or buy backs. These people are rightfully frustrated having had their vehicle in the shop for weeks at a time, or 'fixed' only to have person drive right back and ask them to fix it again.
If that vehicle is a buyback as the name would imply, you may be in for a situation where you are willing to drive it in and wait a month for it to come back. And maybe not get a loaner -it is sometimes difficult for a dealership to have a loaner vehicle available or 21 straight days, for example.
04-30-2020, 10:46 PM
#4
Senior Member
Thread Starter
In general, a manufacturer will not buyback a vehicle, which meets the "can't be fixed" criteria, magically find the fix, correct it, and resale. They usually lie about the problem and try to unload it. The first positive step is that it is disclosed as a buyback. If it is the original dealer, you should ask for all maintenance records and a copy, if they will provide them, or at least the opportunity to read the mechanic's notes. The mechanic's notes are a detailed summary of the work which justifies warranty claims. The maintenance records are usually typed by a guy or gal in service department (i.e. advisor) who has never worked on a vehicle. I lemon lawed a vehicle and was fortunate to get copies of all the mechanic's notes in addition to the service summaries.
There are some circumstances where it may be worthwhile if everything is documented and satisfies you.
There are some circumstances where it may be worthwhile if everything is documented and satisfies you.
This is kind of my approach. I want to find out as many details as possible. It is a Lincoln dealer which is a bit odd as I assume they didn't buy it back there. They seem to have quite a few F150s in stock most of the time but they don't appear to sell new Fords. It shows as a one owner. They didn't disclose the buy back on their website however I am a member of USAA and was running it through their car buying service which is True Car and it showed up there. Maybe it is a false hit on something but it is something that needs to be dug into a lot more.
I don't know how separate Ford and Lincoln systems are to know if they can do a look up of all the service history on it. Since they have quite a few F150s maybe they are picking them up on auction. If they can't pull details or don't have a good explanation for this I think I will walk.
Before posting I did a search here on buy backs and saw a few reports of people doing that. It is typical lemon law things from what I found or a bad engine. If you have a bad engine and they fully replace it, that happens. Maybe the time to replace it was taking so long that they just did the buy back. Odds of a second bad one are slim. That is where I just don't have enough information yet. We will see what they say.
I did go through a buy back once with a vehicle. In that one I actually came out pretty good. It was a VW Jetta TDI with the Diesel Gate emissions crap. It was a great car that I bought new and put 90K on it and they the buyout was great. Cheapest vehicle I have ever owned in terms of depreciation.
04-30-2020, 11:03 PM
#5
Senior Member
Thread Starter
If one of the boxes on you list that needs to be checked is "buy somebody else's problem' then sounds like the truck for you has shown up.
There is probably more to the story than what you think though, doesn't seem logical to be re-sold. There was a thread not to long ago where the question was different than yours, however the interpretation of the person asking the question was entirely wrong. Ended up being the line items were for recall fixes that had been done. The one asking the question thought those items were something to do with a vehicle that had been returned.
I paid too much money for my used vehicle to be okay with a buy back vehicle that was proven to be a nightmare. I mean if it costs as much as it does for these things, why not get one that works?
Just FYI: there are people here a couple times a month asking for how does a lemon law work, or buy backs. These people are rightfully frustrated having had their vehicle in the shop for weeks at a time, or 'fixed' only to have person drive right back and ask them to fix it again.
If that vehicle is a buyback as the name would imply, you may be in for a situation where you are willing to drive it in and wait a month for it to come back. And maybe not get a loaner -it is sometimes difficult for a dealership to have a loaner vehicle available or 21 straight days, for example.
There is probably more to the story than what you think though, doesn't seem logical to be re-sold. There was a thread not to long ago where the question was different than yours, however the interpretation of the person asking the question was entirely wrong. Ended up being the line items were for recall fixes that had been done. The one asking the question thought those items were something to do with a vehicle that had been returned.
I paid too much money for my used vehicle to be okay with a buy back vehicle that was proven to be a nightmare. I mean if it costs as much as it does for these things, why not get one that works?
Just FYI: there are people here a couple times a month asking for how does a lemon law work, or buy backs. These people are rightfully frustrated having had their vehicle in the shop for weeks at a time, or 'fixed' only to have person drive right back and ask them to fix it again.
