Nearly new cars: where's the catch?

SouthLondonUser

I have found a 'nearly new' car I'm interested in. It's on sale at the official dealer, is less than 12 months old (67 plate), £4,000 miles, and with ca. 3 years of remaining official warranty from the manufacturer.

Why would cars so 'young' ever be on sale? I thought of a write off, but it's not classified as a Cat S/D/C/N .

Maybe it's an ex-demo? The company car of someone who resigned / was fired / died less than a year after getting the car?

I am sceptical, but I'm hoping that the official warranty should give me some peace of mind.

Thoughts? Would you consider a car like this or is the risk of a lemon too high?

G_M

I kept my last new car 2 months.

Didn't like it so traded it in. It was a beautiful car, nothing wrong with it, just not for me...

harz99

Sounds like demo/staff hack/pre reg to keep sales figures up, or someone didn't like the car they bought.


Have you seen the reg document and service book? Are there several of the same for sale at the dealer?

Equi

I wish i had asked why my "new" year old car was now for sale, as it has now been in the shop for 4 weeks and counting because of starting battery issues, timing chain issues, engine issues that dont seem to want to resolve.

Thank god for warranty.

I got a new car pcp cause i was fed up of buying a car i could afford in full that i had to then pay to fix this nd that! SO im glad i have the warranty, at least.

unholyangel

Why not ask them? Preferably by email so you have a written record of what you were told (in case it turns out not to be the case). Also ask them what works been done to the car.

Could be an ex-fleet car - they don't always have huge mileage.

Just make sure the wear on the car (pedals, steering wheel, gear stick etc) match the mileage and check for known faults with that model.

IanMSpencer

Lots of reasons.

There are a few idiots who like having new cars.

Some large companies get amazing deals on buying cars which are so discounted that the cheapest way to run a fleet is to replace them every few months. Going back quite a few years, it was a pain to have a NatWest company car as you might have to have it replaced every 3 months if they got a buyer.

Hire cars - the big firms tend to run new cars as it is what their customers like.

Dealers and manufacturers run their own cars for their own use (courtesy cars, demonstrators, management cars) and sell them on after a while.

I bought my car as a "management car", about 9k miles, 12 months old and about 35% of new list price, which I reckon was about 25% off a typical best discount I could negotiate as a private buyer. Apart from some bumper scuffs on the rear bumper under the load, it was as new with manufacturer's warranty. The only "fault" I've had with it has been a failing battery and the side effects that go with that (which are quite a lot!). Just over 5 years old now and essentially still as new at 40k miles.

tho_2

Some people really do insist on having the latest number plate, so every 6 months without fail the cars get returned. Also possibility it's a demo car.

You'll probably be fine, warranty is still valid and it could just be a good deal. My car was a pre registered with 40 miles on the clock, so I got 25% of list price, with the only catch being I was the second owner on the log book. The dealership was the first.

SouthLondonUser

Thanks. Would you pay for a pre purchase inspection by the likes of the AA or RAC (ca. £200), or would you think there's no need, given the warranty?

tho_2

As its from the dealer you should be fine without. Tbh depends how comfortable you feel with it.

Do the checks yourself (bodywork, tyres wear on pedals etc) and see if it matches what you're expecting. If you don't feel happy, then maybe spend the money.

benten69

In 2014 we purchased a nearly new car from the same dealership who supplied it originally. Not had a single issue with it. Brilliant car at a fraction of the new price, win-win all round. No catch at all and even though we purchased from London our local dealership in Scotland has been good when it came to covering a bit of external trim that started to corrode under warranty and covering recalls.

AdrianC

SouthLondonUser wrote: »

I have found a 'nearly new' car I'm interested in. It's on sale at the official dealer, is less than 12 months old (67 plate)

So 6.5mo at the oldest.

£4,000 miles, and with ca. 3 years of remaining official warranty from the manufacturer.

Why would cars so 'young' ever be on sale? I thought of a write off, but it's not classified as a Cat S/D/C/N .

Maybe it's an ex-demo? The company car of someone who resigned / was fired / died less than a year after getting the car?

By far and away the single largest source of such near-new cars is rental fleets. Whether you consider this a bad thing or not is up to you.