Yet again, GM has issued a massive recall for its used cars (and in some cases new cars). That is troubling because it shows even after massive recalls the problems are far from solved.

In 2014 alone, according to its own figures, GM has recalled almost 26.5 million used cars and trucks in the United States. Overall, in North America, it has recalled slightly more than 30 million used vehicles. Odds are if you own a GM sold in the last decade, it has been recalled for something.

The latest recall, according to The Detroit News, is "290,000 U.S. SUVs for loose nuts that have been linked to three crashes and two injuries. The recall affects 2010-15 Cadillac SRX and 2011-12 Saab 9-4X SUVs." (Fortunately not too many Saab 9-4Xs were sold.) Also, "GM … said it is recalling nearly 90,000 2013-15 Chevrolet Spark subcompacts in the U.S. because rust can cause the secondary hood latch striker to stick in the open position."

Rust? In the second decade of the 21st century is still a problem? Brings to mind all those recall problems with the Ford Windstar but that's one maniacal used car rabbit hole not worth following. Lets just say rust should not be an issue with any reasonably well-built car that has not been in an accident.

This whole recall situation is an ongoing nightmare for GM. It has millions of dollars in repairs waiting to be done (and has been fined $35 million by NHTSA). GM is looking to clean up this whole mess as soon as possible.

GM sent out this plea recently.

"There are more than 2.6 million vehicles involved in the GM ignition switch recalls first announced in February and March. The recalls include the Chevrolet Cobalt and HHR; the Pontiac G5 and Solstice, and the Saturn Ion and Sky. And now with the supply of repair parts increasing daily, GM is urging owners to get their vehicles fixed as soon as possible, free of charge," the announcement said.

And, it could take a while for the repairs to be done. As Jim Colon, vice president of Toyota Product Communications for Toyota Motor Sales USA, told the New England Motor Press Association back in October 2010, in nine months time the company fixed about 6.2 million of the vehicles. Normally it would have taken 18 months to fix only 5.5 million vehicles. (The usual standard on recalls is 70 percent are fixed in 18 months.) The statistic in brackets means only about 1.5 million of the recalled GMs will be fixed by the end of 2016 without an extraordinary push to get the work done sooner.

Should you buy a recalled GM (or any other used car with a recall)? Startling news from CarFax. It reports that, "At least 1.4 million used cars that were recalled but not repaired were for sale in 2009." That is approximately 3% of used cars sold annually.

Buying a used car with a recall notice is not automatically a bad thing. There are, however, certain steps you should take to protect yourself (as you would with any used car transaction)

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (commonly known as NHTSA) has created a public database. As it said in a news release, "To help car buyers, owners and renters know that their vehicles are safe and their safety defects have been address, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) … unveiled a new, free, online search tool consumers can use to find out if a vehicle is directly impacted by a recall."

You are going to need the vehicle identification number (VIN) to use that database or any of the numerous private sites that make the information available. Any seller should have the VIN handy for you to conduct the recall check.

As for buying a used car with a recall, if an owner has ignored a recall on a used car for more than six months, the car is not kept in good mechanical condition, in spite of what the owner might claim. Ignoring recall notices is a bad sign and demonstrates disinterest by the owner when it comes to mechanical problems.

Owners who claim a used car is in good mechanical condition - but ignore recall notices - are probably hiding other problems because they didn't want to bring their used car in for service and have to pay for other work. Owners like this may be hiding other problems with quick fixes.