If that vehicle is a buyback as the name would imply, you may be in for a situation where you are willing to drive it in and wait a month for it to come back. And maybe not get a loaner -it is sometimes difficult for a dealership to have a loaner vehicle available or 21 straight days, for example.
Anyhow I digress. My concern is that the buy back is showing on a carfax type report that True Car can see and that is why I see it. It isn't a Ford Dealer it is Lincoln. There is a Ford dealer down the road but that is an Auto Nation dealer so not related. I will ask them what they can tell me on the history. Is it an auction buy? Maybe another dealer fixed it and dumped it on auction so they didn't have to deal with the questions on a Lemon Law buy back. That is probably worst case and I will run. It isn't that good of a deal. There is one other '18 F150 Plat that a different dealer is bringing out to the house tomorrow. A bit more miles and a bit more money. Though the issues I can see from digging is that it used to have a big cow catcher front grill that was ugly. The dealer must have agreed and pulled it off but I think I see holes in the air dam where it used to be. Also it has different wheels now than it did in the photo with the cow catcher. 18' with Toyo AT Tires. Not sure what the deal was there either. No FX4 on it because there isn't the Hill Decent button on the dash. It is 701A from what I can tell (adaptive CC, park assist, 360 camera and such). Most likely Max Tow. If the Cow Catcher thing is just a cut air dam, that may not be that much to replace. Oh and it has a leveling kit on it. It does have the power fold/telecopic towing mirrors which I would like. Oh and doesn't appear to be a buy back.
04-30-2020, 11:15 PM
#6
has left the building
I have been around a lot of automotive forums and the lemon law stuff isn't limited to a single make. This will be our first Blue Oval but I have been active in forums for vehicles that we owned or currently own (VW, Audi, Chevrolet, GMC, Honda and Subaru) and they all have these discussions. Repeatedly going in for the same documented issue. Eventually wearing down the company (dealer/manufacturer) where they just buy it back. VW would **** me off in that there simply wasn't a loaner program at all. Audi was OK in that they always had a loaner but it was a Chevy Impala or something. Great I bring in my Audi and leave with a Chevy... GM I have never needed a loaner. I guess I was lucky. Subaru has been great. Toss me the keys for a new car with maybe a couple thousand miles. Though it was hard to hand over the keys for my WRX and hop in the loaner Outback... Though over the years the only one that kind of pissed me off was VW. They wanted the car for a month to fix rust issues. Mechanically that thing was a tank over the years but a month for rust issues. I stuck it to them. While waiting on the buy back I bought the WRX so it was just sitting there. I had them fix the rust issues as it was still under warranty then I am pretty sure they crushed the car... It got it out of my driveway for a month.
Anyhow I digress. My concern is that the buy back is showing on a carfax type report that True Car can see and that is why I see it. It isn't a Ford Dealer it is Lincoln. There is a Ford dealer down the road but that is an Auto Nation dealer so not related. I will ask them what they can tell me on the history. Is it an auction buy? Maybe another dealer fixed it and dumped it on auction so they didn't have to deal with the questions on a Lemon Law buy back. That is probably worst case and I will run. It isn't that good of a deal. There is one other '18 F150 Plat that a different dealer is bringing out to the house tomorrow. A bit more miles and a bit more money. Though the issues I can see from digging is that it used to have a big cow catcher front grill that was ugly. The dealer must have agreed and pulled it off but I think I see holes in the air dam where it used to be. Also it has different wheels now than it did in the photo with the cow catcher. 18' with Toyo AT Tires. Not sure what the deal was there either. No FX4 on it because there isn't the Hill Decent button on the dash. It is 701A from what I can tell (adaptive CC, park assist, 360 camera and such). Most likely Max Tow. If the Cow Catcher thing is just a cut air dam, that may not be that much to replace. Oh and it has a leveling kit on it. It does have the power fold/telecopic towing mirrors which I would like. Oh and doesn't appear to be a buy back.
