'Old' new car???

flyingscotno1

goldspanners wrote: »

theres no legal limit. my dad delivers new cars on a transport for a living, they had a 7 year old mondeo sitting in thier yard a few years back. it was bought by a member of staff at a fantastic price. the model was 7 years old but had 20 miles on the clock and had never been registered. they also had a fiesta and an escort many years ago aswell, they all got lost in the system somewhere along the lines. great bargains for someone though.

Fair enough but I remember reading in a motoring issues bit of a magazine where someone found rust within a few weeks of buying a new car from a dealer. A bit of discovery found that the manufacturer had built it some years previous (say 2) and I'm sure they mentioned that it could be sold as a 'new' vehicle even though it was not registered, but there was a cut off age.

ahillsy

@goldspanners - it's not only high end manufacturers that build to order - I don't know what you're classing as high end so maybe there's some difference in opinion there. There's nothing out of the ordinary having a car built to order, for "every day" manufacturers.
I recently ordered a new car, and have received a build week number for when it will be built. I have not ordered from a high end manufacturer.

I agree with what pgilc1 said. Sometimes all it takes is for you to add on the odd optional extra, deviate from the standard spec and you can end up with a factory order. Sometimes you don't even need to do deviate from standard spec.

emmell

I ordered a vivid blue civic in Oct 2006 for delivery in Dec. The build was put back and I was told I could have black or silver straight away but I had to wait till end of Feb 2007 for the blue one I preferred. No way could a blue one be built before Feb, I chose to wait.The cars spec did not differ, only the colour.
When my Husband showed an interest in the new Merc E class when it was introduced in Sept 2003, he could only buy one that the dealers had pre-ordered, silver with black leather, as it was the only colour combination they knew they could sell off the peg. Otherwise he had to factory order one. The same happened again in 2005 with a Range Rover sport, so that gives me a good Idea that when a new car is launched you can get the popular colour and trim levels but anything else has to be pre-ordered.
This also seems to back up what Goldspanners has said.
ML.

motorguy

I'm not sure why people are seeking a 'definitive' answer here.

All manufacturers will be different and in fact how they will react to a new car order will have changed even between last year and this year (previously a lot of stock was held pre built)

When a new model comes out the manufacturer will obviously try to preempt what popular choices will be so that they can get their models out on the road ASAP - but that may mean 100 cars or 10 cars or 10000 cars and will depend on a lot of variables.

continualdiamond

malnik wrote: »

Good afternoon. I purchased a new car from a large well known dealer in Cambridge. I was very happy with the deal that we did. I purchased it in September last year and am the first registered owner.
Just recently i have become aware that the vehicle was built in 06/08. This means it was 15 months old when i got it. I am not very happy now. If the dealer had told me it was over a year old already, i would not have purchased it at that price. Thats not to say i wouldnt have purchased it at the right price.
I am more concerned regarding the detioration of parts, for eaxample the battery, during that year. Batteries generally last 3 yrs....only mine will last for 2....and its not covered in the warranty.This means that anything on it will fail a year earlier than i expect it to. The engine was not started for a year and the possible problems with no oil in the turbo etc..... Do they have to tell me about the age of the car? It was not at the dealer when i ordered it and had to come from the manufacturers UK stock, there was no way i could have known it had been sitting for so long and it was not mentioned when i took delivery.
I understand a few months but 15 months is too long.!

Please correct me if i am wrong as i am not from this country but from Australia so don't know how it all works over here re making cars.

However doesn't a cars number plate represent when it was made, regardless of when it was first registered? Therefore wouldn't you have know by the number plate how old it was?

I am only asking as recently got a newer car, however it is a 53 plate as that is when it was made, but it wasn't registered until the 8.1.04 and says that on my V5. It then didn't have a 1st owner until the 2nd half of 2004, so whilst yes the first owner bought a brand new car, it was in fact already a year old.

motorguy

continualdiamond wrote: »

Please correct me if i am wrong as i am not from this country but from Australia so don't know how it all works over here re making cars.

However doesn't a cars number plate represent when it was made, regardless of when it was first registered? Therefore wouldn't you have know by the number plate how old it was?

I am only asking as recently got a newer car, however it is a 53 plate as that is when it was made, but it wasn't registered until the 8.1.04 and says that on my V5. It then didn't have a 1st owner until the 2nd half of 2004, so whilst yes the first owner bought a brand new car, it was in fact already a year old.

No, the number plate represents when it was registered.

A 53 plate will be on a car registered up to and including 28th Feb 04.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_the_United_Kingdom

continualdiamond

pgilc1 wrote: »

No, the number plate represents when it was registered.

A 53 plate will be on a car registered up to and including 28th Feb 04.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_the_United_Kingdom

OK, thanks for that. Apologises then, i saw some logic in the way i was thinking.

motorguy

continualdiamond wrote: »

OK, thanks for that. Apologises then, i saw some logic in the way i was thinking.

I had to look up the detail..

malnik

Hey Continualdiamond. Aussie boy here as well, Perth, ..... Like he says, its a 59 plate....but could have been a 58 plate if they had sold it quicker!!!

goldspanners

ahillsy wrote: »

@goldspanners - it's not only high end manufacturers that build to order - I don't know what you're classing as high end so maybe there's some difference in opinion there. There's nothing out of the ordinary having a car built to order, for "every day" manufacturers.
I recently ordered a new car, and have received a build week number for when it will be built. I have not ordered from a high end manufacturer.

I agree with what pgilc1 said. Sometimes all it takes is for you to add on the odd optional extra, deviate from the standard spec and you can end up with a factory order. Sometimes you don't even need to do deviate from standard spec.

im not disputing the fact that you can order a car from any manufacturer,but i am saying that they build up a stock,which is then released to dealers who then hold this as stock and will try and push these cars first.
but usually when you order something a bit different and it will need to be made then there will usually be a considerable waiting time,unless your timing was very good.