When is a new car not a new car?

**Toot Toot** · 13th August 2009, 18:48

OT for a bike forum but just want to know your opinions.

Say your Mum just bought a brand new car from a dealer and when you picked it up and got it home you noticed it had 150kms on the clock already, what would you do?
Is that a fair amount of K's for a new car to get vinned and Reg/Wof etc, or is it getting to the point of being a demo car??
Should she take it back and demand a proper new car or a discount or is that just being pedantic?

opinions please.

**Devil** · 13th August 2009, 18:51

If you're in a main centre, absolutely not acceptable, if you're in the wop's somewhere that would require a drive to get shit done, there could be a reason there.

**kneescraper** · 13th August 2009, 18:59

150KM is not just a drive to the local shops to get smoko,

We get brand new utes into work to fit R/Ts, cellphones etc etc and I would see no more than 30kms when delieverd to the customer. 150KM is alittle extreme unless what Devil said is correct.

**FROSTY:Me** · 13th August 2009, 19:06

Question to ask yaself really is --is it a battle worth the effort of fighting over?
Worth a phone call to GM of the dealership--shit yea.
woth maybee a free tank of gas--yep
if not got then worth the hassle-probably not.

**p.dath** · 13th August 2009, 19:07

I have some recollection in the back of my head that is has to be less than 100km to be considered new, but that is just a recollection. Could easily be wrong.

But rather than looking at the negative side - is the car great and is she otherwise happy with it? If so then just enjoy the experience of having a new car!

**steve_t** · 13th August 2009, 19:07

Yeah, 150km is a bit high. Maybe the salesman took it home a few nights after he sold it to you

Mine had 50km on the clock at delivery, but it did go somewhere for paint protection, elsewhere for interior protection, and elsewhere for exhaust modification. Oh and a towbar too... dunno if they did that in-house

**LBD** · 13th August 2009, 19:22

Originally Posted by Toot Toot

OT for a bike forum but just want to know your opinions.

Say your Mum just bought a brand new car from a dealer and when you picked it up and got it home you noticed it had 150kms on the clock already, what would you do?
Is that a fair amount of K's for a new car to get vinned and Reg/Wof etc, or is it getting to the point of being a demo car??
Should she take it back and demand a proper new car or a discount or is that just being pedantic?

opinions please.

Its not nice....I had that with a dealer in Dunedin...again 150 km or more and when I wound the windows down and up, gravel road dust came up with the window....(Diamante VR AWD) I just new it had been for a test drive down a dirt road...Wanted to take it back, and I think you would be in your rights, although you have driven it home so borderline IMO.

Then there was my wifes Jeep,.Had 20 odd km on it when we bought it. 7 years later we had some small damage and went to the panel shop who informed us it had been in an accident in the past. (As it turns out, on a test drive when new) Felt really angry about that especially considering some of the small problems we have had with it over the years which will have been a result...

**Motu** · 13th August 2009, 19:24

We sold a new car a couple of weeks ago with 150km on it.With new car sales as they are,it had been around for awhile.We have two yards in different towns...a car can get shuffled betweens yards to keep stock looking fresh.Ask them why...there is a point where a vehicle goes from new to demo,but 150km is not it.

**Pussy** · 13th August 2009, 19:24

I would feel the same way, Glen.
20 or 30km, I could understand.
Agree with frosty... at least get a tank of fuel out of the dealership!

**NighthawkNZ:Me** · 13th August 2009, 19:25

When is a new car not a new car??

When it turns into a middle aged car????

**doc** · 13th August 2009, 19:29

Doesn't sound very fair to me. Some brands of bikes you can't even hear them running until you have signed the purchase agreement, then waited for the distributor to deliver the starter pack. I kid you not.

**tri boy** · 13th August 2009, 19:36

Car engines are fucked if they've done more than 149.9km's.

**YellowDog** · 13th August 2009, 19:37

Originally Posted by p.dath

I have some recollection in the back of my head that is has to be less than 100km to be considered new, but that is just a recollection. Could easily be wrong.

But rather than looking at the negative side - is the car great and is she otherwise happy with it? If so then just enjoy the experience of having a new car!

I think it's actually less than that and closer to 50km.

I bought a new bike from the states and wanted to register it as new. I had ridden it from the airport and to the shops a few times and they told me thay would have to get approval to class it as new.

I changed the speedo from Km to Miles, which solved the problem (not sure why).

**Jeaves** · 13th August 2009, 19:39

If I recall correctly a new car turns "used" at 500km. Demo models normally require a certain amount of kms put on to qualify for the dealer to get the "demo" price. It may of changed/or vary from brand to brand.

**cambridgedan** · 13th August 2009, 19:50

is 150kms worth worrying about really, i mean 300+ then maybe but you can work up 150kms pretty quickly, think of all the time you could spend arguing with the dealer to get no where

, you could be out on your bike during that time