So my plan has been to simply pay off my credit car, save up a sum of money, and order a new Cooper S because I cannot justify buying a used one with how good the resale on these cars are. However, I have now happened upon one that is very close to what I want and about $8000 less than I intend to spend. It was bought back by BMW as a Lemon however. The car is a 2007 and I am told by the dealership that it has been fixed and carries the remaining balance of the factory warranty. The issue of this claim was for the ticking noise and cold start issues I've read about on here. I am told we have paperwork from BMW documenting that the lifters were replaced and this has completely fixed the noise and engine light/code.

Does anyone have any experience with a previous Lemon car or knowledge as to how reliable this car will be? Advice of any kind is welcome. I really want my Cooper S, I just want to be as well informed as possible before purchasing or walking away from this one.

Thanks.

 

So it is $8k less than a new one that you would order?

How much less than a non-lemon MININEXT cpo car is it? or even a non-cpo car with the remaining factory warranty?

MINI resale values have dropped alot in the past few months, you can find many CPO 2007's in the low $20's and if you are willing to get a non-cpo you might even find some 2007's less than $20k.

is this car a "trade assist" car that was bought back, or does it actually have a title showing that it was a lemon law buy back? If the latter is the case, i would say you should pay 15-20% less than what other similar used cars sell for without the lemon law brand on the title.

 

It's $17,495 with 16,000 miles on it. The title does reflect the lemon buy back.

I'm afraid I do not know what MININEXT or CPO mean however....but other Cooper S's I've found similar have been closer to $22,000 to $26,000 on average used. Found a couple right at $20,000, but this one really stood out. The Lemon mark on the title is why though...

 

another downside is youll never be able to sell it for a good price i would assume. Like a salvage title....

But if thats not an issue, you could at least drive it a few times. Go try and start it up cold (depending where your located) and see if theres noise, then maybe you can take a longer than usual test drive to get it nice and warmed up and keep listening for stuff. Then think about it and drive it again the next day lol.

If its under warranty, i'd also guess that that title wouldnt keep them from fixing it??...if in fact there is still some problem..thats assuring to know

doesnt sound like a bad deal if its got all the stuff you want!

 

Yeah, the only option I really want from the factory this one does not have is the Limited Slip Differential. Sway bars and other options are easy enough to add later if desired, ya know?

 

Never seen anyone turn a lemon into a peach and the resale will stink.... Do what you want but I'd look for another car....2 cents.

 

My first instinct with buyback cars is always "If they couldn't fix it in the required time to avoid having to buy the car back, how sure am I that they've fixed it now?"

But, if the dealer has documentation from BMW that the problem was fixed by replacing the lifters, and there's still warranty left on the car, then I'd be more willing to take a chance, especially if the price is really good.

 

My main concern would be the resale value. Will a lemon buyback show on the title somewhere, even if it turns out to be a perfectly problem-free car from here on out? If not, I'd push for a comped extended warranty, and do it.

 

There's a lot of potential hassle with this car. Think about it, the problem was apparently so bad that the original owner went through the process of declaring it a lemon. BMW can say all it wants about it having fixed the problem, but you have to imagine the sheer frustration the original owner went through, and wonder why it took so long to fix in the first place. Lemoning a car is serious business.

Maybe having a trusted independent mechanic look at it, reviewing all the documentation/service records on the car, and researching the dealer might help alleviate concerns. But before even going that route I'd try to find a better deal first. JMO.

 

I wouldn't go near this car. If MINI/BMW couldn't fix it properly before it was LEMONed, I doubt that they fixed it after the fact. MINI should at the minimum extend the warranty to something like 6 years and 80K miles if they are so confident in the soundness of this vehicle. Given that it is an '07, there is only a couple of years of warranty left.

As others have mentioned, the resale on this vehicle will be lousy - if you are going to run it into the ground then that won't matter to you. Good luck if you take it.

 

Personally, I'd be nervous about it, but then again, my friend bought a lemon/buyback 2003 Mustang Cobra back in '03 for at least $8k less than market value and it's been completely reliable as far as I know.

 

I ask them to comp an extended warranty at a minimum or walk away.

 

A lemon will always be a lemon.

Do yourself a favor and walk away from this potential headache. The $8K "savings" will prove to be a lot costlier down the road.

This car is the equivalent of a human with a broken neck. I would not touch this car with a 30 foot pole.

Save up your pennies and pony up the money for a new car or a used car that doesn't have a (gasp) salvage title.

 

run for your life (don't take lemon car). unless the dealers are positive then why don't they offer to extend the warranty.

my friend bought brand new chrysler van. he resent it to the dealer and had it fixed 5 to 6 time on different parts. he had to see his lawyer cuz it should not considered to be lemon. he won and full refund. it is no fun to go thru.

how you file a complaint against dealer for lemon cuz you already know it is marked as lemon before. it is pain@*** to stop by service too many plus need to check double with lawyer. too complex.

 

walk, dude. a lemon is a lemon, "fixed" or otherwise.

 

Extended warranty + the price reduced even more to reflect your loss when you sell. Also, full under warranty repair history.

That's the minimum I'd think of before buying such a car.

 

I agree

 

First of all, don't compare the $17.5k price of the lemon with what you'd pay new, compare it with what you'd pay used for a 2 year old model, which is about 20% less than it was new. Your new car is $25.5k, your used car is $20.5k, your lemon is 17.5k which is a 15% discount of $3k. There will be about 1 year left on the 36k warranty, maybe less, the powertrain warranty is 48k. Resale will be worse because the title will have a picture of a yellow piece of fruit on it, but you already got 15% off already, so that's taken into account. My key in the deal would be their giving you additional warranty credit for the problem(s) that led to the lemon status, and there could be more than one, make sure of that. And get the extended warranty in careful written form. Also get in writing what happens if the cold start issue returns and cannot be fixed after one or 2 tries and you want money back. A timeframe, a % of your purchase price, the whole shebang carefully written and signed/notarized.