New car w/ 400 miles on odometer?

[JAC43]

I'm at a Honda dealership looking at new Accords and they have the color combo/trim level I'm looking for on the lot. It has been there awhile and has 400 and change on the odometer. Both cars I've ever bought new had less than 25 miles on them. To me, the first few miles are critical for break in and are integral to the benefits of purchasing a new car. 400 miles of short trip test drives seems a little too high to me.

What say you?

 

[sciphi]

We got our Fit with 350 miles on the odometer. We changed the oil at 1k miles, 4k miles, then 11k miles. Nothing special was done for further break-in. 36k miles later it's running like a champ, aside from the lost-motion-spring recall.

Not the biggest deal in the world, IMO. I'd see if they'd cut you a better deal on that car. If they don't, then walk. It's only a car, you'll find another.

 

[Eddie]

I have never bought a car "as new" with over 10 miles on it. Even if was located at anothe dealer in a town 25 miles away, they trucked it. Go for a better price or walk is MO. Ed

 

[demarpaint]

I'd say it's a used car and was used as a demo car. Have them hunt you down the same car with less miles on it, order you one, or sell it to you as a demo car. Honda is feeling their oats lately so don't expect much. Honestly unless they offer you a super deal I'd pass. JMO

 

[Bill in Utah]

When I bought my Corolla it had close to 300 miles and was from Idaho as a dealer trade.

Coming up to 200k with nothing wrong and still drives like new.

Ask them HOW the miles were put on. If I could get something with less miles for the same price then I'd go that way. I asked for and received $600 MORE off my car since it did have the miles on it. When you starting with a sticker around $14k and already knocked some $$ off and received more off it I took the car.

Take care, bill

 

[bullwinkle]

400 miles on a "new" car=demo-possibly driven by car salesmen-like their hair was on fire(I've seen it done!)! Get a deal, or walk!

 

[JHZR2]

400 miles is NOT new. My new cars have had less than 10 miles on them when delivered, including my test drives.

400mi is likely a test drive mule, or if it was a dealer swap, was likely driven improperly. I can often tell the dealer swap cars driven down the road as they are going excessively fast, or driven by an old guy on cruise control - neither is what is correct for a new car.

At minimum I'd want some mileage compensation and the warranty to extend out miles-wise. Given what Honda tries to price used cars at, I wouldnt doubt that they try to charge you more than MSRP for the "opportunity" to drive a Honda with 400 miles. LOL.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
400 miles on a "new" car=demo-possibly driven by car salesmen-like their hair was on fire(I've seen it done!)!

I thought that was the best way to break in a new car. Drive it like you stole it!

 

[barlowc]

Depends how picky you are. I'm picky and demanded minimal mileage. Our Saturn had 52 and my Nissan had 39. In both cases, most of those were from driving it from another dealer to the one I purchased it from.

Technically, the dealer will consider 400 miles being a new car and I have a hard time believing they'll sell it to you as a demo. But I've found that when you press the dealer, they'll magically find one with low miles.

With all that said, if they can't find you another one and you really want it, 400 miles isn't anything to worry about.

 

[wallyuwl]

I wouldn't worry about the mileage for things like car life or things like that. I would, however, try to get them down at least another few hundred dollars. I say $1 per mile. Or just try to find the car at another dealer or order one. It doesn't take long to accmuulate 400 test drive miles. We got our Equinox with 150 and it was only on the lot for a week prior to us buying it.

 

[Chris142]

I think that the car got sold on a Sunday. Come Monday the dealer couldn't get them financed due to bad credit and they got the car back.

 

[dparm]

I'd either negotiate the price down, or just find something else. Sounds like the car sat on the dealer lot for a long time.

I remember when I was looking at buying a 2008 Mazdaspeed3. The local dealership had 3 that were literally 11 months old but had still never been titled. They all had about 800 or so miles on them. Finally the dealer titled them in their own name and sold them as used cars. Very weird.

 

[opus1]

"New" legally means something different than "new" to us.

When Dad was looking for his Ranger, one dealer we went to was selling a "New" Ranger with almost 6000 miles on it. It was the dealership parts mule and used to cart customers around, but according to the state of Indiana (and probably the other 49), it was "new" because it had never been titled.

Needless to say, we ran from that one.

Warranty coverage starts with the odometer reading at delivery, so a 36,000 mile warranty will cover you for 36,400.

The most miles I've ever had on a car at delivery was 75, so I can't give any real-world stories, but if you can live with 400 miles on the odometer but can convince the dealer you can't and get a better price, it's probably worth it.

 

[190E26FTW]

Sounds like that car was pretty well used. Go find another. Best to email dealers from all around you with the model and options you want and the price you want it at. No more going to dealerships to haggle. With that much mileage I would find a lower one. People bang them up like rental cars.

 

[simple_gifts]

new = ownership hasn't been transferred from the dealership.

My friend's mother bought a "new" Century with 6K miles; demo car. Warranty was extended etc to cover the difference. Price was marked down substantially.

 

[demarpaint]

I sold a guy a Suzuki Grand Vitara in 2001, it was new and had about 10 miles on it. 1 week later he decided he couldn't afford it and wanted out, I was off that day. He came back with the car and about 350 miles on it. He traded it in for a used Grand Vitara. It made absolutely no sense to me at all when I found out what happened. He took a hit for about $4,500+ on a trade because the manager appraised it as a used car and absolutely SCREWED this poor guy. I'm not saying the Honda store will sell the car as used, but I'd want a nice chunk of change off or have them find me something with a lot less miles on it.

By law we couldn't put that car on the lot as a new car since it was already titled to someone and technically a used car, with less than 400 miles on it. In order to sell it we had to offer a deep discount to move it, that was factored into the trade price.

 

[Tdbo]

Check the Mulroney sticker. It is probably a dealer trade. Negotiate and then tell them you want .51 a mile knocked off for every mile over 50 or one ordered to your specs.

 

[Astro14]

That's not new and should be a point for negotiation...likely nothing wrong with it, but I wouldn't be paying as much for that one as a car with say, 36 miles on it (the amount my only new car purchase had when I drove it off the lot...and I put 10 of them on there...).

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....

 

[oldmaninsc]

Originally Posted By: Bill in Utah
Ask them HOW the miles were put on.

You really think they are going to tell you the truth? LOL!

For me all things being equal the 400 miles wouldn't be a deal breaker as long as they took a little off the price. But like demarpaint said:
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I'd say it's a used car and was used as a demo car. Have them hunt you down the same car with less miles on it, order you one, or sell it to you as a demo car. Honda is feeling their oats lately so don't expect much. Honestly unless they offer you a super deal I'd pass. JMO

 

[dishdude]

In most states if it hasn't been titled before, it is considered a new car. I don't think I would buy a new car with more than 25 miles on it. My new cars had 6, 7, 12 and 20 miles on them when I took delivery. The 2 with the 6 and 7 I didn't even test drive, I drove cars like them. (One was on the showroom floor, and the other was a factory order)