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View Poll Results: Would you buy an ex-demo car at a discounted price?
Yes 62 10.63%
No 521 89.37%
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Old 28th January 2021, 13:35   #46
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Re: Bought a Honda Amaze CVT Diesel demo car | Innumerable problems | Now what?

Quote:
Originally Posted by SS-Traveller View Post
The car has been drowned. It has also been crashed and repaired more than once. Obviously, the car was not inspected thoroughly before purchase.

Get rid of it ASAP.
True!! I’ve seen a lot of cars in Chennai in similar condition or even worse. Rust everywhere can only be explained by drowning.

My friend has a good experience with a ford figo Demo car, he got it 2.5 lakhs cheaper and 6000 kms on odo. Figo service was a hit for him. All he had to ask for is seat covers replaced to which the showroom readily agreed.
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Old 28th January 2021, 14:44   #47
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Re: Bought a Honda Amaze CVT Diesel demo car | Innumerable problems | Now what?

Just being a Test drive vehicle is enough reason to avoid one. In addition to that, from the photos,
1. It seems the vehicle has been very unprofessionally repaired after an accident.
2. Looks like a flood damaged car which stayed submerged for days (I believe Honda can’t rust this bad after using a City from 2009 to till date in coastal towns Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Chennai)
Even though I empathize the owner, I do not see any good reason to spend any more money on this car. After spending all the money and one day if he/she tries to sell this car, there are more than enough red lights to deter a potential buyer.
Mistakes can happen. I would suggest to sell it off to someone who is willing to take it for parts, move forward and forget this as a nightmare.
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Old 28th January 2021, 16:00   #48
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Re: Bought a Honda Amaze CVT Diesel demo car | Innumerable problems | Now what?

My 2 cents here based on my experience with Dakshin Honda, Hosur Rd, Bangalore.
Before we got our car, I got to know about some demo cars with Dakshin - 2 Honda Amaze (previous-gen) cars & 1 Honda Jazz. The odometer reading on these cars was low ~10k. When I visited the dealer, sometime towards the end of 2019, no one was interested to show me the cars. The sales rep whom I was in contact with, was least bothered & not even in the showroom when I paid a visit.

While both the Amaze cars were inside the showroom, the Jazz was out in the open behind the showroom taking the beating from the sun & rain. Its colour was washed & the interiors had a damp smell. The infotainment system was missing with wires dangling out. I was already put off & didn't want to enquire further on this Jazz. Coming to the Amaze cars, when I opened the boot there was a broken tail light - clearly one of them had some sort of an accident & the old tail light was left in the boot. What if the odometers were also tampered with?

Still, I wanted to check if the prices were attractive to go for such demo cars, but, when I contacted the sales rep to provide me with prices, he did not respond in spite of follow-ups.

This incident left a bad taste in my mouth & I said to myself that if these Honda guys are least bothered to even sell their cars, what service should I expect! Let me also add that after a few months, I did not really learn my lesson & I went to Whitefield Honda to enquire about the new Amaze as there were discounts on the BS4 model. Again post my visit, there was no follow-up from the dealer. Finally, I made my mind not to go to Honda. And picked up a new BS6 Baleno.
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Old 28th January 2021, 16:10   #49
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Re: Bought a Honda Amaze CVT Diesel demo car | Innumerable problems | Now what?

I think the poll and the thread are talking of two different things.

The poll should have been titled - Would you buy a demo Car for less price without doing your due diligence??

I know folks like GTO vehemently advise against used demo cars - but no demo car is beyond a very thorough examination. The car in question was clearly not inspected. And on a forum where we undertake a PDI for new cars ( I mean how many people outside this forum even do a PDI?), this is a no brainer. Sorry for the harsh words, but any offer that is great will always have a catch.

New Cars, Used Cars, Demo Cars, OLX Cars, TrueValue Cars, Skoda Cars - all warrant a thorough check, only the magnitude of checking changes. Do the check, and if you have a good one on your hands with multiple checks - then go for it.

