What hapens to the Lemons?

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Fri 17 Sep 2004 22:41
What hapens to the Lemons? - Hugo {P}
Upon returning a Tumble Dryer for a full refund that was only 18 months old and had caused nothing but problems since I had it, I was concerned that it was not repaired and sold on but scrapped in its entirety. (This little intro story is non motoring related but the warranty was out by 6 months and I still got them to refund the cost of it - can post this on "I have a Question" if anyone is interested)

It got me thinking about what happens to cars that have been taken back by the manufacturers when they have caused nothing but trouble for the owner.

The two cases I know of is a backroomer who got an 85% refund on his VW, and a friend of ours who managed to get his Y reg Fiat Multipla swapped for a 51 Reg vehicle by Fiat because of all the trouble he had with the Y reg one.

What happens to these cars when they are taken back?

Do they simply get fixed then pushed out to some unsuspecting dealer through an auction? Do the main dealers get to sell these cars on as used or do they get reduced to produce for spares and the bits sold though car breakers?

Is it something that nearly new car buyers should be aware of?

Hugo
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Fri 17 Sep 2004 22:43
What hapens to the Lemons? - Altea Ego
Lemons? they go in my G&T.

Oh CARS! they go to auction.
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Fri 17 Sep 2004 22:48
What hapens to the Lemons? - sean
Ha ha ha.

Yes. Spot on. Absolutely, old bean.

Sell something dodgy on eBay and your transaction history suffers. Sell it in the paper and heavies turn up and molest you. Sell it at auction and....

Bought as seen, tried, tested and approved and...

Sell another.

Read between the lines.


(Not Argos). See OFT report

Buy it. Try it 16 days. Return it.

Buy it again.
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Sat 18 Sep 2004 11:03
What hapens to the Lemons? - Stuartli
Put in the microwave for 30 seconds to create more liquid, cut into quarters and then squeezed onto fresh pancakes....

Re the car version. No doubt sold to some unsuspecting punter or passed down through the trade complete with vinyl recording of Underneath the Arches.
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Sat 18 Sep 2004 12:05
What hapens to the Lemons? - adamj23
I am sure they will go back on the main dealers used car forecourt as an approved used car.
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Sat 18 Sep 2004 13:20
What hapens to the Lemons? - BobbyG
But surely if the car is a lemon it would only be exchanged if the fault could not be fixed (most of the time).

If it is still within manufacturer warranty, what has manufacturer to gain by putting it through auction and then getting the next owner coming back with the same problem as it is still within warranty?
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Sun 19 Sep 2004 00:52
What hapens to the Lemons? - JohnM{P}
IIRC, Fords replaced under their old 'lemon' garantee went back into auction with a vital plate chiselled off from under the bonnet. Perhaps someone with better knowledge of these things can confirm/elaborate?
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