I am buying a new car from a dealer who located the car for me in a neighboring state. I was told they would ship the car on a flatbed, but instead they drove it. It now has 250 miles on the odometer. Is this something I should be upset about? Is this too many miles for the car to be considered new?
Technically, your car is still considered “new” because it has never been titled to an individual. Mileage has little to do with whether a dealer describes a car as “new.” It’s more of a legal term stating the car has never been owned by anyone except the dealership.
Dealerships have demonstration vehicles for test drives and such that can be driven up to 10,000 miles and still be considered “new” because they were never registered to an individual, although sometimes those cars are available cheaper than if they were fresh off the assembly line.
We think you have the right to be upset in that the dealership told you one thing and did another (guaranteed it’s not the first time that’s happened), and you may be able to negotiate an extended warranty or even maintenance services. If you’re really peeved, let the dealer know, but 250 miles isn’t that many. In the end, though, you’re the one who will have to live with the car for the next few years, so if you make your feelings and expectations known and still don’t get satisfactory results, buy a different car.
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I wouldn't have a problem with the first 1000 miles. Ten DOES sound excessive though. But I have a bigger problem with the car being a demo for the first 500 miles because if the car isn't broken in properly it might lead to cronic problems.
Especially with sporting models which might be "test driven" with hard acceleration and braking.
Even 250 is a lot for a new car, because it was driven on an interstate during the break-in period.
If the dealer is still selling for the same price, they are ripping you off, my friend.
I thought cars don't have a break in period like they used to and it's ok to drive on the highway even when it's brand new.
Dealers going hundreds of miles away for a particular car is not uncommon.The dealer now has more expense just to get the exact vehicle a consumer is looking for rather than trying to talk them into other packages or colors. Now the consumer thinks he is getting screwed and wants to work the dealer for free stuff. The dealer now gets a bad CSI score because the consumer feels cheated. Sometimes the dealer is better off letting the consumer hunt down the car and buy it somewhere else. Sometimes a dealer is better off not making the sale!
Nic,
According to my brand new 2007 car's Owner Manual, it needs to break-in during the first 600 miles(1000 kilometers). And I am still doing it. :)
(BTW, thanks to cars.com staffs for giving so much comments on the vehicle that I have chosen.)
If you are financing from a 3rd party and not the captive (manufacturer's) finance dept, the 3rd party may indicate that a "new" vehicle is defined by less than 6000 miles and has never been titled. Read the terms of the loan offer to see what applies to your situation.
Hi all,
I have been trying to buy a new Mercedes car with a specific colors and at the time we picked-up and it has 227 miles loaded.
We asked the dealer why the car has too much miles loaded and they said that they hired someone to drive it from another place - around 200 miles from where I live.
I am not sure if those guys are telling the truth and there is a little doubt about it. Finally, we bought it since my wife love it, however, I feel a little disappointment since we wait for almost a week and buy a car with 227 miles loaded with the new car price.
I have been buying several new cars before and most of them have only (max) 13 miles.
Does anyone has any idea?
Thanks,
Friendly Guy
Friendly Guy, just like we mention in our response, 200 miles isn't that many for a new car. It sounds like you got the combination you wanted, and waiting a week for the car isn't that bad, either.
I'm looking at a car that the dealership owner's wife drove for about six months & about 1500 miles. To me, that makes it used, but they're selling it as new. I get that it may not have been titled to her, but is this legit, since the car has been put to personal use?
THE DEALER SHOULD TELL YOU IF THE CAR WILL HAVE MORE THAN 50 MILES , BUT IT IS VERY COMMON TO DEALER TRADE A CAR FROM ONE DEALER TO ANOTHER . AND IS LESS LIKELY TO BE DAMAGED IF DRIVEN
Friends, same thing happened to m the dealer never told me that I was going to get a car with 229 miles. When i asked them they explained me the same thing that they had to go to another states to get it.
Anything over 100-150 miles is used car territory here in CA. They do go by miles. Car dealers lie! Big surprise. No enforcement.
I just got the car with all of the specifications we wanted with 498 miles. The most disappointing part is that we were told they would pick the car up on a hitch so it wouldn't have extra miles. After waiting nearly 6 months to get the car we wanted, we bought the car. Very disappointing!
hello
can someone tell me of a website that gives me car values depending on mileage driven .
thanx so much !!
One question here: Do you know how fast the dealer's rep drove the car? Did he/she keep within the guidelines (speed/varying the MPH, etc) of the '"break-in period" stated in the Owenr's Manual. You should barter some kind of maintenance perk.
Maybe you all should try being in the car business before pretending to know anything about cars! Yes in order to find the exact car you want sometimes dealer's have to hire someone to drive the vehicle in from a different dealership, this is called a dealer trade. It would cost you the consumer tons more if they brought the vehicle in freight. Also that is extremely low mileage for a new car. A demo is still considered new as well but are usually sold as just that a demo.
Two weeks ago, I approached a salesman about ordering exactly the truck I wanted. After a few days of negociations, I asked him to order it. A few hours later, he told me that he could get the truck I wanted, with a few options I didn't want but didn't object to, for $500 less, that it was in stock at another dealership, that it would be trucked to his dealership, and that it could be delivered several weeks sooner than if I special ordered one. He mentioned nothing about mileage, and I assumed that a "new" truck would have less than 20 miles on the odometer. Today he told me that it had arrived and that it had 260 miles on the odometer. I have bought all my previous cars but one new, and none of them had over 15 miles on them. I am unhappy, and I feel that he should have told me about the mileage when he presented this truck as an alternative to ordering one. Am I wrong? I just feel like 260 miles = used. I am seriously considering refusing to accept this truck. I welcome comments.
we bought a car from the dealership with 350 miles on it.is it still considered brand new?we paid almost $ 2000 less the sticker price drive out,did we make a good deal?
from beauty
Frank, you are stupid
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They did a similiar thing to us. When we wanted our Charger, the dealership in town could not get it. We went out of town, about 30 miles away and asked if they had one or could get one. Well, they found one a while away. So, when it came in, it had over 80 miles on it. They said they had to drive it in. We got a free maintenance package for 5 years.