[Questions] Would you buy a demonstrator car?

[The Phantom]

I'd buy one if the discount was enough.

Ok the car is thrashed from new, but it will still have the remains of the warranty; any faults should have been identified and fixed (why give someone something which rattles when you are trying to sell them one?)

After all most engines mowadays come off the factory line having been tested to the red line and are ready to drive properly.

[cnicolini]

My previous car was a demo and I did nt have any problems with it, apart from the paint work. The dealer told me that it never had any paint work done to it, when it had a door and the bonnet respray as it was keyed. This is why I brought a brand new car this time round.

It all depends on how much the dealer is prepared to knock off the price, for the sake of £1000 I'd buy new!
Never trust salesman, they talk rubbish most of the time just to sell the car!

[zio]

Mine's an ex-demo and I got it quite a lot cheaper than the retail price as a result. I can't imagine it got too badly thrashed in it's test drives either, as the dealer always accompanied people on their drives and even told me about one time he made a customer get out and walk whilst testing a Type R because of the way he was driving it.

I've never had any issues with it either, except for a small warranty issue where the fuse for the front accessory socket was missing.

[bucketp]

Mines an ex demo bought with 7000 on the clock, i have had absolutely no problems with it apart from a door seal splitting in the icy weather ,this was replaced under warranty, and I have done 12000 miles in it. very pleased with my purchase.

[Unknownsoldier]

[quote=zio;171614]even told me about one time he made a customer get out and walk whilst testing a Type R because of the way he was driving it.[quote]

I really don't see this, turning down and possibly even annoying (I know if it was me, I'd badmouth Honda to everyone, especially that dealership) a customer who is likely to spend almost 20k (possibly over with all the accessories) with you??? Unless the driving is dangerous, I can't see them turning someone away like that.

Tom

[cnicolini]

I took an old shape CTR out on a test drive 2 yrs back, it was new then and only had 200 miles on the clock, the salesman was hammering it! This ex-demo came up for sale and he had the cheek to call me about it! I was the one feeling bad on how he was treating it, talk about running it in!

I also drove a demo in June from the Enfield branch and that car got red-lined! It all depends on what model you buy, if its a CTR then it will get hammered on every test drive, as long as the engine has been warmed up it should take it!

[gmp]

Mine was a demo (1.8 es i shift), about 1400 miles on clock,it had lots of goodies - parking sensors ,door embelishments,blue amient footwell lighting etc.Have had the usual warranty claims. I was almost pressurised into buying because of the long delivery date on a new one,but have'nt really regretted buying a demo - maybe regret buying the civic in the first place!!!

[NH Dan]

[quote=Unknownsoldier;171617][quote=zio;171614]even told me about one time he made a customer get out and walk whilst testing a Type R because of the way he was driving it.

I really don't see this, turning down and possibly even annoying (I know if it was me, I'd badmouth Honda to everyone, especially that dealership) a customer who is likely to spend almost 20k (possibly over with all the accessories) with you??? Unless the driving is dangerous, I can't see them turning someone away like that.

Tom

sitting on the fence here, when you chose to bad mouth the dealership, would you say why?? because you were told to calm down or at worse, get out becuase you were driving dangerously???

In ten years of selling cars i've had to do it once, they guy then came back in to speak to the DP and complain about me, I explained why/what i'd done and the guy was asked to leave. Judging by the comments from most posters here, i'd assume that if you were to buy an ex demo from a dealership, you'd want to know it had been looked after rather than ragged every time the doors were opened???

[NH Dan]

Originally Posted by cnicolini

My previous car was a demo and I did nt have any problems with it, apart from the paint work. The dealer told me that it never had any paint work done to it, when it had a door and the bonnet respray as it was keyed. This is why I brought a brand new car this time round.

It all depends on how much the dealer is prepared to knock off the price, for the sake of £1000 I'd buy new!
Never trust salesman, they talk rubbish most of the time just to sell the car!

A mildly over the top and slightly cynical statement i'd say!!!

Originally Posted by cnicolini

I took an old shape CTR out on a test drive 2 yrs back, it was new then and only had 200 miles on the clock, the salesman was hammering it! This ex-demo came up for sale and he had the cheek to call me about it! I was the one feeling bad on how he was treating it, talk about running it in!

