falcon

When you buy a vehicle off the lot, how can you tell if it were test driven? Anything under 50km or 31miles on the odometer?

An obvious sign would be if all the seats and the wheels are still covered in plastic.

Any ideas?

I'm shopping around for 2006 Shinka or SE as it is called here in Canada.

Thanks.

swerver

well, er.........as far as I know (and I'm no expert) the only way to tell if its "brand" new is do your due diligence. Check the build date, the dealers invoice and the miles on the odometer........otherwise just use your intuition.

I just picked up my '06 and there were 13 miles on the odometer so if it was test driven, it couldn't have been much. That and I had been checking dealer inventory constantly via the net and saw the car arrived not long before. Finally, I asked and got it in writing that the car had had no cosmetic work whatsoever done to it because of some mishap off the boat and whatnot...........

I mean, really who knows. The car that parked it on the lot probably set the radio to his favorite station and put the seat in a good position. I'd recommend that if it important to you, just make sure it doesn't have a lot of miles on the odometer.........................

swerver

.......oops I meant the guy that parked it on the lot........

msrecant

When I got my RX-8 (within hours of it coming in on the truck) it had 7 miles on the ODO. That included a brief test drive by the salesman (it was one of the first 8s at the dealership).

I would say anything over 4-5 miles on the ODO has been test driven by someone. IMHO

falcon

I've seen some vehicles that were pretty much wrapped in plastic. Interior and exterior as well as wheels. This is pretty obvious that the vehicle is brand new.

Some had the front seat plastic taken off partially. This and the mileage would indicate whether this vehicle was used, I think.

Yes, not sure how big of a deal I will make out of it. You all know, that if you test drive the RX-8 you will drive it pretty hard to see how it accelerates/handles.

RX-8 is not the Ford Focus that I am trading in so I'm more passionate about the car and the cost obviously and would want the vehicle to be in its 'virgin' state.

Flak

I just bought a RX-8 from the local dealer yesterday, it had 6 miles on it. Of course the dealership was a tad upset that they had just unwraped it and brought it into the showroom and had to wheel it out only a day later.

mysql101

dealerships have to move cars around from time to time. My car had 7 miles on it when I bought it.

HaidzRX8

i put a deposit on a special edition so no one touches it as i just came off the lot it was partially covered on the hood and all seats are wraped in plastic and rims were also covered , now it just the interior thats still covered , if ur seats are covered then it should mean that it has not been tested and it probably just can a few days ago, getting mine in 3 weeks

Revolver

If you get an opportunity, go look at the way cars are unloaded from the boat.

They often have the crap revved out of them while cold.

Unless you build it yourself, it ain't gonna be virginal.

Never mind, that's what 3 year warranties are for.

mysql101

not being shrinkwrapped doesn't mean it's been test driven. When I was shopping for my RX-8, I visited at least 5 different mazda dealerships and not a single one had any rx-8's on the lot that had plastic on the seats or hood. They take them off.

BunnyGirl

Mine came off the truck with 4 on them. Then they had to drive it to the shop in back and clean it up, unwrap it, et cetera. They then put a little over a mile on it taking it to the gas station and back to get my full tank. I left the dealership with 6 miles on my car and it hadn't been test driven unless you count the prep guys taking it back to the shop and then to the gas station and back.

dmorales

It smells new...
________
Buy Bubblers

falcon

Well, the one that I am looking at right now has 15km or 9.3 miles on it. Should be pretty safe to assume it's new.

Revolver

I appreciate some people have the 'new' obsession. Hey, whatever makes you happy.

I bought a demo for a great price and have been very happy with it.

I think people tend to overestimate the 'damage' that can be done to modern cars, particularly one that is built to rev.

falcon

It's not only damage. It I buy a new ford focus, I don't care much if it has few km on it. If I spend much more money to buy a brand new car like the RX-8, I expect just that, a brand new car. Same thing with electronics, if I pay a brand new price, I don't want re-packaged returns.

When shopping for a demo or used car, the mindset is different as well.

But maybe it is just me.

mysql101

If it's a jeep that gets max torque around 3,000 rpm, it's not that big a deal to me. But you can seriously damage the rotary engine by running it hard before it's warmed up.

Marc_H

I bought mine in June 2005. I checked the online inventory at mazda.com and saw that a car with exactly my desired options and color had been delivered to the dealer just one day earlier.

I went down there and the car had 3 miles on it when I took my test drive. I put about 15 miles on it during the test drive. It pissed the hell out of the saleslady until she realized I was serious about purchasing the car.

When I picked it up two days later after I pulled the cash together, 1 more mile had shown up on the odometer, but I figured it was just them moving it back and forth on the lot to do their prep work and then moving it to the finance office which was located next door. I had to go there to sign the final papers and take posession.

So I'm pretty sure mine was brand new when I first took it it for a ride and I've put all but 4 of the miles on the car myself.