New car w/ 400 miles on odometer?

[dtt004]

Hi.

I wouldn't worry about it. You can always negotiate for a lower price using that as your ammunition. Or leave if you do not honestly think you are getting a good deal. It is your money after all; my mindset when I walk into a dealership to buy a is..."hey it's my money, I don't care about your salary or commission Mr. Salesman because I worked just as hard as you to earn this." As brutal or rude as it sounds, if you approach with this in mind you will never get swayed by the mish mash coming from a dealer.

With that said, if there were any concerns about what kind of miles or how they were accumulated, there shouldn't be a problem. If the car was driven hard, that's fine. I would be more worried if the car was driven softly.

Break in does not occur over a thousand miles, or even a hundred miles. It happens in the first minute. Think about it. When you have thousands of pounds of pressure acting on simple mechanical components...things get shiny and smooth real fast. That's why it is so important to change the oil right away after you buy it (given that the car was theoretically at 0 miles). This eliminates the manufacturing imperfections when you dump the oil...not down the sewer of course! haha.

Anyways, the bottom line is: negotiate if you feel that he car is worth less than the asking price.

 

[antonmnster]

I think the most critical part of break in - ring seating - occurs at the factory when they dyno the car. I think it'd be unlikely to be an issue. But if I were putting down that kind of money... I suppose I'd want as close to zero as possible.

 

[LS2JSTS]

They dont chassis dyno cars as they come off the line...and I know that most production engines don't get dynoed at all. While it is common to pull a random number of engines from the line as samples and dyno them. I know in Romeo Ford has multiple dyno cells with random engines pulled from the line at any given time.

As for the initial break in...I completely agree. The bulk of it has been done by the run off the end of the line to the holding lot, then by the car hauler who pulls the car, then by the porters at the dealerships...imo, a few hundred miles on a new car is nothing to worry about.

Back when SVT was in full force at Ford they would pull a few cars evry once in a while off the line at DAP and put some miles on them...The usual practice was to put a sticker on the window below the Mulrooney that explained the car was used for quality control purposes. Of the few of those that I know the owners of, I've never heard an example of a break down that could be attributed to those miles...and they were hard miles, trust me.

Bottom line, if you are uncomfortable with the mileage, then move on. Like others have said, I personallly would probably try and get a small discount for the mileage and not worry about it.

 

[GMFan]

My new car had 142 miles on it when I took delivery since they had to do a dealer trade ~140 miles away. They simply picked up the car and hopped on the interstate for 140 miles.

In all honesty, a few hundred miles is nothing to worry about if they did a trade for it. Otherwise, perhaps it was driven by sales staff at the dealership.

 

[Hootbro]

You guys are smoking crack if you think the dealership will discount it to a used price to move a 400 mile car. Maybe a couple hundred at the most if they want to move it.

They will sell it regardless if the OP does not buy it. As previously mentioned, if untitled, it is "legally" new. So it does not matter what we perceive as new or used.

 

[oldmaninsc]

Originally Posted By: Hootbro
You guys are smoking crack if you think the dealership will discount it to a used price to move a 400 mile car. Maybe a couple hundred at the most if they want to move it.

They will sell it regardless if the OP does not buy it. As previously mentioned, if untitled, it is "legally" new. So it does not matter what we perceive as new or used.


Right! and that's why most of us said "walk away" from it!

 

[demarpaint]

Most new cars are already broken in by the lot boy LOL. With 400 miles on the car the engine has already been broken in. It really boils down to this, get a deal you're going to be happy with or walk. It's your money and you have to be satisfied with the deal no matter what anyone here says. There will be other cars. Don't expect a deep discount, but try for one! As we always said in the car business there's an arse for every seat. If you don't buy the car someone else will. I'd pass unless they offered me one fine deal! JMO

 

[steve20]

don't walk away from this deal RUN--as fast as you can Bro



Steve

 

[opus1]

Originally Posted By: Astro14
.....I've picked up rental cars from Hertz that had 4 (as in more than 3, but less than 5...) miles on them.

4.

That's a new car....
I picked up a car in Colorado from Avis that had 11 miles on it. Turned it back in with over 1200 miles a week later. And believe it or not, I actually drove relatively cautiously in the first couple of hundred miles.

 

[PeteTheFarmer]

It's a demo. I know someone who bought one and didn't have any unusual problems, YMMV. Use it as a negotiating item if you're still interested.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: oldmaninsc
Originally Posted By: Hootbro
You guys are smoking crack if you think the dealership will discount it to a used price to move a 400 mile car. Maybe a couple hundred at the most if they want to move it.

