A number of the early Ultium EVs from Cadillac and Chevy had big issues, so much so that GM bought them back from customers. Now a few of those EVs have started to show up on the used market with big discounts.
A number of 2023 and 2024 model year Chevy Blazer EVs and Cadillac Lyriqs were bought back by the automaker. Software issues plagued early build Blazer EVs, so much so that a stop sale was ultimately issued. Issues with Lyriq were less public, but from owner forums and Reddit posts the problem was with build quality. One owner who detailed his Lyriq’s issues on Reddit.
My Lyriq has basic issues - the interiors are loose, everything rattles and squeaks when driving on any road less than butter smooth. The charge port door is sagging about 1/2 inch, and let’s water in every time it rains, the cameras don’t work, the driver assist doesn’t work, the emergency braking brakes for no reason and gives my constant headache, the screen (the full this by the steering and in the center) has gone blank a few times and has had to be fixed, the screen is not misaligned with the graphics on it. I can keep going on and on. And I have had the car for less than 5k miles.
Many owners, like the one above, ultimately had their vehicles bought back by GM. They were offered money, a different car or both after going through arbitration. And according to lemon laws, when these vehicles are re-purchased over issues by the automaker, they have to fix said issues before they’re able to be resold. The result is bitter sweet: they’re sweet deals on the used marked by marred by a tank in resale value thanks to a buy back entry on the vehicle history.
Take this 2024 Chevy Blazer EV RS. It’s practically new as it has just 2,305 miles on it. According to its CarFax, it was originally purchased in Southern California in November 2023 for $60,203 (and likely marked up). It was bought back by GM in April before being offered for sale again the same month. Now it’s sitting for sale on the used lot of a Chevy dealer in Smithville, Missouri for just $33,187.
Another 2024 Blazer EV RS for sale at a dealer in Plymouth,Wisconsin has just 669 miles on it and had an MSRP of $60,215. Its buyback by GM back in February caused it to take a $21,000 hit in resale value. It’s on sale now for $38,990.
Cadillac Lyriq buy backs might be the biggest steals of all. Victory Chevrolet in Savannah, Missouri currently has four Lyriqs that were bought back by GM. They’re all low mileage and three of them are under $40,000. The cheapest is a 2023 Lyriq Luxury that wore an original MSRP of $63,590. It was bought back by GM in February and now sits used with just under 13,000 miles on it for $34,889. So if you’re in the market for an EV and can’t or won’t pay the big prices that new ones command, don’t let a little automaker buy back scare you away from one of these good deals.
Note: A previous version of this story contained this statement: “GM’s Ultium vehicles have had a shaky few years, with the company buying back vehicles for problems ranging from shaky build quality to risk of spontaneous fires.” Ultium vehicles have not in fact been bought back due to fire risk.