DON'T BUY THE CARS ON THE LOT!!

Who bought a car on the lot and who put a deposit down


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dastanli

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If possible don't buy a car on the lot if you car about the the paint and breaking in the engine correctly. Why I say this is because I used to be a detailer at a dealership when I was in highschool over a decade ago. I will admit we didn't give two shits about the cars coming in for detail. Even the salesmen don't after I pointed out a small dent on a car a gentlemen just bought and paid for, he just told me to keep quite about it. Instead put a deposit down and order a car and tell them not to touch it and inspect everything before driving it off the lot. It might save you a lot of headaches down the road.

Another reason I say if possible don't by a car on the lot is that I have test drove quite a few cars and delivered more cars than I can remember from one dealership to another. My first time test driving a 1.5t civic coupe the salesman told me to "open her up" on a back road. The car didn't even have 30 miles on it. I politely declined, and felt sadden for the poor bastard that was going to buy this car I test drove knowing that it probably had been and will be "opened up" again and again before someone buys it.

So ladies, gentlemen, if you care for such things and can put a deposit down and wait I urge you all to do so.
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dastanli

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What you said is very true. But even a reputable dealer you don't really know what's going on behind the scenes. The dealership I worked at had very good reviews and was very "reputable." Great customer service, friendly/knowledgeable staff and even then.... I am just trying to look out for everyone's best interest and for those like me who are paranoid of someone mistreating something expensive of mine.

I know most people don't think twice about these kinds of things. My parents are a good example of this. Every new car they bought they just do a quick walk through, ask what options it has, ask how much it is and make the purchase.
 

totopo

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They test the engine at the factory... and the people driving the cars in and off the ships and on and off the trucks aren't going to be super nice to the engine. Modern engines don't really need break in.

Also, last time I ordered a car, it was a rare combination, and it was taken on several test drives before I picked it up. Had like 30 miles on it. So that doesn't guarantee anything.
 

360glitch

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I had a casual conversation with a detailer (that I had never met before) at a local dealership and he was quick to tell me how fast the next 1.5T Civic was and how he'd taken one from the lot down the interstate at well over 100mph.

I ordered mine but would have bought a 6MT off the lot had I found one, as long as the mileage was minimal and there were of course no other issues.
 


TabsAZ

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They can still screw up an ordered one y'know. Just pick a reputable dealer, pick a car with very low miles, and thoroughly inspect before buying. Not that hard.
Yep - here's one of the best detailers in the world showing how messed up even a $250k+ Porsche can be straight from factory delivery:

 

HayaiKuruma

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LOL, there's like 3 or 4 PROFESSIONALS at a dealership. Those are the master mechanics. Everybody else, it's just a friggin job. And even the master mechanics are up to their eyeballs in dealership and manufacturer BS and don't care about your car. Their too busy trying to make a living with the hours that manufactures give them for every work order.
 

josby

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Modern engines don't really need break in.
And yet Honda tells you not to floor the engine for the first 600 miles. I'm sure they just don't know what they're talking about :rolleyes:

I agree with OP about not buying a car off the lot if it has any miles on it. Pretty much every test drive is going to include the person flooring the cold engine at least once. Maybe that won't have any effects in the future, but why risk it when you can get a car that hasn't been test-driven for the same price?
 

10thDave

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I bought mine off the lot, only had 4KM on it so i wasn't worried
 

David Harper

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there's no such thing as getting a car that has never been driven. Even if you order it from the factory someone drove it.If the odometer say's zero that means it was disabled. And a new car can be abused in a single mile. So just forget the whole issue. There are some things you can't control. And flooring a new car shouldn't hurt it.
 


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dastanli

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The point I am trying to get across is that by ordering from the factory or getting a very low mileage one that hasn't been test drove by a bunch of people is for the piece of mind. I know there is no guarantee that the car hasn't been abused even in a single mile and flooring a brand new car might not hurt it but for me and most of the population (I assume) why take an unnecessary risk if you can avoid it. And since Honda did say for the first 600 miles to avoid sudden acceleration or full throttle operation, I personally would follow that "recommendation." Also there is a lot less chance that the car has been abused if you order from the factory and no one has test drove it. Again, this is for people who are concerned about these things. If you are fine with buying a car off the lot that's been test drove by a dozen people that's great. But please don't tell people to forget the issue just because it's doesn't bother you.

At the bottom of my first post on this topic I did say "if you care for such things."
 

CivicChina

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in China the cars on the lot cannot be driven, except for PDI and unloading operations inside dealer spaces. Dealers have one or two test drive cars (cvt only) if somebody wants to try before purchasing, also because unregistered cars cannot be driven on the road!!
Actually because of the high demand all the Civics they have are sold before being unloaded, so are actually customer cars the moment they arrive at the dealer.
 

David Harper

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in China the cars on the lot cannot be driven, except for PDI and unloading operations inside dealer spaces. Dealers have one or two test drive cars (cvt only) if somebody wants to try before purchasing, also because unregistered cars cannot be driven on the road!!
Actually because of the high demand all the Civics they have are sold before being unloaded, so are actually customer cars the moment they arrive at the dealer.
Every car that comes off the assembly line is test driven before it is delivered to the dealer. The odometers are either initially disabled or are set to register negative mileage initially so that the test drive brings them to zero. This is necessary in order to insure that there is nothing defective or malfunctioning in the vehicle. My new civic had to be driven to my dealer from another dealer 40 miles away, so the miles on it were not the result of "dozens of people test driving it". Again, there is no such thing as a new car that has never been driven.
 

josby

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Again, there is no such thing as a new car that has never been driven.
I don't think anyone here has said there is. We're saying get one that's much less likely to have been dogged. The guy who test drives Civics all day at the factory is probably not dogging them because surely the fun has long since gone out of that for him. Same for the guy who's loading Civics onto car haulers for delivery to the dealer. No guarantee they didn't dog your car, but it's unlikely. But if your car's been test-driven by potential buyers, it's quite likely they will have dogged it.
 

tacthecat

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Every car that comes off the assembly line is test driven before it is delivered to the dealer. The odometers are either initially disabled or are set to register negative mileage initially so that the test drive brings them to zero. This is necessary in order to insure that there is nothing defective or malfunctioning in the vehicle. My new civic had to be driven to my dealer from another dealer 40 miles away, so the miles on it were not the result of "dozens of people test driving it". Again, there is no such thing as a new car that has never been driven.
Dave, if this were true there would be lots of people in Federal Prison for odometer tampering - It's a violation to drive a car with a disconnected odometer, Federal and most states.
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