Is the dealership pulling a dodgy? Please help

[vect0r4]

Hi all

One of the dealerships I've come across is selling to me a MY17 car as brand new. It has a build date of Aug 2016, and compliance took place in Oct 2016. Further, they claim the car has not been driven and has been in storage all this time. I also understand that the car has already done 120km on the clock.

This raises two issues for me:

1. The fact that the car has been sitting at the dealership for such a long time, should I be concerned about the state of the car or damage/wear/tear to the car over this time? I'm sure its not in undercover storage, but sitting out in the open.

2. From my understanding, it is reasonable for a brand new car to have up to 30km on the clock to account for testing by the manufacturer, transportation on/off the ship/truck, as well as some possible further testing by the dealership. However, as the car has already clocked 120km is highly suspicious (especially since the dealership claims the car has been sitting in storage and not driven). If the car had to be moved around within the dealership, there is no way it would have travelled an additional 90km to 100km. To me, this highly suggests that the car has been driven on the road, possibly for demo purposes. In my experience, cars that have been driven on the road would need to be registered, and once its registered, it can no longer be deemed as a brand new car. It would have to be sold as a dealer demo. I've seen cars with as low as 90km on the clock that the dealership has deemed as a dealer demo vehicle simply because the car has been registered and they have driven it on the road (the dealerships had removed the plates but had told me it was registered and was a dealer demo). This fact makes me very uneasy as it appears the dealer is trying to pass this car as brand new when technically it should be a demo for the above reasons. Also, an important thing to note is that the car I am interested in buying does not have number plates on it at the time of inspection, but its not hard for dealerships to remove it when showing potential customers the car.

Would there be any valid reasons as to why the car has already clocked 120km, and is this acceptable for a brand new car?

What are my options and what should I do to verify the above issues? What should I be asking the dealership?

Thanks guys in advance.

[Vwvw1212]

Damn, tricky situation.
Back when I was at BMW....a brand new car was one that was registered or had a compliance date usually a day before or same day of delivery to the customer. Sometimes a week or so before delivery as customer was away or couldn't pickup the car on time. This car was registered in 2016 so is technically a demo if still registered in dealers name/VW Oz regardless it was in storage or whatever.

Hi all

One of the dealerships I've come across is selling to me a MY17 car as brand new. It has a build date of Aug 2016, and compliance took place in Oct 2016. Further, they claim the car has not been driven and has been in storage all this time. I also understand that the car has already done 120km on the clock.

This raises two issues for me:

1. The fact that the car has been sitting at the dealership for such a long time, should I be concerned about the state of the car or damage/wear/tear to the car over this time? I'm sure its not in undercover storage, but sitting out in the open.

2. From my understanding, it is reasonable for a brand new car to have up to 30km on the clock to account for testing by the manufacturer, transportation on/off the ship/truck, as well as some possible further testing by the dealership. However, as the car has already clocked 120km is highly suspicious (especially since the dealership claims the car has been sitting in storage and not driven). If the car had to be moved around within the dealership, there is no way it would have travelled an additional 90km to 100km. To me, this highly suggests that the car has been driven on the road, possibly for demo purposes. In my experience, cars that have been driven on the road would need to be registered, and once its registered, it can no longer be deemed as a brand new car. It would have to be sold as a dealer demo. I've seen cars with as low as 90km on the clock that the dealership has deemed as a dealer demo vehicle simply because the car has been registered and they have driven it on the road. This fact makes me very uneasy as it appears the dealer is trying to pass this car as brand new when technically it should be a demo for the above reasons.

Would there be any valid reasons as to why the car has already clocked 120km, and is this acceptable for a brand new car?

What are my options and what should I do to verify the above issues? What should I be asking the dealership?

Thanks guys in advance.


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[vect0r4]

Thanks for your response? Is there any way of checking of the car has been registered by the dealership?

[Vwvw1212]

Thanks for your response? Is there any way of checking of the car has been registered by the dealership?
If the car has plates then it has been registered with RMS or whatever in your state.

[vect0r4]

If the car has plates then it has been registered with RMS or whatever in your state.

