[sanjeevskartha]

Hello folks,
Need some quick help. I have booked a Grande Punto and the dealer has informed me that he has two cars in stock. One is a display vehicle and the other one is in his yard. I will do a Pdi today for both. Everything else being ok, which one would be the better option? Personally I prefer the yard car. Your valuable suggestions please..

[cannon]

Hi,
I would suggest car at the yard, but you need to check both the cars and depending on the condition you can take the call....

[pvgeorge]

I would prefer the yard car for sure provided it is not used for any test runs. your location shows Trivandrum. So if its Kulathunkal, please note that their yard is next to their building and its totally a slush. Recent monsoon would have created pretty good mess in that area. Ensure that there is no underbody rust

[PM - B]

If both PDIs come out fine. Check the age via VIN.
The older car should get you a higher discount - 5% for every 6 months or so.

[libranof1987]

The drawback of a display car is that it's subject to use and abuse by prospective customers - people will open doors, check lights, fiddle around with controls etc. So, obviously it's not a good choice.

However, go for it only if the car in the yard is too old or has been used for TD.

A PDI should resolve your doubts.

[n.devdath]

The car in the yard any day for me. A display car is always subject to rough use, especially of the components that can been seen, touched, and felt, be everyone and his uncle. Cars in the yard are seldom looked at, by anyone other than the security guards there and are virgin examples.

Though they look dirty and carelessly kept, remember that auto paints, rubber and glasses are "made" to withstand many years of such abuse.

[ghodlur]

The general suggestions would be the car in the yard coz the display one would have already been "felt" by the public. A PDI would definitely resolve the decision making. Although the display car if not used as a TD vehicle and maintained neat & clean can still be considered but looking at Indian mentality people would still prefer the dirty car lying at the yard.

One question - Did the dealer confirm when the fresh lot would be available. May be you can negotiate with the dealer about getting a brand new car straight from the factory.

[selfdrive]

For me, it depends more on the age (check VIN) and mileage. Are we sure that neither of the cars has been used as a demo car?
Negotiate hard for discounts.
If all above is equal, I would go for the one in the yard.
Cleaning is easier than fixing broken or used loose stuff.

[download2live]

If you can be sure that the one in yard is not a demo car then go for it.
Stay away from the display car.

[sanjeevskartha]

Thank you for the reply folks. Checked with the SE and he has informed me that a fresh set of cars would be arriving this Sunday evening. So I opted out of both the display and yard car. Hopefully I can take delivery of the fresh car on Monday. BTW, the yard car is only a month old, but the heavy rains made me rethink if it would be a good idea to opt for it.

Originally Posted by pvgeorge

your location shows Trivandrum. So if its Kulathunkal, please note that their yard is next to their building and its totally a slush. Recent monsoon would have created pretty good mess in that area. Ensure that there is no underbody rust

Yes , it is Kulathunkal. Thanks for the input. Will check it while I do the PDI.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

The drawback of a display car is that it's subject to use and abuse by prospective customers - people will open doors, check lights, fiddle around with controls etc. So, obviously it's not a good choice.

However, go for it only if the car in the yard is too old or has been used for TD.

A PDI should resolve your doubts.

Exactly my thoughts.

Originally Posted by ghodlur

One question - Did the dealer confirm when the fresh lot would be available. May be you can negotiate with the dealer about getting a brand new car straight from the factory.

Yes I checked with the dealer. A new lot is arriving this Sunday evening. So hopefully I can take delivery of a fresh car on Monday.Thanks

Originally Posted by selfdrive

For me, it depends more on the age (check VIN) and mileage. Are we sure that neither of the cars has been used as a demo car?
Negotiate hard for discounts.
If all above is equal, I would go for the one in the yard.
Cleaning is easier than fixing broken or used loose stuff.

Come to think about it, I have ordered a Punto Dynamic- which is the middle variant. Normally TDs are given on the top variant, so I had assumed that the yard car might not have been a demo car and it might not have been abused so much. Of course that's just an assumption. Thanks for your the input.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by sanjeevskartha

Come to think about it, I have ordered a Punto Dynamic- which is the middle variant. Normally TDs are given on the top variant, so I had assumed that the yard car might not have been a demo car and it might not have been abused so much. Of course that's just an assumption. Thanks for your the input.

Dont count on that! In fact, during delivery do check how many kms have been done on the odo. Some unscrupulous dealers are known to give off for TD cars which are waiting for delivery or which have come for service.

Please take the PDI checklist from tbhp during delivery time. I am glad you are taking one from the new batch. Do confirm the manufacturing month using the VIN number of your car.

The Punto is a fantastic car, just recommended to a colleague who is also buying Dynamic version.
Congrats for your new car and wish you many safe miles together!

[jinojohnt]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

Dont count on that! In fact, during delivery do check how many kms have been done on the odo. Some unscrupulous dealers are known to give off for TD cars which are waiting for delivery or which have come for service.

All the test drives I had, was on cars with disconnected odo. More over, most of them were Temp registration cars (that means some unsuspecting customer would buy them finally).

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by jinojohnt

All the test drives I had, was on cars with disconnected odo. More over, most of them were Temp registration cars (that means some unsuspecting customer would buy them finally).

yes, I think checking tyre tread is also one of the points on the PDI checklist. if they change tyres also, then its another story

[Lukeskywalker]

All the test drives I had, was on cars with disconnected odo. More over, most of them were Temp registration cars (that means some unsuspecting customer would buy them finally).

Just because a vehicle has temp registration does not mean it will be sold off using fraudulent means, it is wrong on our part to be so biased against dealers, no reputed dealer worth his salt will palm off a Demo car as a regular new car, they have a lot more to lose in terms of reputation, for the amount they make on each car sold, it certainly is not viable for them to risk loss of reputation for a few thousand bucks.

I have personally asked the MD of a large dealership about the reason behind temp registration, his reason was that it will help the person who buys the car as his name will be the first owner in the RC, he said it was really not worthwhile having a temp regd car as it had to go to the RTO every month to get the registration renewed. All demo cars are sold at a discounted price after making it clear to the buyer about the status of the vehicle.

[sanjeevskartha]

@Luke
Why disconnect the odo then?