What does it mean to be a "demo" car?
 

I've been looking at quite a few RX8s for sale around the city. Quite a few aren't exactly brand new or used.

I found a blue 05 GT with around 1-2k miles on it. It is a being sold at a Mitsubishi dealer (probably same owner as the Mazda dealer since both are called Giuffre [Giuffre Mazda/Mitsubishi). The salesman said the car is a demo car. He explained to me that the manager drove it around and used it for a while under the dealers name.

I don't trust the salesmen at the dealers i went to because they have extremely poor service (very rude) and I caught them shooting BS about the cars.

What IS a demo car?

I also found a white 06 GT with 200 miles or so. I took it for a test drive and I remember that it sat inside the showroom for quite a while. It was moved out to the storage lot and back into the showroom floor about 6 months later. It is also for sale. What is this car considered?

Thanks.

a demo is a new car that has never been titled, but has been used for DEMOnstration purposes, either test drive, or employee use. u can save money, and the warranty shouldnt start til delivery

Something is fishy about an 05 'DEMO' with under 2,000 miles. You would think that even if the dealership employees ran errands with it, took it home it would have more miles. Maybe it was wrecked on the lot and sat for a long time. Unless they are taking alot of $$ off I might avoid that one. Sitting parked is one of the worse things you can do to this car.

Its a dealer car that people like me beat the living sh*t out of when we were test-driving before a purchase.

Do NOT buy anything from Giuffree Mazda. They are as crooked as crooks can be. They will do anything to make the appearance of a good sale, but will swindle you.

Their sales department is the worst and their service is even worse (so I've heard).

I repeat...DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM GIUFFRE MAZDA. You will be sorry. Do a search on here to see other people's woes. Even do a search on Yahoo and you will see others with the same reaction.

Just don't do it.

I would also like to add that I talked to another dealer about them and they cringed when I mentioned them. They said they had heard stories of them repainting new cars from damage on the way they store their cars, but don't disclose that they we 'taken care of'.

Also, and don't quote me on this, but the owner is in the mob.

lol.

personally i would never buy a demo.. i worked at a dealership and i beat the living shit out of them and everyone else did too.. you might save money but at the same time might have more problems

Everybody and everybody's mother at that dealership has driven that car.

Don't buy it.

I have an '04 demo RX8.
The listed price was ~$31,000 and it was knocked down to ~$28,000.
It only had a little over 1000 miles on it (at least it was broken in now).
I am now over 33,000 miles and have not had any significant problems.
Most of the major recalls were already performed before I bought it.
I had a couple TSBs done (which is typical for an '04), but other than that I'm still loving it.

A demo rx8 is a car that was held at redline for 30 minutes with 4 miles on the odometer.

ya, demo car is usually thrashed soundly. And many times before it's properly warmed up.

I would be wary of a 3 year old vehicle still on the dealer lot. They "borrow" the vehicle and pay interest on it. They do not want them sitting around for years.

A demo vehicle is NEW, UNTITLED with less then 7500 miles on it. To determine tha tit is in fact NEW, as to see the Certificate of Origin. Also ask to see the title. A NEW car does not have a TITLE. iF it has a TITLE, it is in fact, USED. If it has a C/O it is in fact NEW. Furthermore, bring the VIN # to the service department and ask what the In Service Date is. IF they can tel you, then the car has been PUNCHED. Punched, is the act of being reported as a retail delivery, and therefore the date the warranty clock begins. If you buy a year or older NEW Mazda I can virtually guarantee that it has been punched for sales reporting purposes. If that is the case, I would treat it as a used car, with low mileage. If the dealer in qudstion is unwillign to do any or all of the above, simply walk out. If they are, and it all adds up, you probably still have a problem. I personally would advise agtainst a new 07 at this point being in that it's sat so long. A new '05 at this point has sat three times as long. At a minimum I would ensure it has a new battery, oil and tranny fluid flush, coolant flush, and would be looking at the tires for dry rot.


Floorplans(dealer financing on New/Used cars) can work differently based on the dealership and bank in question but typically a car has been paid off by it's birthday. They typically pay interst only for the first 90 days, 10% of the balance on the 120th day, another 10% at 180 and each month thereafter, with the total being due on it's 360th day. But as I said, arrangements may very, but a NEW '05 on a lot is likely a paid of anchor, losing value so fast that they have either forgotten about it or haven't been able to find the shmuck ot buy it.

I worked at a Local Ford store that "forgot" about their NEW '01 rack body f-550 until I asked about it in '06... They looked back through the records and indeed it was theirs and they instantly threw a BIG SPIFF on it to pay whomever sold it for a HUGE LOSS. So it is possible.

according to Ford/ Mazda's S-Plan publication, a demo car is a vehicle that is new, has never been titled, but that has over 180 miles on it due to dealers driving it around for whatever reason.

My exact thoughts. They said the car is missing a battery and they refuse to start the car unless we give them our information (license, address, home telephone, credits, etc). That is total BS if you ask me. They can't even pull a random battery off the other cars on the lot to fire it up? They said I need to meet their demands in order for them to "spend money on a car". Total BS. I'm there for them to meet my demands. Very fishy. I can go on all day about the BS they were shooting not only with the RX8 i was looking at.


I am aware of their CRAP. I do not plan on confirming a purchase from Giuffre Mazda due to past experiences i've had with them.


THe 2006 white GT i mentioned earlier in my first post has been for sale for looooong time now. Last time i check it out was around November - December 2007. It was sitting in tiny lot/driveway a few blocks away from the main dealer. Even back then, i remember that the car was on the showroom floor during summer of 2007. Now it's supposedly back on the showroom floor.

I took a few glances at the car after test driving it and I found it fishy how the black moldings and plastics around the passenger side door trim has white paint overspray (the car was white). The taillights were fill with enough water to keep a few goldfishes alive also. The salesman shrugged it off and said it's normal for every car out there. They called me a few times a day non-stop for weeks when i refused to buy the car for $29,000.





Now that I think about it. I'm better off buying a new (07 or 08 with rebates) or used RX8 :icon_no2: .

yes buying a new one is a good idea if u have the money.. then that way, you know it will be broken in correctly and wont have any problems early on.