No the car doesn't have plates, but it isn't hard for the dealership to remove it first when showing me the vehicle. The fact the car has travelled 120km suggests it has been on the road, and it would have been registered in order for them to do so.

[Vwvw1212]

No the car doesn't have plates, but it isn't hard for the dealership to remove it first when showing me the vehicle. The fact the car has travelled 120km suggests it has been on the road, and it would have been registered in order for them to do so.
They could be using trade plates when doing test drives hence no plates when you saw it.
Maybe ask for rego papers or ask them direct when did the warranty start? I am sure they will say from Oct 16 if compliance date was then meaning it is a demo and your warranty just got cut by 6 months or so.

[vect0r4]

They could be using trade plates when doing test drives hence no plates when you saw it.
Maybe ask for rego papers or ask them direct when did the warranty start? I am sure they will say from Oct 16 if compliance date was then meaning it is a demo and your warranty just got cut by 6 months or so.

That's pretty dodgy of them to be doing that. Would having trade plates deem the car as registered? Or are trade plates transferrable between dealership demo vehicles?

The fact that the car has travelled that many kms suggests its done a number of test drives. It shouldn't be deemed as a brand new car then, is that right?

[Vwvw1212]

Trade plates can be used on any car in the dealership for test drives, moving to service centre or driving to another dealership.
I think in your case best ask the dealer when does warranty start for the vehicle. If they tell you Oct 2016 then it is not brand new. 120 kms is a bit of a stretch for brand new anyway and I would assume anywhere up to 30kms is fair to be new.
Also if demo no all insurances will cover you for a new replacement.

That's pretty dodgy of them to be doing that. Would having trade plates deem the car as registered? Or are trade plates transferrable between dealership demo vehicles?

The fact that the car has travelled that many kms suggests its done a number of test drives. It shouldn't be deemed as a brand new car then, is that right?


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[vect0r4]

Thanks for your help Vwvw1212.

[Vwvw1212]

Thanks for your help Vwvw1212.
No worries!

[vect0r4]

Is it true that as long as the car was not registered beforehand, they can sell it as brand new, regardless of how much km was on it?

[bendor]

I'm fairly sure even Demos get full 3 year warranty as I believe the dealer provides the warranty from the day you collect the car.

Personally I would ask them for the Rego papers to check whether it has plates and if so when they were put on it?

Then I would voice my concerns and use this as leverage for a Demo type discount...and also confirm that the warranty starts when you buy it.

If its all good then 120kms on the clock is nothing!

[vect0r4]

I'm fairly sure even Demos get full 3 year warranty as I believe the dealer provides the warranty from the day you collect the car.

Personally I would ask them for the Rego papers to check whether it has plates and if so when they were put on it?

Then I would voice my concerns and use this as leverage for a Demo type discount...and also confirm that the warranty starts when you buy it.

If its all good then 120kms on the clock is nothing!

If the dealership says there are no registration papers as the car is not registered, should I take it with a grain of salt?

Is there any way of verifying the validity of what they say is true?

[bendor]

If the dealership says there are no registration papers as the car is not registered, should I take it with a grain of salt?

Is there any way of verifying the validity of what they say is true?

Well I suspect they would have to register it for a year at a time, and it's tied into the VIN so they would have to tell the truth.

Thinking about it, you should also get a full year of rego when you buy it, if not, discount time.

Anyway, use anything you can to get a discount as there is always a big margin in there.


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[theitchy]

I picked up my car almost 2 months and until now only 200km on the clock ....hehe .... but i think Dealer must have used this sometimes otherwise it will be hardly done 120km ...

[vect0r4]

Just a quick update - I've decided to not proceed with the car. Thanks for your advice guys.

[tigger73]

Fair enough. I wouldn't be happy with a brand new car having those km on it.

It's not unusual for cars to come into the country and end up in a holding yard at Patrick's or the dealer. You have 3 dates: build date, compliance date and date first registered. Warranty starts from when the car is first registered which if you're buying a demo you lose the bit of warranty from when the dealer registered the car until you pick it up.

The dealer likely was trying to pull a swifty. But they should have discussed the cars they had available and given you an option for the one with some demo drives on it for a discount. Then nobody would have been upset.


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