Just like one doesn't rule out a car model based on showroom experience, don't rule out a car based on previous ownership.
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Old 28th January 2021, 16:35   #50
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Re: Bought a Honda Amaze CVT Diesel demo car | Innumerable problems | Now what?

Voted an emphatic NO!
Peace of mind is more important than piece of discount!!!
I am wondering why would anyone spend Rs.8.5 lacs for a 2 year old used car handled by unknown number of persons, having no clear service records & without verification. This apparent discount is not that tempting either. A used car of similar age will come at this price outside as well. I hope the buyer considered this as a used car purchase. But unfortunate that he blindly purchased without any pre-verification.
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Old 28th January 2021, 17:03   #51
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Re: Bought a Honda Amaze CVT Diesel demo car | Innumerable problems | Now what?

Voted NO. As far as the OP is concerned, I see that a large majority have advised to get rid of the car ASAP. But if he does that with the car in the present condition, he will end up with a huge loss. Another option he can think about is to visit a good quality body work shop and get an estimate to do a thorough repair job. As far as I can see, the main issue is rust, and no other mechanical issues except the battery which he has already replaced. If the work estimate is reasonable, maybe he should get it done and keep the car and sell it off later. Taking it the legal route will waste both time and money, and by that time the car will be beyond salvage.
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Old 28th January 2021, 17:09   #52
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Re: Bought a Honda Amaze CVT Diesel demo car | Innumerable problems | Now what?

Quote:
Originally Posted by sai_ace View Post

I know folks like GTO vehemently advise against used demo cars - but no demo car is beyond a very thorough examination. The car in question was clearly not inspected.
It does not work that way. Everything on a car does not age in an obvious manner, some things you can see clearly - like a set of tires, visibly they age.

On a demo car the following things are usually abused and not obvious during inspection , will age faster in subsequent ownership.

1. Engine - lots if cold idling, all kinds of abuse.
2. Clutch.
3. Suspension - lots of bottoming out, will leak sooner.
4. Hidden rust - they pressure wash almost daily.
5. Doors will go out of alignment, locks fill fail sooner.
6. Brakes - even the rotors go out sooner.
7. Paint.

Other than this the car should be as good as a new car.
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Old 28th January 2021, 18:10   #53
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Re: Bought a Honda Amaze CVT Diesel demo car | Innumerable problems | Now what?

I am wondering if you can notice so many rust points, how come that was not at all noticed in, say, pre delivery inspection. I am sure, you would have been informed this car was a demo car. Then, I assume you would have inspected or brought some garage mechanic to inspect the car before you put the money on the table, right? I would have done that.

As many say, this is not just a demo car but one that went through flooding. Demo cars can bring lot of maintenance problems, but so many rust points are not the direct impact of car used as demo.
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Old 28th January 2021, 18:58   #54
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Re: Bought a Honda Amaze CVT Diesel demo car | Innumerable problems | Now what?

Looking at the pictures provided by OP. It is apparent that the buyer did not perform due diligence before buying the car and relied more so on the words of the dealer. It's clear from the pictures that most of the places the car has rusted should have been noticed during a PDI. Extended warranties mainly cover the drivetrain and some electricals so it is of no use here.

It's true that demo cars are frequently treated as part bins for some urgent repair jobs or obliging a pissed off customer. Having bought a demo Renault Lodgy 4 years ago with 10k on the odo and still loving it after driving it for 80K kms including a trip to Ladakh, means not every demo car is a lemon. My car had a door replaced before I bought it, but the job done was spot on. The only tell was a very slight color mismatch visible only in certain light conditions. Whites can be a problem in this regard.

Back to Honda Amaze, the buyer bought the vehicle in Feb'2020. So when were the pictures clicked? In December? This means that the vehicle experienced 4-5 months of low or no activity(during lockdown). The type of rusting as seen in the pics happens because of one or more of the following reasons, the build quality is bad or the car is not cleaned regularly and properly or long periods of inactivity.
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Old 28th January 2021, 20:31   #55
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Re: Bought a Honda Amaze CVT Diesel demo car | Innumerable problems | Now what?

