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Good points all. So a demo is obviously not preferable but for those open to buying one, at what % discount vs MSRP does it become really attractive? For a leftover model not current year. 1k miles.
In science, there is a concept called "fatigue", and the more cyclic stresses, the sooner the material will fail.
I've seen both customers, and car dealers absolutely pound their cars over kerbs, and rough road etc, and this inevitably causes premature fatigue to the demo vehicle.
Test drivers and dealers treat the demo like this because it's not their own car.
If it was their own car, they'd treat it differently.
Do you own a rental property?
Tenants will treat a rental property differently to how they'd treat their own property.
Thus, purchasing a demo vehicle is a hit and miss affair.
60,000 miles later, you'll be able to tell the difference between the car that was well treated early on, versus a car that was beaten up, abused and driven hard - early on.
The engine will be rougher, and the body structure will be looser with plenty more creaks and rattles.
Subjectively, it is better to purchase a demo LS because of the way that type of full size luxury vehicles is generally softly driven.
Likewise, subjectively best avoid IS' because of the way they'd be test driven.
Subjectively, the GS would be thrown around too.
Maybe an ES may be more pampered...
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At the end of the day if your even considering a demo the bottom line is quite important so go with price being the primary factor in deciding whether the demo is worth it.
1) Different Types of demos exist so pricing varies. Was the car titled? Was the car punched so the vehicle`s warranty clock has started. If its been titled and/or punched Used car pricing applies. If not, usually theirs a dollar figure that I cant find off the top, but a search can help where each mile is a specific dollar amount. Just remember that a demo is never worth more then market value on a new vehicle and/or maybe similar in price to a leftover pre-refresh (specific to the 15s GS). The general rule is New, then leftover new, then demo, CPO, then used pricig wise
2) Get a PDI inspection like on a lift to inspect everything visually underneath. Also Check the basic fluids etc.
Make sure alignment is on point, as a bad alignment gives you a clue on the possible driving style. Check tires as well fro RWD cars especially since they go bad when you have 2 much fun
My 2 cents, I stay clear of demos due to the general attitude of people who "demo" the car.
1) Salesman want you to give the car the beans since it demonstrates the car
2) Salesman and any other person at the dealership who use them for personal use dont care how the car is operated since its only with them for a shortwhile
3) Customers dont care since again 15 minutes to figure out if the car is worth it for 15 years.
4) Gas tank is run empty, cold starts and rev line are just some things I have seen happen while demoing.
HOUSE DEMO (H-D) here - 513 Canadian Km or 318 miles.
- couldn't be happier...the very low mileage, used as a bargaining chip, probably a 5% Depreciating $avings alone, in the end
Real smart move financially, but we had proven purchasing skill & power in the deal / both son and dad, much sales experience.
- this 2015 Lexus RX350 interior perfect with the free molded floor mats / exterior also perfect, not even a finger print, to be found
- maybe some Dealerships, respect their Demos more than others / this one did, as H-D SUV treated as a valuable asset, until sold
We got a good one & negotiated a bargain price that couldn't be beat.
- 13.3% off MSRP, when put ink to paper / the same week, new 2016 models were hitting the show room floors (Dec. last year)
My banker roughly terms a demo (by definition), as a new vehicle with up to 20,000 Km (12,500 miles).
A House Demo is one vehicle used for local test drives & not taken home at night / keeping other lot vehicle mileage, closer to 0.
I would choose a dealer's demo with 5K+ miles located in a warm climate area without any visible body/interior damage over a one month old personally owned car with just 1K miles that is parked outside in sub freezing temperature and has had the engine [cold] cranked just once a day or only 30 times.
Does anyone here live in deep freeze areas that must park their car outside and cold crank their engine where it takes a handful of seconds or more to get the engine oil flowing to the bearings and piston rings? If so, your engine has been subjected to some degree of lubrication starvation wear caused by metal-on-metal contact damage that the warm climate demo car has not been subjected to. Not to mention the other negatives that cold climates cause that quickly age a vehicle like rubber windshield wipers becoming brittle; brittle rubber engine, transmission and strut seals and gaskets; salt damage; metal fatigue, etc., etc.
There are many of you living in cold areas of the country that own low mileage vehicles that are already more worn than practically all warm climate demo vehicles. Personally, I would choose the warm climate demo as being the better of the two.
If the price is good then I'd get a demo. Not everybody drives hard. Plus, I drive my cars hard anyway so it's all the same to me. The only thing I would worry about re demos is the clutch and over revving. But the GS is not a manual and modern computer systems prevent over rev.
If the price is good then I'd get a demo. Not everybody drives hard. Plus, I drive my cars hard anyway so it's all the same to me. The only thing I would worry about re demos is the clutch and over revving. But the GS is not a manual and modern computer systems prevent over rev.
Demo is probably lighter driven than most CPOs.