I also drove a demo in June from the Enfield branch and that car got red-lined! It all depends on what model you buy, if its a CTR then it will get hammered on every test drive, as long as the engine has been warmed up it should take it!

Pretty much every car is redlined at the factory as part of the testing of the car, thats why they have rev limiters, to stop any damage occuring.

[lippy]

Originally Posted by NH

In ten years of selling cars i've had to do it once, they guy then came back in to speak to the DP and complain about me, I explained why/what i'd done and the guy was asked to leave. Judging by the comments from most posters here, [U

i'd assume that if you were to buy an ex demo from a dealership, you'd want to know it had been looked after rather than ragged every time the doors were opened???[/size]

[/u]

Quite agree!! I only bought my demo because it had been looked after. In my book there's test driving sensibly and being a moron/lunatic, but then a lot of peoples everyday driving leaves a lot to be desired!!!! How you drive a car once it's yours is one thing but you can still test drive a car without being a loon.

[TTDegs]

I guess the killer question is then:

1) find the demo car you want (by searching yourself not getting the dlr to do it)
2) call the dlr and try to arrange a test drive (of any car)

If they agree to let you out by yourself, then there is a risk that the car may have been thrashed.

If they only agree to let you out with a salesperson, then there is still a risk, but it's probably lower


Personally, I'd have no issue with buying an ex demo if the price was right, and it had new tyres etc (or again, that was reflected in the price).
At the end of the day, a demo will be at least looked after by the dlr, as the last thing they want is a demo car that puts prosepective buyers off...

[Kremmen]

It is also a good way of avoiding the often long waiting list and the consequential posts here about further delays.

Do the ex-demo figures reflect it's second hand status though ?

We know that you lose circa £2.5k once you leave the forecourt with a new car but sometimes the ex-demo price is still above this initial drop. I would need to be saving at least £4k on RRP to buy an ex-demo.

[Moose]

Originally Posted by Kremmen

It is also a good way of avoiding the often long waiting list and the consequential posts here about further delays.

Do the ex-demo figures reflect it's second hand status though ?

We know that you lose circa £2.5k once you leave the forecourt with a new car but sometimes the ex-demo price is still above this initial drop. I would need to be saving at least £4k on RRP to buy an ex-demo.

I made a saving of around 4K on my ex Honda car, admit it had 4500 miles on a 57plate but it was only 4months old.

[cnicolini]

Originally Posted by NH Dan

A mildly over the top and slightly cynical statement i'd say!!!



Pretty much every car is redlined at the factory as part of the testing of the car, thats why they have rev limiters, to stop any damage occuring.

Sorry but this was my experience from Peugeot. Dont get me started with Honda, it was worse. The saleman lost my new cars paper work and tax disk, and I had to wait 2 hours for the car. Then I got p'd off and left with the car anyway without it, they wanted me to come back in a few days so they could find them. This was nt an option as my new car was sitting outside and I'd switch ins over from the old car.
Then the saleman forgot to ask me to fill in the DVLA cert on the part ex and forgot to take my money, a cheque for £10k, I had to remind him. Luckily I'm honest!

To top things off the mats were nt fitted correctly, as the brackets were missing and I had to go back. Also a few days later they had the cheek to call me and ask me where the car keys were from the part ex, which I had given them in a carrier bag containing every receipt and books that the car came with!

NOW TELL ME, IS THAT GOOD SERVICE AFTER SPENDING £20K ON A CAR??????

This is the second biggest purchase people make after buying a house and the service stunk! I still become livid just thinking about it, and yes I did complain!
I work in customer support and we never treat our customers this way!

[Kremmen]

What a state of affairs that changeover was then !

Under the circumstances I would have played their game of forgetfulness with the cheque for a while until they sorted out all the paperwork and mat anchors to your satisfaction.

"The cheque was with the old car keys and paperwork wasn't it" ?

[NH Dan]

Originally Posted by cnicolini

Sorry but this was my experience from Peugeot. Dont get me started with Honda, it was worse. The saleman lost my new cars paper work and tax disk, and I had to wait 2 hours for the car. Then I got p'd off and left with the car anyway without it, they wanted me to come back in a few days so they could find them. This was nt an option as my new car was sitting outside and I'd switch ins over from the old car.
Then the saleman forgot to ask me to fill in the DVLA cert on the part ex and forgot to take my money, a cheque for £10k, I had to remind him. Luckily I'm honest!

