What I am saying is, on the carfax, you can see ALL buybacks go thru michigan and get titled there. Its a very high probability that a car bought and registered in say, Virginia, that was then titled to manufacturer in MI, then sold at auction is a buyback.
A car listed for sale that has never seen a michigan title registration or auction, but only 'vehcile sold or traded' is a partial fix, if it's vin is in the registry as having phase one.
However -
If you are buying a car based on this criteria, or expecting it, you're probably looking at the wrong car. It's going to be a frustrating experience trying to navigate the status of the car, and if you will receive the last 1/3 of the payout.
Either you want it or you dont. Frankly I paid 16,700 for a CPO with 20K miles on it (Golf SE with lighting pack, 2015) that looked minty. That was a 28-29K MSRP car two years ago, that likely sold for about 26,500. Its a stellar deal, is a blast to drive, looks great, has a bumper to bumper for 60K, and the settlement warranty to 162K. If, thats not enough, youre probably looking at the wrong car, man.