Selling a dead or junk Daewoo Leganza

A Leganza with a dead engine can leave your driveway without a repair first. We buy whole non-running and junk cars, and pickup is free anywhere in the US.

What the Leganza was

The Leganza was Daewoo's midsize sedan. EPA lists it for the 1998 to 2002 model years. According to Wikipedia, Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign drew the car, and nearly every Leganza came out of Daewoo's Bupyong plant in Korea. It was a little larger than the Daewoo Espero it replaced, and the Daewoo Magnus followed it.

Wikipedia lists two four-cylinder engines, a 2.0-liter X20SED and a 2.2-liter X22SE. Leganza gearboxes came from ZF, GM or Aisin. The Leganza came with a 4-speed automatic, or buyers could choose a 5-speed manual. Wikipedia also notes that the automatic was replaced at one point by an electronically controlled automatic.

The company behind it collapsed early in the car's run. Per Wikipedia, the Daewoo group went bankrupt and counts as defunct from 1 November 1999, and Chevrolet or Ravon gradually took the brand's place.

Where the complaints cluster

Wikipedia gives the Leganza one production run, 1997 to 2002, so these groups follow NHTSA's numbers rather than a model change.

1999-2001: the engine years

These three years hold 466 of the 489 complaints. The 2000 alone has 220, and 178 of those are engine and engine cooling. The 1999 has 98 engine complaints out of 118, and the 2001 has 109 out of 128.

NHTSA files two recalls under that same engine category, both for the camshaft position sensor. Per the 04V357 notice, the sensor can melt and give off a burning smell and visible smoke, and that heat can go on to melt the camshaft cover and the sensor's wire harness. The remedy was a new sensor plus a fuse. 04V394 repeats that defect for owners served through Daewoo Puerto Rico. The 11,576 and 4,305 vehicle totals belong to each full campaign and may count other Daewoo models too.

Fire reports

Eleven complaints report a fire: 3 on the 1999, 7 on the 2000 and 1 on the 2001. A death is reported in one complaint filed on the 2000 Leganza. Each one is what an owner told NHTSA, not a ruling on the car. Still, a burning smell under the hood is a reason to park it.

The A-pillar padding recall

Campaign 01V180 covers the 1998 to 2001 Leganza. NHTSA says these cars failed federal safety standard 201 for occupant protection in an interior impact, going over the head injury limit the standard allows. Dealers installed padding on the A pillar. The campaign counted 58,691 vehicles, which may include other models.

1998 and 2002

The first and last years are quiet: 5 complaints on the 1998 and 18 on the 2002. The 2002 is outside the A-pillar recall, so it has two campaigns where the earlier years have three.

Leganza complaints, year by year

We pulled the Leganza owner complaint count from NHTSA on October 10, 2026. The last Leganza is a 2002, so the later years had only slightly less time for owners to file.

After the engine, owners name hydraulic service brakes (27), air bags (18) and the power train (11).

Selling a Leganza that won't run

1. Keep the Leganza's VIN, mileage and fault handy. A line like "Engine overheated and quit" or "won't crank" does the job.
2. Start an offer online, or phone (877) 421-6008.
3. Say where the Leganza is. Garage, backyard, curb or shop lot, plus whether its wheels turn, so we send the right truck.
4. Don't strip it. You sell the whole car as it sits. Name any Leganza parts already pulled, because the offer shifts with them.
5. Have the title on hand when the truck comes, along with your ID. Title missing? Read selling with no title.

Worth fixing first?

Check the VIN at NHTSA's recall lookup for the camshaft sensor and A-pillar campaigns. Next, have the engine quote put on paper and compare it with what a running 1998-2002 Leganza goes for. If the repair costs close to that or more, selling the car as is is simpler. Our blown engine and head gasket or overheating guides go deeper. If the car has already burned, see fire damage.

Other Daewoos we cover: the Nubira, the Lanos, and the full Daewoo list.