I'd prefer a 2 year old 20k kms well used car over a demo/media car.

2 cents to the gent who bought this car - Sell it!
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Old 28th January 2021, 22:17   #56
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Re: Bought a Honda Amaze CVT Diesel demo car | Innumerable problems | Now what?

Homework and inspection are not thoroughly done.

Two of my friends bought demo cars (Figo Freestyle and Isuzu Max) from the dealers. They inspected each and every piece of iron and bought with an extended warranty and saved more than 1.5 lakhs.

The main advantage of buying a demo car than a preowned one is the buyer becomes the first owner, but the homework and inspection has to be much more than a preowned one.

Two years back, I was about to buy this demo WRV (pic attached) from a Coimbatore dealer but dropped as the price quoted was a bit high.
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Last edited by RGK : 28th January 2021 at 22:36.
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Old 29th January 2021, 00:09   #57
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Re: Bought a Honda Amaze CVT Diesel demo car | Innumerable problems | Now what?

Quote:
Originally Posted by ChiragM View Post
Thanks to the Team-BHP fan (he prefers to remain anonymous) who sent this in. [/ATTACH]
Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO View Post
Demo cars are:

- Treated like trash.


- It's driven very, very badly. By the dealer's drivers as well as potential car owners who think redlining is the only way to TD a car.

Hi ChiragM,

Thanks for posting.
Voted -- NO.

The reasons are pretty much summed up by GTO.

The demo cars are treated like Thrash and just driven like it doesn't belong to anyone.

The doors are banged shut, the engine is revved hard, the buttons, knobs and controls are literally manhandled.

I was once sitting in a demo car along with someone else who was TD-ing it, in Hyd. I was so uncomfortable with the way that the other person was treating the car, that I just walked away after reaching the dealership. Felt very sad for the car

Atleast in India, I would never ever buy a Demo car, no matter what the discount is.
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Old 29th January 2021, 05:29   #58
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Re: Bought a Honda Amaze CVT Diesel demo car | Innumerable problems | Now what?

Voted NO. I'm sorry to break it to you but potential customers treat these demos cars like sh*t. And dealers don't care enough to take care of them either in most cases. I have personally seen many demo cars while visiting showrooms and almost all of them were in very poor condition.
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Old 29th January 2021, 09:45   #59
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Re: Bought a Honda Amaze CVT Diesel demo car | Innumerable problems | Now what?

This was the exact same problem my brother faced with his Honda Brio VAT. The car was brand new. Used personally and driven regularly. There were rusting issues. Right from the wheel arches to wheel lug nuts. It was so bad that the underside of the driver seat rotted away before we could salvage it. Pretty sure the QC standards of Honda isn't what it used to be. We sold her off for good after repeated emails to dealers and phone calls to Honda didn't solve the issue. Turning a blindside to customers is a normal practice. It's all about sales these days. I think you have two options here

1. Exchange the car.

2. Get it stripped to bare bones at a reputed workshop. Scrap the paint and primer. Get her freshly coated with primer and paint. And please don't forget to check the paint depth before scrapping. You would know if the car was repainted before it was sold off. Also, a good technician would know if any of the body panels were replaced.

Happy motoring!!
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Old 29th January 2021, 10:33   #60
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Re: Bought a Honda Amaze CVT Diesel demo car | Innumerable problems | Now what?

This is just unfortunate at the buyer’s end.
As much as I would myself vote NO upon buying a used demo car, I had a friend who bought a demo Volkswagen AMEO that was run 3000kms around the same time in 2017 when I bought my new elite i20.

While I sold my i20 (60k run and 3.5 yrs old) for an upgrade, he still retains the Ameo and says it is running worryfree, and ofcourse that explosive engine and VW drivability doesn’t require an upgrade. The car never gave him any issues and he has done around 65k on the same, and plans to retain it further for another few years.

Though I would still say the demo car with 3000kms on the odo would be much newer and recent built than the one with 10000kms on the same, considering demo cars are rarely driven.
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