Half price on a California 1400 lemon law buyback?

[k99]

Saw this ad by a local dealer.
http://www.cycletrader.com/dealers/GP-Motorcycles-2934996/listing/2014-Moto-Guzzi-Calif-1400-Custom-LEMON-LAW-BUYBACK---Half-Price%21%21-117291857

Interesting sales tactic.  I can only imagine the story behind it.  I found it amusing so I thought I'd share the ad.  Or it could be a great deal for anyone willing to do a little investigating. 

In case the ad comes down by the time you are reading this post I will paste the text below.

Heading: "2014 MOTO GUZZI CALIF 1400 CUSTOM LEMON LAW BUYBACK - HALF PRICE!!"
Body: "Calif LEMON LAW BUYBACK, limited Moto Guzzi warranty, 2,322 original miles and excellent condition. Was $14,990 new so half price, $7,490 for a Lemon Law Buyback seems about right. Or we have a new black one, no issues, for $10,990."

[guzzisteve]

May not be a good deal, I would find out WHAT issues. A lot to pay for a drivetrain. I would guess it's not mechanical but electrics.

[Arizona Wayne]

It may be a situation where it took the dealer too long to get the replacement part before the Lemon Law went into effect and the dealer had to eat the deal.  Bike has to be fully repaired in X time period before the LL kicks in.

[canuguzzi]

In California, the Lemon Law is unforgiving to manufacturers. In CA the presumption is that the bike is a lemon unless the manufacturer/dealer can prove otherwise. If they miss the deadline for reply, they eat it.

There is a formula for calculating how much the owner gets back and that is deducted from the out the door price including any options purchased and includes tax, license /reg fees too.

The reason the price can be lowered as it is is likely because of the amount of money that was deducted from the use by owner.  It isn't as bad as it seems.

The dealer must disclose what the problem were. Then you can evaluate the risk in buying it and since it comes with a limited warranty it could be a nice solid buy and you can save some money. Reading the ad there is room to get that price lower. They used the term reasonable. That is to them, your idea of reasonable might be different.

[Noguzznoglory]

Spent 33 years in car dealerships. Most lemon law vehicles I had any experience with there was nothing wrong with. I wouldn't be scared of it

[K250]

Would rather buy the brand new one with full warranty for a few extra bucks but that is just me. It has to be pretty serious to lemon law it.

[Arizona Wayne]

When I hear about a LL issue, after awhile I have to wonder.........is the issue the vehicle, the owner , or the dealer?   Does that vehicle really have many defects.......or is the owner mechanically incompetent and expects no issues whatsoever(perfection) no matter how small?.........or is the dealer/mechanics incompetent?   

[Bisbonian]

When I hear about a LL issue, after awhile I have to wonder.........is the issue the vehicle, the owner , or the dealer?   Does that vehicle really have many defects.......or is the owner mechanically incompetent and expects no issues whatsoever(perfection) no matter how small?.........or is the dealer/mechanics incompetent?   

In my lemon law case, it really was the dealer that caused the problem. A serious, but well-known and fixable, repair was botched by the dealership. Even after the first trial the fix should not have been bad. I pursued the lemon law after 2 months without my car.

It was eventually fixed.

[cruzziguzzi]

We've bought a couple of "Lemoned" vehicles out of California. There's a dealer down the road from our shop which specializes in them and has a very loyal following here in Phoenix for it.

The mandated disclosure of incidents and circumstances surrounding (at least) California's version of the law leaves no stone unturned. Usually - as noted above, it is a matter of unsatisfactory dealer performance in time. Sometimes it is simply the number of occurrences.

The existing warranty has always followed for us and we couldn't hardly be happier with our Min CooperS Clubman.

The savings was huge and the lemon smell was sweet. yeah, I did!


Todd.

[Fuzzy]

I have looked at a lot of lemon law cases through work. My view is that lemons are usually just that...lemons. I am sure that circumstances will sometimes require a buyback on a car that is good, but if you are guessing, most of the time it would probably be a never-ending series of expensive repairs.
I have even had a first hand experience...with a Volvo. Everything that needed repair was a marvel of Swedish engineering. And it was absurd as to the regularity of the problems. We figured that we saved money by selling it at a loss.
If you do your own work, it might not be such a bad deal. But if you are reliant on a dealer for parts and labor, you might be sorry.
If you can get reliable background information that makes you feel comfortable, OK, but if not, what is your tolerance for risk?

[jlburgess]

In an ironic twist the owner of that motorcycle bought my Dorsoduro that was there on consigmnent.  Not sure of his name?

[Tom]

Only the new one left.  So someone liked it to buy.

[canuguzzi]

I used the Lemon Law to git rid of a vehicle.

Rear sliding window of a p/u truck leaked, carpet would get soaked when it rained.

Dealer tried replacing the whole rear window & scratched the paint as if they took 80 grit to it - WTH?

I gave a couple dealers a shot at fixing the problem but in the end incompetence, & a laissez-faire attitude meant they had my truck in their possession too long, all the while interior & paint was getting worked over.

Hired an attorney over the phone, never even met him, he fired off the paperwork. Took the truck to the dealer & got my check.

If the next owner got a deeply discounted price & was willing to accept some hidden damage maybe it was an OK deal for them BUT we all know ignorance can be bliss.

Dodge Ram? 

[Randown]

Dodge Ram? 

Yep!

[Groover]

The link doesn't go to the bike. Is it sold?

[George_S]

When I hear about a LL issue, after awhile I have to wonder.........is the issue the vehicle, the owner , or the dealer?   Does that vehicle really have many defects.......or is the owner mechanically incompetent and expects no issues whatsoever(perfection) no matter how small?.........or is the dealer/mechanics incompetent?   

I don't see many instances where you can blame the owner. Lemon laws vary from state to state, but it usually means a large number of attempts to fix an issue and they fail to, or the owner has to be without the vehicle for a period of 30 days total. So, if there's no issue, the dealer won't keep it longer than 30 days, nor make repeated attempts to fix an issue that isn't there in the first place.  If it was lemon lawed, you can be assured that there is at least one problem area that hasn't been fixed. 

[Tom]

I went to the GP Motorcycles website.  Bike is gone.