07-28-2021, 07:00 AM | #1 |
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m340i - Would you buy a demo car?
Featured on BIMMERPOST.com I'm new to this community here! Knowing that any demo would've been driven furiously from the day 1 by heaps of people perhaps, would you still buy the demo? Coz the demo prices look more attractive with low kms and savings of cost I heard that we need to train the engine by driving smoothly (not using rpm more than 3k) until 2000-2500km at first. Just wondering how the m340i demos will be in the long run as perhaps it'd been driven without care... Thanks guys! |
07-28-2021, 07:17 AM | #2 |
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Unless this thing was tracked from day one, any aggressive street driving is not going to cause any long term damage to the car.
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07-28-2021, 07:28 AM | #3 |
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Demos are not necessarily beaten from day one, in fact this is a common misconception. Usually the vehicles are used by staff at the dealer, to take customers for test drives, or provide demonstrations of the vehicles features etc. Occasionally senior staff would use the car periodically. If so, as employees they are obligated to take care of the car and therefore wouldn't be inclined to thrash the car.
I've bought 3 Bmw's previously which were demos, one of which was an M car and never had an issue. I had the cars independently inspected prior to purchase for peace of mind. IMO if you can get your hands on a good low mileage, well priced example and get it checked out prior then I don't see any issues. |
07-28-2021, 07:36 AM | #4 | |
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07-28-2021, 09:15 AM | #5 |
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My previous lease was a loaner car, so I have some thoughts on this...
Although I guess I should start by saying I'm not sure if dealer practices are different in in OZ compared to the States, so YMMV... I think there are two factors two consider (1) do your homework in terms of what kind of deal you are getting, keeping in mind that prices of used cars right now are insane, and (2) are you leasing or buying (and how long do you plan to own). How good a deal are you getting compared to new? Compared to used? When I leased the 2018 330 leftover/loaner, I was coming off of a 2016 340i 6MT. The G20 was out so I couldn't order a new car with a manual transmission and couldn't find a leftover 2018 manual. I leased the 330 as a stop-gap and because it was insanely cheap - I'm not sure I could have leased a Honda Accord for what I was paying (exactly half what I am paying for my M340 now, and I got a killer deal on the M340). On the other hand I explored a demo M340 back in January/February of this year - so before the used car market really took off - and the quote I was getting was higher than I ultimately ended up paying for the brand new, custom ordered car I ended up with. Point is - I could see dealers taking advantage and charging you closer to "brand new" prices than they should be. But everything is supply and demand, so they may not budge much. As for the wear and tear, I definitely agree with OffK that demos are not always driven/beaten from day 1 - often the GM or some other exec might drive it for a couple months. On the other hand, there is probably no way to tell if it was a loaner car or a true "demo". But Ikester19 is also right, a loaner is likely to get great service/maintenance. I wonder how much value there would be in getting an inspection since I would assume a "platinum certified" is going to have almost as good a warranty as a brand new car. If you are buying and plan to own for a while ~$500 for an independent inspection might not be a terrible idea, but it would seem unlikely a cursory inspection like that is going to uncover something major. Having said all of that, I am currently on my 6th consecutive 3 series (including 3 F30s), and that 2018 loaner car I leased is the only one that had all sorts of random never-resolved issues - and keep in mind this was a 2-year lease half of which was during COVID, so only ~15,000 miles of driving total. Most were just electrical annoyances I could ignore and none of them related to the drive-train or would logically relate to the car being beaten on, but its still the only BMW I've had those sort of issues with.
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07-28-2021, 09:29 AM | #6 | |
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BMW also sell executive loaners, these are usually low mileage and loaded with options, these are sold as used, but still have the full warranty. |
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07-28-2021, 09:38 AM | #7 | |
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07-28-2021, 01:32 PM | #8 |
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I remember testing out the demo M340i with maybe 140kms on the dash. SA made sure I tested the launch control and drove it like I stole it. Insane.
After that I was sold and ordered a virgin untouched m340i. Lol. She had 9 kms on her when delivered to the dealership. |
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07-28-2021, 02:52 PM | #9 | |
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07-28-2021, 04:56 PM | #10 | ||
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I think the cost of an independent inspection is a small price to pay for an unbiased opinion, to check for any possible body repair work/damage, paint, underbody, mechanical, drivelines and wear. |
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07-28-2021, 07:30 PM | #11 | ||
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07-29-2021, 07:11 AM | #12 |
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I leased 2 demos one with less then 2k and the other one with less then 3k couple issues nothing crazy, unless you are saving a good amount just get a similar optioned brand new especially if you are buying
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07-30-2021, 06:49 AM | #14 |
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My car is an ex-service loaner, 4k miles when I got it now 11k no issues at all. It's a lease so it's going back after 3 years anyway. New cars are very robust, every new car goes through port on off ships etc. where they are most certainly not babied.
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07-30-2021, 09:36 AM | #15 |
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I lease demo cars (and occasionally a loaner) for my mother all the time. For her a vehicle is an appliance, as long as it's under warranty there's no incremental headache or worry for me. For someone who will only ever have their DD fully covered w/ manufacturer warranty, she never wants any surprises, leasing a gently used car is ideal.
That said I would not, however, buy a demo or loaner car. Then my OCD takes over.
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