How many miles is considered too many to be "new?"

Sold the Legacy this eve and have a "new" G37 Sport 6MT coming from a dealer in Texas (I live in GA). Seems to be one of the last manuals in the country.

 

After finalizing the deal verbally, they told me the car has 650 miles on it. I don't sense foul play, but this begs the question, "When is a car not new or considered a 'loaner'?" Of course, I should have asked earlier, and I've not signed any papers yet.

 

Any experience? Should I ask for more off? We're already at a fair price, but it is year-end, and they want cars moved. And they know this is the only manual left in the country.

 

Thoughts?

 

PS: My 19x8 SSR wheels and tires from the Subie are for sale:

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/fs-ga-19x8-ssr-comp-h-sil-51-5x100-w-re960-235-145799.html

I've been told that something up to 4,000 can be sold as new. Blew my mind.

Don't go with anything more than 100 (typical I think 5 miles is all cars have new with no test drives). There is no reason to accept anything with such high miles when new. You are paying a lot of money for something that is new. You don't buy a meal when someones already taken a bite. Yeah sure, you still get 99% of the meal, but do you feel right being charged for something that was used by someone else.

 

If you need to compare what the various 'common' mileage that is acceptable, go around to dealers (not just the one you are looking for) and check what many of the cars on the lot have. Yeah...today you have to ask for the dealer to get the keys (one downside of digital odometers) but it'll be an education.

 

Having a few friends that have either worked or are working as salesmen...I will tell you a G37 type car with 650 miles on it has been drive to death.

 

Walk away, just walk away....there is always more models coming in...it likely isn't truly the "last" in the country.

Pretty crazy. I guess technically "new" is that it's never been titled. But where's the line between a demo, tester, or showroom new? How do we know if a car was broken in properly or "spiritedly-driven"?

That's too many miles imo to feel like you're buying a new car.. Someone else or more likely several someone else's broke it in already. Who knows how each of those drivers drove it, but being a 6mt G37 I bet not gingerly.

 

I bought an Ion Redline with 272 "Test Drive" miles on it. I bet those were pretty hard driven miles too. When I got my 08 Spec B it truly felt new with 7 miles on it. No one even test drove it.

More fishiness. I pulled a Carfax on it, and it says it's been titled as a lease vehicle at 480 miles. WTF? Now they have some explaining to do tomorrow. I'm nearly ready to WeatherWarrior's advice and walk.

I can't wait to see the thread when you are looking for a wife.

Story is the dealer sold the car to someone else. It was titled and then returned after several hundred miles. My issue is not that any of this occurred, my issue is that none of it was disclosed prior to making a deal and they are trying to sell it as new. I probably would have purchased the car if they told me the story in advance.

 

I walked.

 

And not sure what this has to do with my wife pillboy. <> Here's a rock to crawl back under.

+1 on the break-in issue. You want to be doing that yourself if you're getting a new car. Basically, a car with 600 or so miles has likely gone out as an "extended test drive". I've seen a few like that over the years. They send it home with some guy who has stunning credit hoping he'll fall in love, even sending the paperwork ahead of the signature. But then it falls through when he ain't feelin the love.

 

Steer Clear.

 

Pete

Oh yeah, got pictures of the wife?

 

(I couldn't resist)

Depends on how long the car has been sitting on the lot but it is difficult to claim any car with 100 miles or more is truly new unless it has some dealership transfer miles on it.

I walked.

 

Good man! These days, with the money laid out and the inherent nature of modern cars to be so precisely "messed up" if not treated correctly...the chance just isn't worth it.

 

See the problem with accepting something like a car with a bit of miles on it but is claimed new...is once something goes wrong (all cars will eventually have issues) you might just always go back to the question "should I really have bought this car" thinking you got had. Even if you didn't and everything was OK, it's just a psychological trap.

Years ago just out of high school I got a job at an automotive factory (we'll leave the company name out of it), working with the transport division... Anyway, this particular factory was quite a large hub for transporting all over north americawith a train terminal and everything. You all would not believe how these "new" cars are driven. Break in, haha,whats that. Nobody cares how you drive them as long as they get to the proper lot and line to go to the correct railcar... we would all run and fight eachother if we saw one that was a manual, especially in winter.

Now that was a fun job.

Those first 10mi or so are typically not easy ones.

Sounds like that 650mi was just a whole different story. I would have done the same as you and just walked away simply because they were not upfront with you on the issue.