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Would you buy a demo? Plus winter storage question.
I have the opportunity to pick up a demo for about 4.5k$ off MSRP. (Haven't negotiated a final price yet so I'm sure it can be less). Making the lease payment option quite attractive. I would lease with intention to buy. Car has 9000Kms (5500ish miles). If I were to purchase instead of lease, I'd have to sell my current vehicle which I'm not sure I'm willing to do. 2007 FJ Cruiser which I'd rather keep as a winter car. Winters here are just awful and I'm not sure I want to be driving a BRZ in 30 inches of snow lol. I figure buying demo is like buying used? What do you guys think?
One problem is I plan on storing the subaru in the winter outdoors as my house doesn't have a Garage, and since winter is already upon us, it's too cold to set up a car shelter. Any recommendations? The car comes with winter tires... So I could technically drive it for this winter alone, then be better prepared for next year. I'll have my FJ for bad snow days....dunno |
As long as the car comes with the full remainder of the warranty, why not?
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I'm a little surprised they let one be a demo, as much as they were selling.
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No way., they get abused way too much because of what it is.
For a camry, yeah sure. |
Bought a "buyer's remorse" '13 FR-S that had only 4500 km, also with a hefty discount.
Either or, a very short life for the car. |
Maybe they are calling it a "demo" (with Mileage) just to sell it."
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Edit: also, I don't think I would have option to Lease unless it was new or demo... Not sure though. |
I would personally be worried about them following the engine break-in procedure. Then again, if there are no CEL, then it might be ok. But who's to say that the techs did not just clear them.
Down here, when the Toyota dealership got an FR-S in, the salesmen were literally driving it down the back roads as if they had stole it. I would know because I was the passenger. |
Depends if your believe in a good break in or not.
Cause that puppy was probably redlining before hitting double digits on the odometer. |
I ran across a demo FR-S and you could tell they abused it...so I passed. I think each situation is different and just inspect it with a fine-tooth comb.
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Can they give it certified used coverage?
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There are a lot of 'family' type cars I would take a chance on. I wouldn't on any sports or performance car for fear of the abuse it probably has had. I'm one who believes in doing the break-in by the book.
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I would say no, not speaking for your dealer specifically, but I've seen the Chevrolet dealer demos. I've seen the way they were driven on the road. Fast starts, fast stops, abusing it because they knew they wouldn't keep it long. They used demo's as loaner vehicles when i had my truck worked on at the dealer. Not saying all Demo's are that way, but just down here it's what I've seen.
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Thx for your thoughts guys, Was my worry aswell. Took a drive to the dealership and it was aperently sold last week. But they aperently have another "demo" for sale with 12000kms for same price LoLs. Why in the world with one dealership have 2 demos. So I'm figuring at the very least one or the other are NOT in fact demos, maybe both. Dunno anymore, timing was not right anyway being the start of winter and all. Might just wait till April or May, suck it up and buy new. Plus 2014s have different radios is what sales guy said... Did they fix the problem?
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Buying a demo for big discount, OK sure.
But you are LEASING a demo, wut? If the cash won't hurt you, I'd buy new on a performance vehicle like this, especially if it is manual. |
I would check the tread depth compared to a new one. If it's way out, stay away. if it's almost identical, I think it's a good deal. An FR-S demo was probably driven by someone fairly high up the food chain at the dealership, and I would guess that they saw it nothing more than an automotive appliance that looks good. "Drift King" salespeople typically would not be given something like an FR-S to drive as a demo, for obvious reasons.
Just a heads up about demos.... Typically they are "written down" every month, decreasing their inventory cost below other brand new vehicles. This comes from whoever driving the car being charged a taxable benefit for use of a company car. I would estimate the $4.5k in savings is only the write down amount, and there is still a fair amount of mark-up left to play around with. Some dealers chose not to apply the taxable benefit to the demo vehicle that's being driven, and instead chose to "blow the car out" at cost and move the write down amount elsewhere. This is fine, however, if the unit has been around for a while and is a bit of a tough sell, they will sell it below cost knowing that they have some money elsewhere to offset. For peace of mind, I would probably have them include an extended warranty as part of the purchase. In Canada, there is about $800 of markup in an extended warranty so be cautious when they tell you they're giving you a "$2,000 warranty for free!!!" when in reality, it's only costing them about $1,200. With that being said, there's nothing shady about that since there is $2,000 of value in a warranty. |
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If money was tight and new brz does not fit my budget... then yes. Otherwise I do not want a potentially used & abused car.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk |
Nope. I felt like I got burned with my "Demo" WRX. I had so many issues....
Fortunately no engine failure, just Transmission issues |
I've seen how lot boys/car jockeys drive at the dealerships (I briefly worked at one in my HS days).
Never getting a demo. |
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So mea culpa. |
Buy it, if you have to, as if it is a USED car with the appropriate mileage and warranty taken into consideration. Also, I would check the law in your state or province if there is anything related to the definition of a "demo".
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Buying a demo with that much milage on it is worse than buying a used car. At least for used cars there's a chance that the owner took care of it in the beginning, but for a demo, you know that thing has been beaten on since day one.
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Never buy a used "sports car"...
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No. I will not ever buy a demo just like I do not buy sunglasses from the store where random people have put their finger prints all over them.
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I can assure you the 3k I saved, Not worth it. I've spent over 3k+ in repairs from a faulty weld at the clutch pedal assembly, but got reimbursed by SOA. Worn Clutch at 29k, had to eat that plus I had a bad out of spec clutch from SPEC, So I had to pay for double install at COBB Plano :(
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"Demo" to me is a car that the owner/manager drives as a company car. They can be had with great discounts and usually not driven much and always kept up with service. If that's what you mean, I don't see anything wrong with it. You could also ask who drove it and talk to him or her and get an idea of how the car was driven.
A "used" one on the other hand should be gone through with a fine comb by a 3rd party. Like everyone said, a used sports car typically was used for intended purpose. |
The biggest problem with demo cars is not so much about being driven hard, as much as it is about being driven hard when the engine is cold.
When someone comes in for a test drive, the engine is cold. How many of the people who come in for a test drive are going to drive around gently for 10 minutes before beating the car up? No... more than likely, the car is getting abused as soon as it pulls out of the lot. This is even worse during the winter, when oil temps start at around 30 degrees (or less), and takes a full 15 minutes to get up to 185 degrees. I'd never buy a demo, period. It's almost as bad as trying to buy a rental car. It's just not a good idea, unless you're getting it for a fraction of the current blue book value. |
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Her is my checklist, but for INDOOR storage. Maybe it helps.
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My buddy was a technician at the dealership and he said this happens all the time. The porters would drive the crap out of the customers' cars. One reason why I'm nervous every time I take my car to the dealer.
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