'New Car' With 220 Miles on Odometer? (1 Viewer)

[James Edward]

I recently went about purchasing a 2006 Hyundai Sonata. After leaving a $200 deposit, the salesman called, saying he had one that he could get, and to give him a day or two. He called me with a VIN #, so I went to the dealership to see the car. Eveything looked fine, but it had 220 miles on the odometer.

I pointed this out to him, and he said they had to get it from a dealership in New Jersey, and that a 55 year old man drove it, implying that it was not abused. The Jersey dealership is only 70 miles from here; where did those extra 150 miles get put on? (Rhetorical question, no need to answer).

I refused the car; no one said there would be over 200 miles on it. I am really careful with my vehicles during the break-in period, and I'll bet that those 200+ miles were not driven in a mild manner.

Did I overreact? The sales manager called me, giving all sorts of reasons why the car would be ok, and offering to lower the cost by a dollar a mile. I refused- I was not looking at the mileage as a negotiating point- I just feel that a 'new' car should not have more than 10-20 miles on it, unless I have been otherwise forewarned.

Suggestions appreciated. If it matters, I am buying the car outright, not leasing or financing.

 

[DaveF]

Sounds like it was used for a extensive test-driving for other customers. Fifteen customers all test-driving that car could easily put 150 miles on it.

If (and assuming) they use a car for test driving that long, does it indicate they aren't selling cars quickly enough, and so aren't getting new testers?

 

[Shane Martin]

Get him to treat it like a dealer demo and have him knock off a couple thousand. Otherwise you should get one with >25 miles on it.

Are you overreacting? Yes IMHO but if you want to feel right about your purchase, you do what makes you happy.

 

[CRyan]

Classically, a car will not be sold as a demo until around 2000-5000 miles - Depends on how many cars they are selling that week. It is still considered new if it has never been titled.

220 miles is no biggie. Most of the cars I have purchased have been in that range. The warranty will start from that mileage.

If you are comfortable with te deal you are getting, I would go get it and conisder yourself lucky that they are not wanting to tack on an additional destination charge for getting it from another dealer. Most dealerships do this as standard when obtaining vehicles from other dealers. Even CarMax does this at a cost of $800. Although, the car is trucked and not driven in most cases at this price point.

 

[Francois Caron]

Up to 10 miles? I can understand that. 220 miles? I'd worry. As far as I'm concerned, that car is now officially USED! I'd take it only under the condition that it's under full warranty and 30% is knocked off the price, the same *cough* "discount" that's applied to all new cars the moment you drive them off the lot.

Ok, maybe I'm the one whose overreacting now...

 

[James Edward]

They offered 400 dollars off the cost, but I am more concerned about how the car was treated during those 220 miles.
I opted for a car that was on the lot, but in a color that my wife did not want. They reduced my cost by 300 dollars, so I am happy. My wife is not(though it is going to be driven by me).
All told, I bought a Hyundai Sonata GLS for 16,550 plus tax. I'm looking forward to taking delivery Monday night...
Thanks for your replies.
For those who would rather spend money on audio equipment than cars, the Sonata seems to be an easy choice.

 

[Carl Miller]

I'd tend to believe the story about the car coming from Jersey, but the 55 year old man part driving, whether true or not, is a sign that the dealer knows this shouldn't be.

In other words, he knows it's a potential problem, and was prepared with an answer. Most car buying web sites, articles etc warn against accepting cars with more than 25 miles or so on them, and I agree because you don't know how it was driven...

On principle alone, you're paying for a new car, you should get a new car. I think you made the right decision, and no I don't think you overreacted.

 

[DonRoeber]

Do modern cars even need a break-in period anymore? I wasunder the impression that they do not.

 

[David Williams]

Don't leave us hangin', what is the no-no color of your new vehicle?

 

[Eric Kahn]

My new car had 200 miles on it when I got it, but it came from a dealer 180 miles away

 

[James Edward]

"Don't leave us hangin', what is the no-no color of your new vehicle?"

It's called 'Steel Gray'. And BTW, the vehicle I'm getting has 14 miles on it.

 

[Eric Samonte]

Well..from experience, all the cars we bought new, the dealer or salesman always explains why there is 10 or 15 miles on the odometer. We once bought a minivan with about 70 on it but this was ordered by someone with all the bells and whisltes then didn't take it. Of course a few thousand was cut from the sticker price.
I'd say good call, James! What..they think they can sucker that in without u noticing?....

 

[Jason Kirkpatri]

OP - for my new car, two stipulations had to be met:

1) less than 10km on odometer - it had 2km when I took delivery,
2) no dealer sticker - BIG fight, but I won. Sales manager was not impressed. Too bad for him.

My thoughts - thousands and thousands of dollars is what I'm giving up. I will not hand over this amount of money for nothing but a brand new vehicle.

And yes, that goes for houses too.

 

[Mark Paquette]

James - Congratulations on the new car. On a recent vacation my rental car was a Sonata and I thought it was a very nice ride.

I think you did the right thing by turning down the original vehicle. No way should a new car have that many miles on it.

 

[DonRoeber]

I don't mind the dealer stickers, you can almost always remove them using a hair dryer to heat up the glue. I do mind the front licence plate though. They're not required in my state, yet the dealer still wants to drill out the holes to attach the front plate bracket, and then put an advertising plate on it. I'd rather the clean front bumper. Last time I bought a car they ordered it from the factory for me, and I told them I'd refuse delivery if they drilled any holes in it. It was a tough fight (especially since I bought it in a state where front plates were required), but they got the message, and I got my car without any holes drilled in it.