We’ve all done it… Nearly 100% of the time, without thinking twice. Even if we did, we probably wouldn’t care.

What’s this common occurrence in the car dealer world?

Buying or selling a previously arbitrated or failed post-sale car. Or… in plain language… buying someone’s problem and dumping one of yours on another dealer. If we really thought about it, some of us might feel a little ashamed (maybe not).

For those who don’t know, Meridian vehicles are basically Manheim (or Manheim-powered) units returned via the “Deal Shield” policy offered on most Manheim purchases.

Here’s the recap of a story from one of our dealers

Dealer bought a 2020 Altima SR Premium with a 4.0 CR. Seems like a decent deal, right?

But then…

-$1,500 in paintwork.
-$1,400 in tires (Manheim cut $500 off the price for that).

The final blow?

The car had a non-disclosed AutoCheck for theft recovery!!

Yep, was double-checked. It wasn’t announced when purchased …

That deal left a bad taste his mouth, and he decided…

“no more Meridian Remarketing for me.”

But this got me thinking…

-Should Manheim Be More Transparent?
-Should they announce that Meridian vehicles are Deal Shield rejects?
-Should the issues they were returned for be disclosed?

Isn’t this kind of like a Used Car Lemon Law situation?

Let’s be real… dealers dump their junk on each other all the time. It’s nothing new.

But Manheim, as the legitimate re-purchaser of these vehicles, should they have a duty to announce these units as buybacks?

Dealers don’t have to announce much about their cars—red light, green light, it’s all in play.

But Cox Automotive, with their empire of products and services, shouldn’t they hold themselves to a higher standard when it comes to transparency on vehicles they’ve repurchased for known issues?

Isn’t this a bit like unwinding a deal because of undisclosed structural damage?

That has to be announced going forward.

Where’s the line? Should Meridian Remarketing disclose that their vehicles are Deal Shield buybacks?

Seems like a conversation worth having…

Let me know what you think in the comments.