To top things off the mats were nt fitted correctly, as the brackets were missing and I had to go back. Also a few days later they had the cheek to call me and ask me where the car keys were from the part ex, which I had given them in a carrier bag containing every receipt and books that the car came with!

NOW TELL ME, IS THAT GOOD SERVICE AFTER SPENDING £20K ON A CAR??????

This is the second biggest purchase people make after buying a house and the service stunk! I still become livid just thinking about it, and yes I did complain!
I work in customer support and we never treat our customers this way!

from what you've posted, that certainly isnt good service and i dont think anyone would say it was but then thats one salesperson from 1 dealership out of 200 dealers and probably at an average of 4 salespeople per dealer, 800 sales people.

Obviously, we are not all the same.

[zio]

[quote=NH Dan;171624][quote=Unknownsoldier;171617]

Originally Posted by zio

even told me about one time he made a customer get out and walk whilst testing a Type R because of the way he was driving it.

sitting on the fence here, when you chose to bad mouth the dealership, would you say why?? because you were told to calm down or at worse, get out becuase you were driving dangerously???

In ten years of selling cars i've had to do it once, they guy then came back in to speak to the DP and complain about me, I explained why/what i'd done and the guy was asked to leave. Judging by the comments from most posters here, i'd assume that if you were to buy an ex demo from a dealership, you'd want to know it had been looked after rather than ragged every time the doors were opened???

Very near to the dealer I bought mine from is the A41, which is a great road for opening the taps up and seeing what the car can do. The dealer told me that this one customer who he made get out of the Type-R drove the car up to 140mph down there and was apparentely none too careful at other points of the drive. Provided what he was telling me was the truth, and I see no reason why he'd have lied about it as I was originally testdriving the car with a view to buying a brand new one, I don't blame him for making the guy get out and walk.

As for my ex-demo: I bought a NHB Type-S, with the mats, iPod adaptor, mudflaps and front foglights, at 6-months old with 6,000 miles on the clock for £13,100. I didn't think that was too bad.

[Civvy Civic]

I'd defiantely buy ex-demo again. Like someone stated in an earlier posting - the money you lose, just driving a car off the forecourt is cronic!

My very first car - a Rover Metro - was an ex-demo from Jersey - I saved a packet on that car - and YES it was very reliable, never let me down. I brought my last car - Rover 200 via a British Car Auction and again, got a excellent and faultless car - saving just over £3k from main dealerships forecourts.

And now my lastest car - a Milano Red 1.8 EX - was an ex-Honda UK car, from Slough. Just 6 months, with 6k miles for £13,995 from a dealership in Wales. Had to drive 40 miles to collect, but saved over £2,500k from not buying at my local dealership in Somerset.

It pays to do your own research into the model and spec you want, and to how far you're prepared to drive to collect one. I looked at and spoke to various dealerhips via the internet, including those hundreds of miles away - just to get the best deal.

[angie4m]

Some people will og out on a test drive and hammer it, whilst others will treat it with respect. Funnily enough I took a Mini out about a month after I passed my test and drove it within speed limts etc, took a Type S out (as they didn't have an R to test drive for another 2 months) and didn't thrash it, was heavy traffic. Took a Type R out, had 22 miles on the clock, dealer thrashed it on an open bit of road, I got into it and got stuck behind a learner driver doing 25! So I never thrashed it.

Only car I think I ever thrashed and even then I was in 6th gear was an RX8 230, it was a Sunday afternoon and the bypass was full of Sunday drivers and I had to get a feel for it before it went back as i'd been stuck in traffic. That car tho was the pits as the guy who had it treated it like a dustbin! It was manky!

I would happily buy a demo car as long as it wasn't a Type R, Focus St etc, but then thinking about it most would probably buy a second hand car and how do we know its not been thrashed from new but still looks ace from the outside?

[Gaz.wb]

Buy an EX Demo with caution, be mindfull that when it comes to selling on, the vehicle will have had TWO previous owners. You will therefore pass on some of the original discount.

Gaz