From what some people here say you'd think dealerships' new car demos are purposely driven off-road into the woods and through deep potholes of mud, hitting curbs and dragging the innards behind the car for miles down the road...before turning into the racetrack entrance lane and quickly draining all the engine oil out before taking a few laps, then returning to the pit area to redline the engine for ten solid minutes while shifting the transmission from drive to reverse over and over until the pile of mangled vehicle eventually catches fire. Then, and only then, does the dealership offer these worthless, piece of crap demos for sale to unsuspecting, naive, uneducated people that are lacking any common sense whatsoever.
From what some people here say you'd think dealership's new car demos are purposely driven off-road into the woods and through deep potholes of mud, hitting curbs and dragging the innards behind the car for miles down the road...before turning into the racetrack entrance lane and quickly draining all the engine oil out before taking a few laps, then returning to the pit area to redline the engine for ten solid minutes while shifting the transmission from drive to reverse over and over until the pile of mangled vehicle eventually catches fire. Then, and only then, does the dealership offer these worthless, piece of crap demos for sale to unsuspecting, naive, uneducated people that are lacking any common sense whatsoever.
It doesnt take much to have a vehicle wear faster then other vehicles in the ideal situtions.
Cold start where 90% of engine damage occurs
Inexperienced drivers going through rough roads at a high rate of speed
Curb damage etc
Running the gas till empty aka all the cruds being sucked into the engine
Again for the right price I`d totally be handing over my money, but in my experiences dealerships treat a demo like a new car for some stupid reason. Hence why I say a leftover is better than a demo.
Point in example:
Someone above purchased a demo (this is not a appales to apples comparison) with 300 miles for $13k off
I can procure a brand new fully decked out hybrid in the color of my choice on a leftover 450H for $15K off.
But i bet ya some dealer probably is selling their 450H Amazing Demo for $13k off and if you haggle they`ll point out how amazing their staff was with the vehicle and how even the 16s are more expensive.
Hence why I encourage peeps shop around, demos sometimes are not the deal they are.
Seeing how people drive demos, I would never buy one. The beating those cars get won't show the results right away; but in time, I'm sure stuff will eventually pop up. Not to mention, when I was shopping my my 2014 F Sport, one Lexus dealer tried to sell me a demo with 8000 miles for more than I paid for mine brand new. Good think I shopped around. I'd rather buy a year or two used from someone who took care of their car.
Seeing how people drive demos, I would never buy one. The beating those cars get won't show the results right away; but in time, I'm sure stuff will eventually pop up. Not to mention, when I was shopping my my 2014 F Sport, one Lexus dealer tried to sell me a demo with 8000 miles for more than I paid for mine brand new. Good think I shopped around. I'd rather buy a year or two used from someone who took care of their car.
Are you talking about a demo or a loaner? Demos are rarely mistreated, or 'beaten on' as you say, from a mechanical standpoint. About the worse a demo is mistreated is for the driver to 'floor it' before the engine is at normal operating temperature. I don't know where some of you get this wild idea that a new car demo is all but a wasted piece of crap...
I was talking about a demo, not a loaner. I can speak from experience when I was buying my Infiniti M35s years ago. The salesman wanted to demonstrate how powerful the car's engine was and wanted to show this by doing a donut on the test drive. So we pulled up in this business park and he had us get out of the car and sure enough, he did it. We were in awe back then, but thinking about it now, I would never buy that car. I've never even done a donut in any of my cars!
I was talking about a demo, not a loaner. I can speak from experience when I was buying my Infiniti M35s years ago. The salesman wanted to demonstrate how powerful the car's engine was and wanted to show this by doing a donut on the test drive. So we pulled up in this business park and he had us get out of the car and sure enough, he did it. We were in awe back then, but thinking about it now, I would never buy that car. I've never even done a donut in any of my cars!
Well, I won't say that I don't believe you...so, I'll just say that your Infiniti salesman was an total, complete, absolute, stupid fool. But, besides the rear tires having a bit less rubber from this extreme demonstration test drive - was the car damaged? If so, how was it damaged?
The thought of 200+ people having planted their seat in the car is unnerving. May be able to overlook it at the right price though. With TrueCar at -17% vs MSRP for a 2015, what % discount on a demo purchase would you be looking for?
I got 18% off msrp on my brand new 2015 white/Cabernet gs350 f sport. Demo isn't a bad deal as most people dont beat on the gas pedal when test driving a family sedan, but I would only take a demo for a killer deal such as 22% + discount. Remember, the warranty doesn't start until the car is registered to you so you're covered if anything goes wrong. When i was shopping around i found that the demos werent being offered at low enough lease rates for my liking. Good luck!
I got 18% off msrp on my brand new 2015 white/Cabernet gs350 f sport. Demo isn't a bad deal as most people dont beat on the gas pedal when test driving a family sedan, but I would only take a demo for a killer deal such as 22% + discount. Remember, the warranty doesn't start until the car is registered to you so you're covered if anything goes wrong. When i was shopping around i found that the demos werent being offered at low enough lease rates for my liking. Good luck!
02-13-16, 06:04 PM
