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Old 27th July 2008, 19:31   #1
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How do dealers dispose of a demo car?

I have seen a demo car for each models and each manufacturer. Each dealer have one demo car, to take customers for a test drive. but i wonder what they do with that car, after certain period (after an ssuccessor comes for that model).

will they sell? or return to manufacturer?

or they sell with much discount??
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Old 27th July 2008, 19:35   #2
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I guess most of the demo cars are sold to unsuspecting buyers by the dealers as a regular car. Manufacturers sell them at a discount to their employees.
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Old 27th July 2008, 19:37   #3
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sell it to unsuspecting customers.
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Old 27th July 2008, 21:02   #4
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There are more than one instances where the demo car was sold as a regular car to customers.

Its also very difficult to identify between a regular and demo car if one does not know about even A of automobiles.
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Old 27th July 2008, 21:08   #5
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Mostly, they are sold as used in the market or the dealership itself retains the car for management / workshop use.
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Old 27th July 2008, 21:12   #6
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Any DEMO CAR is registered in the name of the dealer. So when they sell it - it'd be easy to know. Unless unscruplous dealers try selling it off to an unsuspecting customer as a new car... I don't hink it is possible to do that.

BMW had offered me a demo car at a huge discount. They told me point blank it is the DEMO CAR, the car had clocked 16k in one year. I'd be the 2nd owner. SIMPLE


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Old 27th July 2008, 21:35   #7
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The car will be used for internal work by the dealers for pick up and drop facility of the customers.

The MD couls use it for their own use, there are many ways they can use the vehicle.

Selling to unsuspecting customer i don't think the dealer will do and lose his name in the industry, this could be done by some dealers who are very small players in the field.
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Old 27th July 2008, 21:38   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gowda79 View Post
The car will be used for internal work by the dealers for pick up and drop facility of the customers.

The MD couls use it for their own use, there are many ways they can use the vehicle.

Selling to unsuspecting customer i don't think the dealer will do and lose his name in the industry, this could be done by some dealers who are very small players in the field.
you would be surprised how many BIG players rewind meters and sell demo cars as new
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Old 27th July 2008, 21:45   #9
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One of the salesman in Ford told me that they sell the demo car to the customers by informing them that it was used was a demo car .
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Old 27th July 2008, 21:46   #10
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Sell it to unsuspecting buyers, some sell it on discount from the showroom itself. But its not difficult for dealers to rev. the meter back, touch up a bit & pass it of as new.
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Old 27th July 2008, 22:09   #11
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i'm presuming the dealer has to register the car before using it for demos... in which case he will have to sell it for as a second hand car.

Some dealers use new(un-registered) cars as their demo car... ie a few new cars are used for a week or two as a demo car, and then given to an unsuspecting customer. These cars rotate.

But using it for longer than that will mean the car has some signs of wear...

I've test driven many a car that was not registered...

When I buy a car from such a dealership, I take steps to ensure I get a new car.

1. Never fall for the line "A silver one is in stock, and a blue one will take a month for delivery." I always prefer ordering a car "not in stock" and waiting for a new one.
2. If in doubt, ask for the dealers receipt to ensure you car is delivered recently.
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Old 27th July 2008, 22:44   #12
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Most of the dealers do not/cannot sell a demo car as a new car to an unsuspecting customer. Why?

1. The demo cars are (mostly) registered and it is not possible to sell that as a new car to someone else. The complications are far too many, like legal issues with RTO, invoice from manufacturer, insurance, etc.

2. Mostly, dealers do not use un-registered cars as demo cars because of insurance issues. Think about it... what happens if a demo car meets with an accident? apart from what it takes to fix the car, the dealer will also have to bear the expenses of the other vehicle involved in the accident if the test drive car does not have valid insurance.

That said, there are some (cheap/desperate) dealers that try to make a quick buck by using the customers cars (before delivery) as demo cars. These are the ones that create a rucus when the unsuspecting customer meets with an accident during test-drive.

Most of the reputed dealers either sell the demo cars at a good discount to their regular customers or depute it for internal use once the model changes.

Last edited by quicksilver : 27th July 2008 at 22:47.
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Old 27th July 2008, 23:01   #13
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I have seen most Maruti demo cars with the logo that says its a demo car. So, what happens to such cars even when they are sold ? Do the dealers repaint such vehicles in this case before they are sold ?
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Old 27th July 2008, 23:07   #14
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those are just vinyl- you can just peel them away
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Old 28th July 2008, 00:56   #15
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they are sold at a horrible discount. a friend got a 1.6 corsa (one with chota boot) , one year factory driven 20k km for like 2.25L back when it was in production.

so that is how it goes.
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