Possible dangers of buying a demo?

[Liljaeger]

Well, been looking at the Kia Stinger GT2 AWD here in Sweden, but, unfortunately, slept through the summer and missed the new special tax they are hitting cars with that have high carbon emission, 241 gr means 4500 extra Euro in tax ontop of the price for the car.. :\

Though, alot of dealers are offering cars now that have 500km on them, and they registered before the date of the new law, so, nice prices.

However, what should one look out for on a demo car, any tell tale signs of launches/wear? Can one ask for data to be pulled from the box to see how the car has been driven?

Got a nice offer on one, but, unsure, since breaks/transmission might be misshandled during a demo time? It is roughly a 10K difference between a brand new one, with the new taxes, and the demo cars that are on offer.. that's alot of money..

 

[Callum]

I understand the concern for buying a demo, but they still have the warranty. I would really only care about the front bumper, if it's been scraped and the condition of the seats.

I guess let me put it this way...for 10 grand you can buy a lot of stuff!

 

[JoeShmo]

I have this concern as well. When I went to test drive a GT2, the sales person kept trying to get me to try the Launch Control, which I didn't care about. I just wanted an AWD that was comfortable, and all the other bells and whistles. But it got me thinking, how many other test drives has this been on, where people abused it? And this was the only one they had in the color I wanted.

Sure, the Warranty *SHOULD* Cover everything, but I'm also sure the first thing they'll do is pull the record, and see how many launches the car has done, high revs, and all those other harsh things that get logged. Based on that, they'll try to figure out how to find a loophole in the warranty to not cover you due to the abuse. Plus, yes, the warranty is nice, but irrelevant compared to the inconvenience of being stranded on the side of the road.

Unfortunately, I don't know if they'd be willing to run a report and give you a copy. I'm sure they CAN. I suppose you can voice your concern and ask. Be sure to let us know how it turns out!

 

[MerlintheMad]

I've thought this scenario through. "High revs", after what I have been told recently, are no concern. This engine will not over rev; it will upshift as soon as you bounce into the red line. The Stinger's engine was tested at ELEVEN days of continuous red line; then a further 24 hours of red line plus 10%. There is no way that the red line on this engine is a danger zone (much to my relief). Transmission Control Unit (TCU) Update

"Launch Control": the car is designed to do this. It is not a warranty issue.

Buying a demo car: should not be any trouble at all as long as the price otd is discounted for miles. And, when test driving, you do not get the slightest whiff of an indicator that the car feels or sounds compromised. The only abuse a test driver could have suffered is incompetent handling of the car, e.g. shifting into "P" while still moving, etc. The dealership does not want to write off this car; they want to sell it; so any potential customer abusing the car will be shut down with a kill switch (my salesman said he has had to do that only once). If you are driving the car with your gut and it says "we're good", then buy it with confidence; the warranty is there in full force; and the paint is good; and everything is good? Then go for it.

 

[Waynerm002]

KIA has a good warranty on the cars so it should be covered if anything occurred later. I typically like to get them with as few miles as possible but if it's one of the few around and has miles on it, I work out a better discount based on that. I'll test drive one car and if I was the first to drive it and like how it feels I'll buy it. I've even not bought a car that was my first choice of color when on the day of pickup, I drove it before signing and found vibrations, flaws, etc. as well as choosing one with higher miles that felt better and worked out a discount. In't all in how you feel about the thing.

 

[SKStinger]

I'm picky so if it were me i'd ask to take it home for a day or two and give it a hand wash. Then i'd thoroughly inspect the paint for any chips or signs of bubbling. I find when you have some alone time with the vehicle you tend to pick up on things you won't notice at the dealership.

 

[Liljaeger]

Thank guys for the replies..

I decided to buy the car, after reading the replies, and thinking about it some more.

I kept forgeting we have 3 months to claim reclamation here if the car isn't as claimed by the dealer, you can claim pretty much "lemon" and turn it back to the dealer, but it might take a few months for it to go through all the legal things, it's still alot of money to have tied up during that time!

So, will nervously be driving a GT2 on monday, after turning in my Ceed SW.. :O



I used to live in the US, and boy, this car really felt close to the Buick Lacrosse, so nice to be able to get something close to that over here! I pretty much think it's the last few years for cars like this in Sweden, they are just going to tax them to death soon.

 

[forzanerazzurri]

I've thought this scenario through. "High revs", after what I have been told recently, are no concern. This engine will not over rev; it will upshift as soon as you bounce into the red line. The Stinger's engine was tested at ELEVEN days of continuous red line; then a further 24 hours of red line plus 10%. There is no way that the red line on this engine is a danger zone (much to my relief). Transmission Control Unit (TCU) Update

"Launch Control": the car is designed to do this. It is not a warranty issue.

Buying a demo car: should not be any trouble at all as long as the price otd is discounted for miles. And, when test driving, you do not get the slightest whiff of an indicator that the car feels or sounds compromised. The only abuse a test driver could have suffered is incompetent handling of the car, e.g. shifting into "P" while still moving, etc. The dealership does not want to write off this car; they want to sell it; so any potential customer abusing the car will be shut down with a kill switch (my salesman said he has had to do that only once). If you are driving the car with your gut and it says "we're good", then buy it with confidence; the warranty is there in full force; and the paint is good; and everything is good? Then go for it.

11 days at redline? Where did you see that?

 

[MerlintheMad]

11 days at redline? Where did you see that?

It's in the link to @St1nger Guy's post. Transmission Control Unit (TCU) Update You'll have to ask him where he got that fascinating "factoid". I'm just passing on a rumor that I like, because it makes me feel better and more secure.

 

[forzanerazzurri]

You're passing on a rumor as fact. Don't do that.

 

[MerlintheMad]

You're passing on a rumor as fact. Don't do that.

I called it what it is, not a fact.

Then I went looking just now. And it is a fact: Took less than one minute to find: Did You Know: Engine torture testing

The "almost eleven days" is conservative memory; it's actually 12.5 days of continuous (except for replenishing the oil) red line under load, with "ten to twenty percent" over the red line for another ten hours.

 

[Liljaeger]

Well, pulled the trigger and picked it up today, and I can't stop smiling..

Here is to hoping it works well..

So many buttons to push.

 

[oddball]

Well, pulled the trigger and picked it up today, and I can't stop smiling..

Here is to hoping it works well..

So many buttons to push.

Congrats! Just wait until you start digging through the gauge menu AND the infotainment menus!
I got a car with 220 miles on it (and bought a Volvo a few years ago with 5,000 miles). It's a great way to get a great discount. There is some risk, but I think it's worth it.