Demo Car

solas111

Are there any obvious pitfalls in buying a garage demo car? The vehicle is 9 months old, has about 6K miles on the clock and looks like new. Apart from test driving, what are demo cars used for?

Lawless2k12

6K miles of sh*t been driven out of it so! Wouldn't like to buy it myself as driving the sh*t out of a car from new is possibly the fastest way to destroy it but hey, it's up to you... but why not buy a top of the range one maybe 3 or 4 years old? One with every add on imaginable for the same price and broken in. What type of car anyway?

furtzy

I've bought two demo models in the past with no issues. One of them was the best car I ever owned

blabley

Having just got myself a car about half price, depends on what your looking for... sometimes it can be really worthwhile, most modern cars dont have to be 'run in' but yes the abuse of some muppet driving it for 5 mins while cold isn't good.

Just make sure you get a good warranty, which most dealers will do as the car is nearly new so you have a good few years of come back, but depends on how long your planning on keeping it really...

bazz26

Pretty unusual for a garage to hold onto a demo for 9 months, the normal period for a demo is around 3 months afaik. You sure it's not an ex-hire car, they normally hired out around March and come back around September/October after the rental season has finished. Other than that it could have been a courtesy car which is loaned to customers if their car is in for a service or repair.

I've bought demos before and never had any issues with them but they were only around 3 months old never 9 months old. Courtesy or ex-rental cars could have had alot more abuse.

bobin fudge

I bought a demo car once and had not a single issue with it at all in the time i owned it

TheBazman

Yep have bought a demo and no issues

ljpg

second owner of a demo van....she's flying

September1

Most people are quite careful driving demo cars so they are often in better shape.

joujoujou

My woman bought one 2 years ago from dealer's garage. It's been clocked before. Odometer showed 6k miles, while ECU had 16k miles stored.

colm_mcm

Most likely ex rental or courtesy car. 6k is a lot of test driving.

joujoujou

Don't know if rental or courtesy. She's been told it was a show car, and she's first owner - the car did not even have number plates before. :P

georgefalls

A demo car, is just that. So, if anything has gone wrong with it, it'll have been fixed immediately. Manufacturer's don't like to see there cars broken.
Also, it'll have been serviced properly. It wouldn't do for it to break down on a test drive.

I'd say, go ahead and buy it..

bazz26

georgefalls wrote: »

A demo car, is just that. So, if anything has gone wrong with it, it'll have been fixed immediately. Manufacturer's don't like to see there cars broken.
Also, it'll have been serviced properly. It wouldn't do for it to break down on a test drive.

I'd say, go ahead and buy it..

Not many garages hold demos for 9 months and put 6k miles on them though. My money is on it being a courtesy car which is a different prospect to a demo.

sunnysoutheast

I've always tried to buy ex-dealer demonstrators. They are often decently specified and well looked after. I've also bought ex-rental fleet cars with no real issues to speak of.

The only real "lemon" I've ever bought arrived brand-new on the back of a transporter with 17 miles on it. Was eventually successfully rejected and handed back for pretty much the purchase price against a dealer demo Passat.

colm_mcm

joujoujou wrote: »

Don't know if rental or courtesy. She's been told it was a show car, and she's first owner - the car did not even have number plates before. :P

If its got 6000km, I reckon you they're lying to her. If it is unregistered then they could hold off till January to sell it as a 2013 reg

joujoujou

It was 2 years ago. :P

[post]82132591[/post]

Car's been built in 2009, sold in the middle of 2010, no number plates, registered then with 09 plates.

Anyway, no doubt it's been clocked.

colm_mcm

joujoujou wrote: »

It was 2 years ago. :P

[post]82132591[/post]

Car's been built in 2009, sold in the middle of 2010, no number plates, registered then with 09 plates.

Anyway, no doubt it's been clocked.

Ah right, I have you. If it was 'registered' with 09 plates in 10 then it was obviously registered all along. When its built has no bearing on the reg number

leon8v

bazz26 wrote: »

Not many garages hold demos for 9 months and put 6k miles on them though. My money is on it being a courtesy car which is a different prospect to a demo.

It may well be a courtesy car but it is not uncommon for demos to be on for 9 months depending on the brand requirements, mileage, use, demand etc etc.
Also it wouldnt be unusual for them to have 6k km put up on them as most are also used as company cars for dealership staff etc.

6k km would be a bit low for a courtesy car after 9 months of use IMHO and would most definitely not be ax ex rental. They tend to have 20k km after 6-9 months use.
Demos are usually maintained to a very high standard and usually have a decent options spec. Obviously can't speak for every brand or dealership but I would have no issue buying a demo car. If the car looks like it was maintained and the deal looks good, don't let the demo bit put you off.