Anyhow I digress. My concern is that the buy back is showing on a carfax type report that True Car can see and that is why I see it. It isn't a Ford Dealer it is Lincoln. There is a Ford dealer down the road but that is an Auto Nation dealer so not related. I will ask them what they can tell me on the history. Is it an auction buy? Maybe another dealer fixed it and dumped it on auction so they didn't have to deal with the questions on a Lemon Law buy back. That is probably worst case and I will run. It isn't that good of a deal. There is one other '18 F150 Plat that a different dealer is bringing out to the house tomorrow. A bit more miles and a bit more money. Though the issues I can see from digging is that it used to have a big cow catcher front grill that was ugly. The dealer must have agreed and pulled it off but I think I see holes in the air dam where it used to be. Also it has different wheels now than it did in the photo with the cow catcher. 18' with Toyo AT Tires. Not sure what the deal was there either. No FX4 on it because there isn't the Hill Decent button on the dash. It is 701A from what I can tell (adaptive CC, park assist, 360 camera and such). Most likely Max Tow. If the Cow Catcher thing is just a cut air dam, that may not be that much to replace. Oh and it has a leveling kit on it. It does have the power fold/telecopic towing mirrors which I would like. Oh and doesn't appear to be a buy back.
Also seems like this isn't your first rodeo with this type of situation.
I wasn't trying to imply that only Ford has this -just wanted to bring up that people have had lots of bad luck and attempt to get a buy back or lemon. IF you weren't aware of how a buyback happens, that may have shed a glimmer of light asto what you could be in for.
I hope either of the two trucks work out for you. Pricing seems about right, maybe a tad low actually. I test drove a 2017 platinum with 62 or 63,000 miles listed at 39k on sale. That was just in November. Finding an 18 for the same price is a better deal, if the truck is worth it.
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sennister (04-30-2020)
04-30-2020, 11:28 PM
#7
I am in the market for my first Ford and have been looking at lot at F150s. I found one that ticks all the boxes but now I just noticed that it states it was a Ford Motor Company Buy Back. Should I walk away or run? I get that there may be a lot of reasons a truck gets bought back and I haven't spoken to the dealer yet to find out the story. I am thinking at a minimum I am going to ask for full service records. Ask about warranty. What else should I ask or forget it?
It is a 2018 F150 Platinum with about 25K miles. It has Max Tow, FX4 and Equipment Group 701A Luxury. They are asking $40K.
The only thing it doesn't have is the towing mirrors.
I am new here so if this is the wrong area please move.
Thanks
It is a 2018 F150 Platinum with about 25K miles. It has Max Tow, FX4 and Equipment Group 701A Luxury. They are asking $40K.
The only thing it doesn't have is the towing mirrors.
I am new here so if this is the wrong area please move.
Thanks
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04-30-2020, 11:41 PM
#8
Senior Member
Thread Starter
It sounds as if you have definitely done your homework and know what you want and know how to identify what it is equipped with by photos alone.
Also seems like this isn't your first rodeo with this type of situation.
I wasn't trying to imply that only Ford has this -just wanted to bring up that people have had lots of bad luck and attempt to get a buy back or lemon. IF you weren't aware of how a buyback happens, that may have shed a glimmer of light asto what you could be in for.
I hope either of the two trucks work out for you. Pricing seems about right, maybe a tad low actually. I test drove a 2017 platinum with 62 or 63,000 miles listed at 39k on sale. That was just in November. Finding an 18 for the same price is a better deal, if the truck is worth it.
Also seems like this isn't your first rodeo with this type of situation.
I wasn't trying to imply that only Ford has this -just wanted to bring up that people have had lots of bad luck and attempt to get a buy back or lemon. IF you weren't aware of how a buyback happens, that may have shed a glimmer of light asto what you could be in for.
I hope either of the two trucks work out for you. Pricing seems about right, maybe a tad low actually. I test drove a 2017 platinum with 62 or 63,000 miles listed at 39k on sale. That was just in November. Finding an 18 for the same price is a better deal, if the truck is worth it.
I typically research stuff a lot before pulling the trigger. As I have said I am new to Ford but have been looking and researching F150s since last summer. So this search has been going on for 9 months. Right now the used car market seems a bit depressed with the economy and interest rates are down a bit. That means I will take a hit on trade but the lower interest rates help.
There are quite a few '17s out there and that was the original plan to wait until now and get a '17 as more are coming in at that 3 year mark. Then I came across a couple '18s that seemed competitive with the '17s. Car Gurus where I have been doing most of the searching, is listing the '18s in the low $40s as inline with pricing now. It seems that a lot of the '17s with the 60K miles are in the $35k range in my area. If I can't find what I want in '18 I may just end up with a '17.
