I’ve been considering an F type and in searching seem to notice a fair number of vehicles that have branded titles, especially in California. The prices are very tempting, why so many and is there a common thread? While most advertise that Jaguar has ‘fixed the problem’, should one avoid these vehicles? I’ve purchased plenty of reconditioned items from iPads to AV equipment, etc., but never a car... Thank you!

 

new term for salvedge title!

 

A lemon by any other name...
It is unlikely that Jaguar would be fixing damaged cars that had been salvaged. Sounds like a number of cars that were lemon lawed are coming up on the market. I would want to know what the issue was before they had to take the car back. For example, I'd stay away from electrical gremlins. Clutch issues, no problem. Rattles & creaks, only if fixed based on a test ride.

 

I found a lot of newer trucks that were like this. Ford dealers had no problem sending me the entire service list and why they were in the shop each time. These were not technically salvaged cars, they were "branded" by ford as a buy back vehicle. But the title would come to the buyer as clean according to them. One dealer told me a lot of people get upside down on an 80k truck and start bringing it in for issues that don't exist to get ford to buy it back.

There are some shops that specialize in rebuilding wrecked cars and will give a small warranty. You will not have a Jaguar warranty after it is marked as salvaged.

 

'Branded' and 'salvage' may or may not be the same thing, depending on circumstances. And different states use different terminology....and have different standards as to how/when a title can be branded

I've bought a couple salvaged-title cars and they've been great and the savings is significant. But others haven't been so lucky.

Back in my dealership days we'd sometimes see cars 'lemon-lawed' for relatively minor issues. The next owner ended up with a good car at a bargain price.

It's all case-by-case.

Cheers
DD

 

How does a Jaguar dealership know if the car has a salvage title and that the work should not be covered under warranty?

 

I had a Toyota pickup that was a salvage vehicle, the title from the DMV clearly stated "Salvage". I'd be very surprised if the dealerships were not given that information, or if Toyota didn't have a record of salvage vehicle VIN #s.

My experience with my salvage vehicle was fantastic - not a single problem in 5 years, then sold it for the same price I paid for it to a guy who was going to take it down to Mexico where he said the salvage title would be a non-issue...

 

I know for a fact that when you go to the Jag dealer they'll enter your vin and start you, I guess what I'd call an "account". When they enter it in, it'll come back with the complete documented history. They know when their vehicles get wrecked or an insurance claim is place on them(someone tries to claim salvage for whatever reason).

 

https://www.ferettimotors.com/

I've bought a car from here before. Worked out great.

 

Good Info

 

Be very careful with a branded/buy back car. Make sure that you know what the problem was and that you can live with it staying broken. Manufacturers don’t always fix the problem before getting rid of a car. I went to look at a buyback S5 that had been having evap issues. The dealer (non-Audi) swore it was fixed. The car felt down on power and five minutes in the CEL was on. I can guess the problem. I have also seen buybacks for something as simple as a power seat that couldn’t be fixed. Manufacturers don’t want to do buy backs—it’s a lot cheaper to fix. If you buy such a car plan on the problem popping back up. You may get lucky, or you may not. Maybe you can live with a finicky seat but probably not with a sick engine.

 

When they run a DCS inquiry it will show a salvage title. The only repairs on a salvage under warranty are recalls.

 

I believe this is partially true. A lot of the time a vehicle is cheaper to buy it back than the consumer that keeps bringing it back over and over. At that point not only are they wasting shop time that the buyer isn't paying for they will also send an "engineer" to see if they can figure it out. So it works out to buy it back, sell it to one of their brand dealers that believes they can fix it and sell it for a slightly marked down price. Usually if you are buying a buy back they will extend warranties on them longer than the originals.

I would not buy one from a dealer that doesn't offer a warranty.

I would also be scared of a vehicle that has a problem that can be hard to make act up.

Example, some of these large Ford(happens with other brands too, I have been recently dealing with 250's) trucks have what is called a "death wobble". Check it out on youtube, kinda scary. Long story short you have to be going the exact right speed hit a bump and it'll throw the front end into a wild shake possible running you off the road until you slow down to 25ish MPH.

One of the trucks I saw had a price tag maybe 5k cheaper than similar trucks. Sure enough, Ford buy back. Contacted the dealer and they sent me the history and service reports. The first time it was in was something minor. The next 2/3 times it was about the front end shaking. Dealer felt it the first time, balanced tires and tightened sway bar or something. 2nd and 3rd time dealer couldn't make it act up again, yet some how it ended up as a buy back. I figure there was a very good possibility the person was experiencing the death wobble. Dealer couldn't get it to act up, customer is probably yelling about almost buying so they bought it back, "serviced it" to get it ready for sale and that was it.

I guess what I am saying is, if it is something simple that it was in the shop for a few times and they finally ended up replacing it you might be okay. But I'd be scared of problems that can hide (electrical).

 

Forgot to add this, my understanding is that a buy back/lemon does not have a true branded title. They'll sell it to you and you'll get a clear title. That is what a Ford and Chevy dealer in NC told me. So I guess the next owner might get caught in the dark which would be bad.

 

I think laws vary state-by-state on this.

Also, a manufacturer can buy-back a unit before it goes thru the legal process of lemon-law, thus circumventing the title issue. However, they would have to disclose is was a buy-back even if it wasn't technically a lemon-law buy-back.....at least in Washington state.

Cheers
DD