They will sell it regardless if the OP does not buy it. As previously mentioned, if untitled, it is "legally" new. So it does not matter what we perceive as new or used.


Right! and that's why most of us said "walk away" from it!


+1, especially for honda, which practically charges for the opportunity to drive a used car...

 

[Eddie]

In ILL a vehicle is considered NEW if it has never been titled AND has less than 4,000 miles on it. They can call it NEW, a demo or Executive dealer driven or some such wording. This I remember 30 years ago when I lived in ILL.

 

[Schmoe]

If you got time and no need to rush, do what I do. Pick the car and price that you want and tell them you want it with less than 10 miles on the odometer. You may have to wait a week or so, but it's worth it in my book.

 

[KrisZ]

As other said, from a mechanical / reliability point of view this car will be no different then if you bought it with 10 miles on the odo. it shouldn't be a problem.

From a financial view, I personally would not be willing to pay the same price for it, 400 miles is enough for some sort of discount. A good start would be to ask them what amount they charge for extra miles on lease returns and apply the same for your discount. Seems like a reasonable request, if dealer refuses, just walk away.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Bought a loaded truck in 06 with 225 miles on it.

List price was 42k or so, out the door was 26. A big part of that was the miles.

Just to illuminate what a great atmosphere it was at that time, a roofer was there I knew and he bought 3 trucks!

He said the prices were so good it was like the third one was free.

 

[rg200amp]

I just picked up a Jetta new with 150 miles.

The deal was right and I took it.

The car is running smooth as butter. . .

 

[kkreit01]

A few of mine have had 2-300 miles on them, but that's because the dealer drove to get them for me. My current MKZ had 700 miles, but it was discounted $13K. Otherwise, I would have bought one with less miles.

 

[someguy]

I bought a new car last month and to keep me happy until it arrived (and get their sale) they gave me the keys to a compact with 45 miles and I brought it back two weeks later with around 500. I was kind and broke it in nice and easy per the manufacturers recommendation for the future owner because I love cars. I even got rid of three rattles on interior trim pieces that were a little loose because it really bugged me. I'm sure many aren't quite as nice but you never know.

Regardless of who had the car I would certainly expect a discount of $1-2 per mile.

 

[Bill in Utah]

Originally Posted By: someguy
I bought a new car last month and to keep me happy until it arrived (and get their sale) they gave me the keys to a compact with 45 miles and I brought it back two weeks later with around 500. I was kind and broke it in nice and easy per the manufacturers recommendation for the future owner because I love cars. I even got rid of three rattles on interior trim pieces that were a little loose because it really bugged me. I'm sure many aren't quite as nice but you never know.

Regardless of who had the car I would certainly expect a discount of $1-2 per mile.


THANK YOU! Glad to see someone who respects other peoples property!

I had the same mindset and amount with my Corolla. $2 a mile was what I asked for and received over the previous discount. There was another few exactly like the one I ended up with and the $$ was worth more then the 300 miles on the ODO. They bump up the end of the warranty the same amount so its not like you are getting anything less.

Bill

 

[CharBaby]

I'm not reading everybodys reply here so forgive me if I have repeated something. The engine on a Honda is the last thing you need to concern yourself with. If they warranty the drivetrain on the car for 50K, you'll get the warranty for 50,4XX miles.

New, also means that the dealership and Honda are going to warranty the whole vehicle as a new car and nothing less!

This 400+ miles may give you some barganing power but, I doubt it! If the car has been on the lot for a while, the dealer has made lots of payments on it and will need to get more(than invoice) for it. I don't think that they need to discount Accords cause if you don't buy it someone else will.

Honda isn't selling >400,000 Accords annualy these days but still, they're selling in excess of 300,000/year for the Accords which means that they're still flying out the door. Honda sells more Accords in this country than some car companys sell cars.

If this mileage bothers you, change out the factory fill(FF) but, use something special as Honda's FF is a special breakin oil. Otherwise, if you like the car, buy it and drive it and don't worry about it. Or, wait for another vehicle that is to your liking. Honda will be making plenty of Accords to choose from. Never be in too much of a hurry to buy an Accord as they're always around. They're like friz-beez though, so if you have never owned one, plan on paying for it with little discount if any!

And if your in Phoenix/Scottsdale, "Forget aboud id"...Sticker price and up!


Im going for coffee!