Nearly new cars: where's the catch?
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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), £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?
Chances are its a demo car, or possibly an ex hire car (although less likely with those low miles)0 -
unholyangel wrote: »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.
+1
Absolutely ask the dealer for information on who owned it previously.
And DONT just accept their word - ask to see the V5C. A lot will say "ex management car", when it in reality was an ex hire car.
Not an issue per se - but best to ask and know, rather than find out later.0 -
In March 2015 we bought a used 1 month old BMW 116i Series 1 Sport from a BMW dealer in Surrey.
It was first registered in February 2015 and had only 220 miles on it. Yes, that is only 220 miles.
The first registered owner was a woman in Cardiff, Wales.
The on the road list price in February was over £23k. We paid just under £17k. Someone has taken a big hit in depreciation for a few miles.
We have no idea why it was sold on so quickly. Maybe she didn't like it. Maybe she lost her income. Maybe she died. There are many possible valid reasons.
We like the car and have had no issues over the last three years and 16,000 miles.0 -
At our local posh car dealer they have a premium car floor. A few years back a group of us did an evening visit. They had several Aston Martins which had more than 5 owners and less than 10,000 miles. Definitely a car that was heart over head. Similar story on Bentleys.0
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The most likely is that she never took delivery of it. Perhaps it was simply not the ordered specification, and nobody realised until after it had been registered?Head_The_Ball wrote: »In March 2015 we bought a used 1 month old BMW 116i Series 1 Sport from a BMW dealer in Surrey.
It was first registered in February 2015 and had only 220 miles on it. Yes, that is only 220 miles.
We have no idea why it was sold on so quickly.0 -
There's no catch. There's plenty pre-regs and nearly-new cars. They might be coming from employees fleets that use cars for 6 months only, might be ex-demo or just pre-reg to achieve the quota. 4000 miles car is probably ex-demo/dealer car.
If you look at Autotrader you will find hundreds and thousands of cars like these.
In past I bough 1 year Toyota which was registered to Toyota before and was employee car and later 4 months old ex-demo VW. Both were fine, however VW needed new front tyres earlier than expected.
If you plan to finance the car, it's worth checking if brand new one with discount won't be cheaper. Finance for used cars is more expensive and discounts can take you to the same price level as pre-reg car's price.0 -
The most likely is that she never took delivery of it. Perhaps it was simply not the ordered specification, and nobody realised until after it had been registered?
That is also possible. Whatever the reason we got a good deal.
I've only ever bought one new car in my life. I usually buy nearly new although never before have I found one with such a low mileage.
OP, if the car is a good deal and checks out, go for it.
4,000 miles is nothing much and you have 3 years manufacturer's warranty.
The risk of it being dodgy or being a lemon are very low. Any inherent faults should have shown up by now and been remedied.
Good luck.0 -
Head_The_Ball wrote: »The on the road list price in February was over £23k. We paid just under £17k. Someone has taken a big hit in depreciation for a few miles.
List price might be £23k but it's possible that no-one paid anywhere near that. After looking at new cars last year the sort of discounts available was quite incredible with over 30% off list price (not BMW mind)Remember the saying: if it looks too good to be true it almost certainly is.0 -
My neighbour has a new car every 6 months. Just waiting for the 18 plate to turn up0
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Fewer, I think, than idiots who make generalisations like yours there.IanMSpencer wrote: »Lots of reasons.
There are a few idiots who like having new cars.
I normally buy used, but two nice cars that I have had in years past were bought new. A B7 RS4, and the previous C63 AMG. Both are cars that owners tend to drive quite hard, and so both were ones that I wanted from new. I see no idiocy in that at all.0
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