I actually had a major windfall recently.
Some of you may be aware that I purchased a Chevy Volt back in 2016. A few months after I bought it (with less than 4000mi on the odometer), the infotainment (radio/navigation/etc.) computer died and the dealer replaced it. Time passes, the bumper-to-bumper warranty expired back in spring of this year, and in August the infotainment computer died AGAIN; dealer said it would be $1500 to replace.
I complained about twice having to replace a part in under 4 years that should last the life of the vehicle, and the dealer suggested I call GM Customer Support. They forwarded me to their CA Lemon Law department, who reviewed my service history and decided to purchase the car back from me. They requested a statement from the lender with all of my payment history, then added the down payment to that total. They subtracted ~$1100 for a "usage fee" (based on the mileage the first time I had the problem) and
gave me back the rest! I delivered the car to the dealership, and GM paid off the remainder of the loan.
In total, I paid $1100 to drive the car for ~3.5 years... except that I also received ~$9000 in EV rebates. So basically, I received almost $8000 to drive the car and then give it back. Needless to say, I was pleased with the outcome. Especially since my expectation was that GM would do nothing and I would have to eat $1500 to replace the computer, then likely sell the car at around break even with what I owed.
I took the money I got from GM and did some home repair I had been postponing, and also got a replacement for the Volt:
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