Refurbished Mercedes GLA 200 demo car for sale: Is it worth buying?

He has spent Rs 2 lakh to refurb the car and is offering a flat Rs 7 lakh discount on the SUV.

BHPian techspark recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I am in the market for a new car and I have my heart on the Mercedes-Benz GLA Petrol. It is way beyond my budget but no other car has come close to impressing me more than the GLA.

Yesterday, I went to this showroom and there was a demo GLA 200 (petrol) with the following:

1. It's GLA 200 petrol Registered in 2021 (Warranty already started)
2. It has run 13,000 km on the odo and the dealer has told me it has been used as a demo car only.
3. The car has not met with any accident (as informed by the dealer) but he says he has to spend Rs 2 lakhs to 'refurb' the car and remove all the scratches. When I asked for more details, he is ready to share the invoice for all the fixes made. He will be sending the invoice tomorrow.
4. Orally he has told me that 5 panels have been repainted.
5. Car looks good from the inside and outside after taking a glance. No scratches or dent outside and the interiors look good too but Inside there is one problem, the steering wheel (which is leather stitched) cover has cuts on the leather wrap like some animal has scratched it - this is probably the biggest red flag for me because no one driving a merc would be so reckless to cut or scratch the steering cover. The salesperson told me this cannot be fixed.
6. The dealer says he is no longer offering a test drive of this vehicle as he has already spent Rs 2 lakhs to refurb it but if I insist then he will take the booking amount and offer a test drive (booking amount is refundable)
7. Upfront he has offered me 7 lakhs of discount which I know is way too less but I have not sat down for negotiation yet.

I wanted to ask everyone, if should I go for this car and if yes, what would be a fair good price for this car? Also, what additional information should I ask the dealer to make sure I am not getting scammed?

All inputs will be appreciated, thank you

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

50 lakhs on a 2-year-old demo car that has been so abused that it has 5 repainted panels & 2 lakhs in refurbishment!! Why brother, why? You are being a sucker for punishment. For that kind of money, you can buy a used GLC, C-Class or 3-Series from a single owner who drove it with love & care. Please avoid. You are trying to justify the wrong purchase.

Mumbai has lots of better options for the money.

Here's what BHPian Sk8r had to say on the matter:

I am not sure how you would feel buying a ~ 50 lakh odd "Demo car".

Red flags I see:

1. Budget: stretching way beyond your budget only to get a "Demo car" could backfire badly in case of mechanical failures at a later point
2. Refurb: 2 lakhs to refurb screams minor dents / a minor accident maybe?
3. My humble opinion would be to stay away from it! You don't want to be an example of: " Penny wise, pound foolish "

Here's what BHPian himanshugoswami had to say on the matter:

13K of driving on a demo car, 2 lakhs spent on refurbishment, the car already registered, scuffed steering- these are all red flags and I would walk away from this car.

You will be better off finding a good example in the pre-owned market which would also be significantly cheaper.

If your heart is still set on this particular model, I would start by offering the dealer 35 lakhs for this (you will be the second owner) and then negotiate my way to close this sub-40. anything more is simply not worth it.

I had shortlisted the GLA in my last round of car purchases and while the car is a lovely little thing, that petrol engine is quite underwhelming in terms of performance. So I am not sure how the 1.3 L mill will stand up to abuse over 13K km.

Here's what BHPian Bhokal had to say on the matter:

I would stop at:

• Way beyond budget
• 1.3 (161 HP) engine for Rs 50+ lakhs

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.