05-01-2020, 12:17 AM
#9
Senior Member
Thread Starter
As I was thinking being the truck is at a Lincoln dealer that isn't tied to a Ford Dealer. They got it from an auction. It came from VA then went to MI then sold at auction and is now in MN. Not sure how formatting will look on this but you get the idea. I have a feeling they may not know much about it unless they can pull the history from Ford. Like I said, I am new to Ford and know nothing about Lincoln to know if they can tap into their systems. But it does say something about a lease vehicle. I guess it is possible they did a 2 year lease but it also mentioned a lien?
I have personally had issues with a car reporting service. Carfax in particular. When I was in the Army stationed in Germany I bought a Chev Blazer. Since it was bought in Europe, I had a federal title. When I imported it back to the US and registered it in MN the DMV was quite confused as to why I had a federal title for a 3 year old truck. What state had it been registered in? I explained Germany and they didn't believe me. They asked where the truck was and I said in the parking lot. She looked at me and asked why I would be driving around an unregistered vehicle and how I don't have plates on it. I told her there were plates. Again she was confused and I said they were German plates. She didn't believe me and walked out to the parking lot to see. She begged and begged for one of the plates to hang in the DMV. Sorry. I wanted one and my sister wanted the other. Anyhow Carfax reported that that truck was used in fleet service. I called and argued with them that it hadn't. They somehow said it was owned by the government. I explained it was my personal vehicle while I was in the Army so if that means it is a fleet vehicle then their vehicle is a fleet vehicle because they work for Carfax. They fixed the report.
Event Date Location Odometer Reading Data Source Details 09/21/2017
Independent Source VEHICLE MANUFACTURED AND SHIPPED TO DEALER 07/09/2018 MECHANICSVILLE, VA 6,315 Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE(Lien Reported)
REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL 07/11/2018 MECHANICSVILLE, VA
Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL 07/08/2019 MECHANICSVILLE, VA
Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL 02/21/2020 SAGINAW, MI 24,963 Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE(Title #:MI0004617923) (Leased Vehicle) 03/16/2020 PA 24,973 Auto Auction REPORTED AT AUTO AUCTION 03/16/2020 PA 24,973 Auto Auction REPORTED AT AUTO AUCTION AS MANUFACTURER VEHICLE(COLOR REPORTED AS GREY)
I have personally had issues with a car reporting service. Carfax in particular. When I was in the Army stationed in Germany I bought a Chev Blazer. Since it was bought in Europe, I had a federal title. When I imported it back to the US and registered it in MN the DMV was quite confused as to why I had a federal title for a 3 year old truck. What state had it been registered in? I explained Germany and they didn't believe me. They asked where the truck was and I said in the parking lot. She looked at me and asked why I would be driving around an unregistered vehicle and how I don't have plates on it. I told her there were plates. Again she was confused and I said they were German plates. She didn't believe me and walked out to the parking lot to see. She begged and begged for one of the plates to hang in the DMV. Sorry. I wanted one and my sister wanted the other. Anyhow Carfax reported that that truck was used in fleet service. I called and argued with them that it hadn't. They somehow said it was owned by the government. I explained it was my personal vehicle while I was in the Army so if that means it is a fleet vehicle then their vehicle is a fleet vehicle because they work for Carfax. They fixed the report.
Event Date Location Odometer Reading Data Source Details 09/21/2017
Independent Source VEHICLE MANUFACTURED AND SHIPPED TO DEALER 07/09/2018 MECHANICSVILLE, VA 6,315 Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE(Lien Reported)
REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL 07/11/2018 MECHANICSVILLE, VA
Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL 07/08/2019 MECHANICSVILLE, VA
Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL 02/21/2020 SAGINAW, MI 24,963 Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE(Title #:MI0004617923) (Leased Vehicle) 03/16/2020 PA 24,973 Auto Auction REPORTED AT AUTO AUCTION 03/16/2020 PA 24,973 Auto Auction REPORTED AT AUTO AUCTION AS MANUFACTURER VEHICLE(COLOR REPORTED AS GREY)
05-01-2020, 01:14 AM
#10
Man. A lot of long responses. Hope I didn't miss to much. A buyback could also be the result of a fraud case. I know because I just settled one. I was sold a certified pre-owned. The accident didn't hit Carfax until two years later and I didn't find out it had 13000 worth of front end damage until I tried to trade it in... After I had a ton of problems with it. Long story short I bought new after that. I would NEVER buy a buyback. Why take the risk to save some money when there is so much on the line. You will wonder every time something goes wrong.