Branded Title (insurance, vehicle, 2013, salvage)

[ld77019]

I bought a 2008 BMW 335I for $20000 November 2013. I went to trade it in today and found out it had a Branded Title: Buy Back/Lemon, what does this mean? What are my options? The car was actually purchased from my employer and he financed it.


Thanks.

[City Guy997S]

Car still has value, just not as much as one that has a clean title.....

Car is 5-6 years old, if it runs good/no problems then just pound miles on it and don't worry about it.

[cyrano]

But he wants to trade it in. Lots of questions- did the OP not read the title, or did the employer/seller pull a fast one on him/her? Or was the title altered? Was $20k a fair price? How bad a hit is the OP taking on the trade in, or will the dealer even take it?

Like a salvage title, these cars can be good deals, IF you know what you're buying...and you're ok with hanging on to it.

[mdand3boys]

It isn't always bad. I once bought a new Honda Passport that had been damaged in transit. Got it for nearly $3,000 below sticker because others were afraid of it. Turns out that at the time, the state I lived in had a law that said if more than $400 in damage had been caused, the title had to be altered to say that. It was a wheel and a tire! Needless to say, I wasn't worried, but then, I knew it up front.

Kinda surprised this wasn't acknowledged up front for you?

[Bummer]

Not too long ago I was considering a vehicle with a "Branded Title" and learned . . .

Depending on the circumstances, a Vehicle with a Branded or Salvage Title is worth between 25 to 50% less than a similar vehicle with a Clean Title.

Also, insurance coverage can be an issue with some insurance companies.

[RoaminRebel]

It would help to know what was going on with it. I know these make models had recalls with fuel pumps and turbos.. if I recall correctly.

[JONOV]

Originally Posted by ld77019

I bought a 2008 BMW 335I for $20000 November 2013. I went to trade it in today and found out it had a Branded Title: Buy Back/Lemon, what does this mean? What are my options? The car was actually purchased from my employer and he financed it.


Thanks.

It means that a dealer made three attempts to fix the same problem on the car and was unable to resolve the issue, and the dealer/mfgr was forced to buy back the car. It is similar to a salvage title. Value is usually 25-50% less. I would be upset with your employer for selling it to you, assuming he knew about it.

[mkarch]

A lot of those cars were lemoned for the fuel pumps. BMW didn't fix the problem until late in 2010 so many cars were brought back 3+ times before a solution was available. A big consideration is how many miles are on the car and whether the lemon title exempts the car from the extended 10 year 120K warranty that was added for the fuel pump and turbo problems for cars sold in the US.

As for your options - sell it at market value. What you can get for it it going to depend on the nature of the problems. If the car has average miles, with the lemon title it's probably worth somewhere in the low to mid teens depending on options.