Anyone ever purchased a dealer demo?

[cmoses]

Has anyone ever purchased a dealer demo? Local dealer mentioned they had a fully loaded Limited that was brought in for a manger to demo. Salesman said they maybe ready to sell it. Not sure of the specifics, mileage, etc. Just curious if anyone has ever purchased one. Is it still considered new? Can you get the new car financing, x-plan pricing, rebates, etc? I would assume they would discount it heavily in order to sell it. Any information would be appreciated.

 

Clayton

[bbf2530]

Has anyone ever purchased a dealer demo? Local dealer mentioned they had a fully loaded Limited that was brought in for a manger to demo. Salesman said they maybe ready to sell it. Not sure of the specifics, mileage, etc. Just curious if anyone has ever purchased one. Is it still considered new? Can you get the new car financing, x-plan pricing, rebates, etc? I would assume they would discount it heavily in order to sell it. Any information would be appreciated.

 

Clayton

 

Hi Clayton. :D If it is truly a "Dealer Demo" and not just a "Used Vehicle", you can use the X-Plan. However, there is a catch. You get the "New Vehicle" X-Plan price. No X-Plan discount for it being previously used (unless the Dealer does it out of the goodness of their heart). The problem with that is you will be purchasing a vehicle with some/many miles on it, as compared to a fresh off the showroom floor "New Vehicle", but not getting any consideration for the extra miles/usage.

 

You may be able to negotiate a better discount for the added mileage and usage on your own, than the X-Plan would give you off of the MSRP. This is one of the few times a person may be able to negotiate a better price on their own, since essentially you are purchasing a "Used Car". The difference between a Demo and a Used Car is the Demo was never titled in someone else's name.

 

When purchasing a Demo, you can usually still qualify for all of the "New Car Financing" and Incentives/Rebates you would normally.

 

Something else to remember when comparing X-Plan Pricing to non-X-Plan (retail) negotiated pricing: When you are negotiating on your own (without the X-Plan), you need to keep in mind that most/all Dealers will pack on additional Fees/Charges which are forbidden under X-Plan rules. So, you need to compare bottom line, "Out the Door" prices. With the X-Plan, the only additional fee allowed is a $75 maximum "Documentation Fee". In regular non-Plan sales, Dealers will often charge $300-$400 or more for "Doc Fees", along with added fees like "Dealer Prep", "Computer Usage", etc etc.

 

So essentially, just be sure the Dealer has disclosed everything before you compare prices.

 

If I were you, I would first try to negotiate the best price with the Dealer on my own. Then, once you feel you have them down as far as possible, return and ask what the X-Plan price would be. Or, if the vehicle is in Dealer stock (unfortunately, good chance it is not), post the name and ZIP Code of the Dealership, along with the VIN, and one of us can look up the X-Plan price for you. It must be listed in Dealer stock on FordDirect for us to do that. If it is not, you will need to ask the Dealer for the X-Plan price, and have him show you the original copy of the "Factory Invoice" for verification. If you have a PIN, they are required by Ford to show the Invoice to you.

 

If you instead ask for the X-Plan pricing first, before you negotiate, the Dealer may use that against you in your negotiations and say the the X-Plan is best he can do (unless you play the "Okay no deal, I'm leaving" game).

 

Hope this is not too confusing.

 

Good luck! :beerchug:

Edited March 3, 2008 by bbf2530

[solas989]

While bbf2530 said it all (yet again :hyper: )

 

I would be worried about demo cars. I know people that took them to shows and events (not the Fords but other brands) - boy howdy did they demo them alright. They did unspeakable things.

 

Now this is not to say this is what happens to all of them - especially if it is a large show/event where they bring many many vehicles.

 

As bbf2530 said, do negotiate with the dealer because it really is a used vehicle.

 

Just my ramblings is all

 

Solas

[tiaquessa]

My family has purchased dealer demo vehicles before, with very good luck. The one good thing about a demo, is they find and fix the bugs found with a brand new vehicle. Now mind you, a demo to me is a vehicle with say 1,000 miles or under. Saying that, I originally was going to purchase a demo from my dealer (250 miles, red, identical to the one I bought), except, when I came home and started reading the "trouble with red Edges", I went with the "New" vapor silver they had on the lot.

[BON DIA]

We recently purchased a "demo"...'07 SEL Plus with 3000 miles...was actually a loaner to a Big 12 Athletic Dept, Assistant AD, female driver, not a scratch or evidence of abuse. The sales contract states new & $3750 in incentives deducted from negociated price. Dealer will make ~ $500 in holdback plus gets a couple of prime seats to any athletic event & access to big donor clubhouse.

 

What we got was the exact car we were looking for...Creme, Plus, with Charcoal Leather, no nav or vista roof for ~ $500 less than any other deal including X-Plan.

 

I would be reluctant to purchased a rent a car or lease with high milage.