Hi! About to take the plunge on a 2009 G37X sedan w/navi, prem & wood.

Salesman called after receiving my quote request via Edmunds. He doesn't have the color we prefer but said there are several "at the Port". Also said the car would have "up to 50 miles on it, but most likely under 25", due to being "moved around at the Ports of origin and arrival". (he also said that up to 200 miles is normal for a new car, but he will guarantee that our car will have less than 50). The car will transport via car carrier to his dealership.

Sounds strange to me. Dealership is a few towns away from us & we have no experience with Infiniti. I don't like the idea that someone may have screwed up the break in by having a bit of fun with the car and gunned it.

My daughter says she knows someone who works at a dealership who told her that rollback is routinely done, so a car with no miles would also raise a red flag, but how do I know that our car isn't a "demo" that was cleaned up and the mileage rolled back?

Am I being paranoid or is mileage on a new car upon delivery common? (past car buying experience has caused me to have no trust, so need help)
Thanks.

 

I don't have answers to your questions, but I will probably be buying an 05 coupe today, so I wish you the best of luck!

:-)

 

i would say look at the interior .. ive noticed some dealer cars to have filthy driver seats and creases in the leather .. but other than that i dont think there would be a real way of telling ...

 

my car had around 120 miles on it when i took it off the lot. It had been on the lot for some time so it was fine with me, especially for the price.
-GP-

 

1. The current VQ has been proven to require 15k+ miles for break-in. Unless you plan on babying the car for give or take a year, don't worry about it. There are PLENTY of members here who have beaten on their cars from day 1 and never had a hickup. This is not a domestic.

2. It's VERY rare for us to get a car on to our lot with less than 20 miles.

 

Thank you!
Follow up for Mike - do you often guarantee that a car coming from a Port will have less than 50 miles on it & does this strike you as a normal promise? We never brought mileage up - he did.
Also - do you transport via car carrier from the Port, or have car jockeyed by a driver?
Salesman said our car would be going from NJ to his CT dealership via carrier.
Tks

 

No, I don't bring up miles unless the customer expresses a concern; it's rare for anyone to make it an issue, especially on a lease where it doesn't matter.

Cars from the port are brought via carrier; this is part of the "destination fee" included in the MSRP.

I don't see why this car would have any more than 25 miles on it at MOST if it is brand new. That 25 figure would include PDI (Pre-Delivery Inspection, which is done when the car is first brought to the dealer to verify that nothing is broken). On the other hand, it's unrealistic to expect the car to have 2 miles or 3 miles on it.

 

I forgot to say that we were offered a fair price on this car. Salesman said he is passing an Infiniti $2k rebate along to us. We are paying cash with no trade in. With this $2K rebate, the car is just over invoice which seems very good to us.

 

I don't know about 200, but up to 150 would be pretty normal.

I got lucky to find my sedan with 15 miles, even after having it shipped from Santa Monica to San Jose, and my auto broker friend taking it to get some gas...

 

Hum, can't be of service to you, as I've NEVER bought a new car (too economic to have the depreciation weighing on me for the next 2 years.) The newest I've bought was 9 months old, for $6K less than brand new. However, I would venture to say whatever Mike tells you is a close to correct as you will find, in all honesty.
Looking forward to seeing pics of your new ride! Welcome to the Driver!
Amanda

 

My car 5 years ago had 7 miles on it, 5 according to the title, and 2 after the dealer got it and filled it up with gas. But it was one of the first 04's available.

 

when i got my 07 coupe, i got mine with 2 Miles on the odometer, when i test drove it i hiked it up to 4. =) it was WIN WIN FOR ME!! lol a lot of the plastic was still on it. but once i signed the deal they cleaned it all up.

but yeah from what i hear the docks are pretty jammed with cars right now so i wouldbt be surprised if they have miles on them.

 

This isn't particular to one manufacturer over another. MOST cars will have a few miles on them upon the dealership recieving them (2-5 is what I'm used to seeing). If it has 50 miles or so, then it was driven a lot or had to be driven somewhat to its destination. However, it is next to impossible to destroy a car in under 200 miles or even break parts lose without purposeful intent. From Kia up to Ferrari, no manufacturer is THAT slack.

Nothing against your daughter, but rolling back mileage on an odometer is next to impossible. Most odometers are electronic now days...no actually all of them are. Even if replacing a motor, tranny, and ecu, the odometer would read true miles on AT LEAST an 05+ (I know that from experience) on 98% of vehicles sold in the world. As for it being "routinely done", the cost to do it isn't worth the cost of getting caught. Regardless of region or state, fines start at around 5k and can get up to 20k per mile; not to mention law suits and federal ordinances and blah blah blah. In a nutshell, even if it were easy to do, the cost of entry isn't worth it.

Some mileage on a new car IS common. However, for your peace of mind, I would suggest that you work with someone that you trust. I understand that the car industry doesn't have the most upstanding record, but sometimes finding a sales person that you're comfortable with is worth a few extra bucks. Personally, I prefer people not to buy from me if they can't trust me. Typically, I won't make ANY money off of a deal like that and they'll nitpick and bother me for every little thing. It's just not a cohesive relationship. I understand economic times are hard, and I don't know how close you are to Mike, but it sounds like you gotta travel anyway. Why not buy from someone with (at least) a reputable history and some stories to back him up as oppossed to a dealer you're really not comfortable buying from.
Just my $.02