6G Celicas Forums

I have been driving my mother's Avalon for the past 5 months. She now wants it back, and I am forced to trade in the Z. =(

However, the car I am very interested in purchasing is a manufacturer buyback. Which is in short, a car that was bought back from the consumer because there was something wrong with it that could not be fixed after 3 times. The problem on this car was a mechanical problem.. in which they ended up replacing the entire engine. It has a 12 month, 12k mile factory warranty on it. I have the option of buying an extended warranty if I choose to.

I've been doing some research and some people are saying stay away, as others are saying it's an excellent deal. But I could run into problems if I were to trade this car in further down the road.

I'd really like some input on this.

It is a very good deal from a prestigious dealership that only sells exotic and luxury cars. According to them most of their lot is manufacturer buybacks.

This is the best price I could find for this type of vehicle with low miles. Most of the ones in my price range have very high mileage.

Advice, comments, questions? Help? I didn't know where else I could turn. =)

Edit: This has all been documented, and the carfax is completely clean except for this.

This post has been edited by Jen: Mar 29, 2010 - 8:56 PM

What are you buying?

2007 Nissan Pathfinder.



This post has been edited by Jen: Mar 29, 2010 - 9:03 PM

find out more about what was wrong with the engine and research to make sure that it wasn't related to anything else that was not changed.

According to the buyback documentation, the only issue was the engine had been making a clunking noise.

Lots of lurkers, but no replies? C'mon guys!

does it have an external oil cooler like part of a hauling/towing package or anything? it sounds like the engine just up and failed like a bad bearing or broken rod. the reason i ask about the oil cooler is because that should have been changed because it would have been contaminated by metal debris from the bad engine and could have done or be doing damage to the new one. i'm not familiar enough with the pathfinder to know if it has an oil cooler or not.

Not a clue. But I will definitely ask tomorrow.

i'd go for it. if it was an engine related mechanical problem all 3 times, and the engine was replaced, then there should be nothing to worry about right? the likelihood of another component on the car being defective is just as likely as any other 2007 pathfinder. i don't believe in cars having bad luck since mechanical defects happens once in every several thousands (or millions) of units produced with todays manufacturing standards. also the extended warranty (based on stats) is a money grab and the extra money imo is better being kept aside if the car 'actually' breaks down. so i'll have to agree with those who say that this is an excellent deal.

When I was shopping for a wrx I found one at a dealer for a great price, but it was a manufacturer buyback. They said that its fairly common for someone to keep coming in complaining of a mystery problem so they can get out from under their payments. The problem is that the buyback is a brand on the title, and my credit union wouldn't loan on a branded title.

If you're privately funding then good for you, but if you're borrowing, or trading a loan from the Z to the pathfinder make sure your lender understands what is going on.

I've already gotten approved for a loan through my credit union.. that's something I am going to have to look into.. thanks for the heads up.

NVM, saw the note about the warranty....

Can't tell if it's a deal without knowing the price, but let's put it this way...

How much is peace of mind worth to you? Do you have a back up car if something does go wrong with this one? Are you the least bit mechanically inclined?

Prices for cars will always drop, a good deal will always come along. You're in a bind because you need a car soon so that affects this situation, but if that weren't the case, I'd pass and find a private seller. And possibly selling the Z to a private buyer (you'll get more $$ that way too).

Personally I wouldn't have a problem buying this car if it truly was an exceptional deal. Heck, I just bought a salvaged car. But I'm the type not spooked by problems that may arise. Also, if you are worried about the future trade-in value of this car, then I'd skip it. Looks like you already have that notion in your head, and selling any car with any sort of problem is a headache.

If you are having doubts about buying this car, what would a dealer say to you when you try to sell/trade it in later? Just shows you how hard it is to sell a car with "baggage."

This post has been edited by CAMAricer: Mar 30, 2010 - 2:19 AM

/\ Agreed. Any amount of money you save initially on this purchase will likely turn into a sizeable loss if/when you try to sell the car again. Do you plan on owning the thing until you drive it into the ground?

Its probably something like a shotty serpentine belt system for example. They pretty much use the same parts over and over again when the design of the part it self is defective. If it looks good, sounds good and you think its great then buy it. Just remember a v6 is a pain in the ass to fix and its not very enjoyable if you still owe payments on it.

The question is whether the initial savings is worth the risk of a problem or the added problems of selling it down the road. I wouldn't do it because I do not want to be bothered by problems in the future and the financial savings would be a secondary issue for me. For people that are not risk adverse, enough savings could tip the scales in favor of buying it.

In other news, hows the baby?

I'm off topic, have you checked out a hybrid, like the Prius?

I'm just saying because I know how it is to have that feeling of being caught in the middle and sometimes it's much more of a relief to just go with something else.