All,

I've been quoted what I think is a "fair" (but not fantastic) price on an 04 that has the exact color and interior that I want. The catch is that it has 50 miles on it. So, it has been test driven. How much damage do you think people could do to it in those 50 miles? The car is an auto, so I don't have to worry about the clutch. Also, because it is an auto, I'm going to get an extended Acura warenty. Will any damage be noticable within the extended warenty period? I'd like to keep the car for 10 years.

Thanks,

--Mark

 

I had the same problem. My car had like 60 miles on it, and to make it worse the dealership allowed "unsupervised" test drives.

I guess I didn't think about it enough at the time, maybe I would have passed on it.

I think the engine/tranny are probably ok. The big worry would be the brakes I think. If they aren't broken in properly, lots of problems...

 

Are you sure it was test driven and not a dealer swap?

50 miles is NOTHING. I'm sure your car is fine... I'd work harder at getting a price you're happy with, but don't stress about the quality of the car.

 

Ordered mine. 7 miles on odometer. Acura is supposed to have the dealerships test drive every car until they have 10 miles so there are absolutely no problems.

-Chad

 

Pass, thats way too many miles for a brand new car. So far I've had 6 brand new cars and Im a real stickler for low miles. I tell them if for any reason the car has over 8 miles on it, forget it! I make sure I tell them not to worry about putting in a full tank of gas to save some clown from maintainence from joy riding to the gas station. For the 50 niles that are on there, you should easily get 500 dollars off where you are now.

 

I agree 50 miles is nothing worry about the price, Strange, Mine has only 7 miles on it too, What is this thing about the 10 mile test drive??

 

i got mine when it is only 10 mile too...

i am very doubtful that 50 mile on the car will do any damage to it.... the car is very well built..

 

Complete nonsense.

 

It is probably BS, but I told the salesman that I didn't want anyone test driving the car and for it to have 0.01 miles on it. He said that all of the cars come with at least 5 miles between the factory testing and transit and that the Dealership is to have the car driven by a tech for 3-5 miles to see if there are any obvious malfunctions that the factory didn't catch. I grudgingly agreed and went to the delership the day that it arrived ( still had plastic all over the interior and exterior)they prepped it the next day and I drove it away with only 7 miles on it, the title however said 10 miles.

-Chad

 

The dealer gets a factory demo rebate for every month the car is in demo service.

50 miles is not a big deal, but I would be looking for an EXTRA 500-1000 off on the price of it.

XP

 

when mine came, it had 4 miles on it and theyre regular test drive route is 7 miles. as so i was told.... so after i took it for a test drive, i bought the car with 11 miles

they said the 4 miles is a drive to make sure its runnin fine and all that stuff... the point is... different dealerships do different things...

 

good luck with 500 off with only 50 miles. 50 miles is nothing, figure you will drive more than that in a day, and most of the test drives that dealerships take you on cover well over 10 miles.

 

Fifty miles is just a handful of rides; I've bought cars with more miles than that. Most test-drivers do tend to step on the gas once or twice, but I wouldn't assume that's abusive.

I deliberately bought the lowest-mileage SSM car on the lot. In retrospect, the two with more mileage both had much higher VINs; and it turned out that my car had been keyed, requiring a paint job. If I could do it again I'd give more weight to other factors beside the mileage alone.

 

Can you let us in on your "fair" price?

 

All I have to say is some of you are a bit too anal about a 50 miles.

 

I agree that the 50 miles isn't a big deal, but I also believe that you should get an extra $500-$1000 discount for it. If they won't give you that much, I'd simply tell them that I'd only buy a car from them if they'll "locate" a car (with the color combo and trim level that you want) with less than, say, 10 miles, for the same price. They'll balk at that because they don't get as much for non-inventory cars. They'd have to trade inventory, and another dealer isn't going to let them "even swap" a car with 50 miles for one that has less than 10 miles.

 

it comes with all of the warranties, so don't worry about it. go get it, and make it clear that you are trusting the dealer to promptly fix any problems the car may have.

the computer on the TL will protect the engine, so dont worry, go get it.

 

You're missing the point.

Demo cars are specially ordered units. The dealer gets a considerable factory participation the longer they are in service.

It's not about the wear and tear; it's about the price. The car costs the dealer less.

When I was shopping for mine, I had the choice of a demo with 80 miles on it for $500 cheaper than a new, ordered unit.

This demo was used at the Honda Golf Classic in Palm Beach to shuttle the players for a couple of days. It was not worn or abused in any visible way.

If the dealer gets the car for $500-1000 cheaper, he should pass that savings on to the customer- don't you think?

 

For real. I had 1200 miles on my car when I picked it up from the dealership.

That 50 miles probably came from people looking at the car. When you go test drive a car, they usually try to find one in the colors you're interested in. They want to sell you the car, so why not let you drive the one like? It's not an issue and happens at just about every dealership (except for exotic/high end cars).

 

Hi,

Did the original poster get evidence that the car as mentioned in the original post was a demo unit and NOT a regular inventory car that just happened to have 50 miles on it?

 

Well, if makes you feel better, I'd like to offer the contrary...my car had 350 miles and
came through 2 dealers in trade. I could verify that it was drive from W. Virginia in
trade for an MDX and still had the original dealer sticker on the car. They were
detailing it when I went looking and I fell in love with the color combo (DMM/Ebony).
Unless the car had been abused by somebody in that short distance, it's hard to see how it would
matter, but beat the dealer up on price anyway. Where did the 50 miles come from would
be my concern.

And the punchline is...I've had NONE of the problems people list, NO driveline problems, NO
tire problems, NO squeaks or rattles, NO tire vibrations, NO scratches on it,
NO nuttin'....just a great car all around.

 

I think what people are worried about is the fact that the car was not driven properly during those 50 + miles, also known as the break in period. If I want to keep this car for 10 years and I'm paying 30 + K for it, then I want to break the car in my way and not somebody elses way. Everyone knows how people test drive cars. I for one like to see how the car will handle, brake, accelerate etc. The owners manual says no full throttle starts for the first 600 miles, however that test driven car has probably been full throttle started a number of times. Sure the car has a 50K 4 YR warranty, but not breaking in a car correctly may not show up until after the warranty is over. The one thing I liked about my dealer is they used a different car for test driving, so the cars they sell have 5-10 miles on them. Just a reason people might be a little anal about 50 miles.

 

If you guys are worried about 50 miles then I suggest when you purchase the car put it in your garage, lock it up, throw away the key and don't every drive it. That way you will keep your car pristine.

 

The 3 04 TL's that I had, it all had only 7 miles on it when I picked it up.

 

Bought mine with only 2.9 miles. 50 miles is not much but I would want at least $500 discount.

 

Thanks guys.

$32,586 + TTL (the 32.5K includes destination and fees) for a 04 5AT with Navi and 53 miles on the odometer.

The car was a trade from another dealer (I know this because I've been following this car around the SouthWest for the last 2 weeks ). The dealer says it has been testdriven a couple of times.

--Mark

 

50 miles won't do that much damage to the car. I bought cars with 37 miles, 40 miles, even with 76 miles!
Just quit imagining someone else testdriving your car and enjoy it!!

 

thats being a little to picky....most people drive more than 50 miles in a day. it just doesnt seem reasonable regardless of whatever the dealership says, simply because some test drive cars that arent demos rack up more miles than others, but they are still new cars and are still on the lot. yes it is smart to make sure none are keyed or anything like mentioned earlier, but complaining about 50 miles, they can find someone else to sell the car to.

 

At kelley blue book.com if you enter in a new car retail price quote the car gets no cheaper till about 2000 miles . tha really sucks