I'm looking at purchasing a new Mitsubishi ASX and thinking of getting an ex-demo to save some money.
Is there any wiggle room in the price with an ex-demo or should I be avoiding an ex-demo car for any reason?
Is there a difference in how to get the price down on an ex-demo vs a brand new car?
Thanks for any tips!
I personally would not buy a demo, as they are normally optioned to the shithouse with many options that are simply milking the cow.
However, if you want a car with all the options, then some decent savings can often be found on a demo.
I also don't like the fact, so many different drivers have used the vehicle, perhaps not flogged it, but who knows.
You can often negotiate deals just as good on new cars, (depending on timings) as they can include manufacturer rebates\discounts to the dealer, or they need to make their numbers for the month\quarter.
Buyers advocates can get some great pricing.
As far as I'm concerned, there's only two types of cars for sale.
You negotiate according to which one of the above a car fits into. I wouldn't be paying an almost-brand-new price for a used car that they call a "demo"!
Also, be aware that most insurances will only do a 'new for old' replacement (if car is written off in 2 or 3 years), if you are the FIRST registered owner.
A demo car is a used car. Nothing more.
Does that mean a demo car has been registered to someone before? I didn't realise that.
Car will have been registered to the dealership. You'd still be the first owner in the book
i drove a mitusb asx with around 20km as a test drive- had those removable number plates put on ?- is that technically a demo or a new car?
Not true. I bought a demo car and before I took comprehensive insurance, PDS of mine states that Demo cars are treated the same way as new.
Perhaps some insurers offer it. I guess you just have to check with yours.
We bought a demo and couldn't get 'new for old'.
Explanation was exactly as oscargamer said.
Who was your insurer so I know to avoid them - Since I'm going to be getting a Demo Car soon
@Cheapo Moose: This is what AAMI says in the PDS:
you are the first registered owner of your
car (or you purchased your car as an ‘ex
demonstration’ model from a licensed motor
dealer who was the first registered owner of the
car); and
• the loss or damage to your car was caused by
an insured incident that occurred less than 2
years from the date of original registration; and
• it is possible for us to supply or order a new car
of the same make and model within 90 days
of us deciding your car is a total loss or, if one
is not available within that time, it is possible
to provide you with a new car that is in our
opinion a similar make or model to your car;
So, AAMI treats Demo cars as new cars.
Just check the date of manufacturer as well. Look at it as a used car and go in that way with your purchase. Look for any defects due to use and negotiate further discount. The warranty will be still the same for demo or new as long as you are the first owner for the demo. Say 4k km max.
Your comment is confusing.
There is NO CHANCE that a car with 4000km will not already have been registered.
99.9% of the time, when a dealer says 'demo' they mean the car has already been registered by them
I never said the car wasn't already registered.
OK. But what did you mean by 'Say 4k km max.' that's what confused me……as I thought you were still talking about being the first registered owner.
@oscargamer: I meant if you were going the demo car way then find something with no more than 4k km on the clock. Some dealers are still selling demos in the 6k km range which is a bit wrong. The less Kms the better obviously as there's less wear and likely abuse. But the more kms on it anyway the more used it is so should be more of a discount.
@Melb69: Right…..
I hate car sales people. Why can't they just be open and honest?
Why the stupid games?
Hopefully, soon, they will cease to exist, once the on-line car ordering thing kicks off properly. That said, no-one will actually 'own' their own car in twenty years…..
@oscargamer: When they don't exist, the manufacturer will set the price. They do that now, you're just wanting to negotiate.
Once you're happy to pay sticker price, your troubles will be over. Which is what you're hoping for…
@oscargamer: But its ok to call dealer staff "retards"
FYI the US tried fixed price car sales with the Saturn. that stopped 9 years ago. So being "honest" doesnt work out because we don't believe "honest" sales people.
As Spacebace says, we are all conditioned to negotiate on cars.
The last two cars I bought were vias phone/email negotiations. And yes some dealers were idiots, like the one who rang me back 3 days later after telling me their best price, to tell me he could have done better on the same car I had bought elsewhere.
And I had bought previously from that same dealership.
However as Spacebace has said as well, I never trade in to a dealer. Its just another way they make money from me. The car I am selling is worth $12K on the market. The dealer isnt going to give me $12K because thats all they can get for it. They have costs like warranty, staff commissions etc etc. So they want to buy it for $9K as they want to make a profit as well.
So by selling it myself I can make up to an extra $3K over what the dealer will offer.
But its ok to call dealer staff "retards"
Yep. I'd rather drink with the most rotten used car salesmen than someone when they speak like that.
@RockyRaccoon: If ever a carsalesman says "I could have done better on the same car for you"
Just reply
"You could have done better on commission for yourself too".
Later that day, the salesman comes back (having spoken to the GM - HA ! ) at a figure near my figure. More than 8k below the figure they couldn't possibly get lower than.
Trust me, you do not want that car.
Yep. Demo cars used to inflate the car sales per month figure as they would register them and counts as a new vehicle sale.
Now they have moved to a new systen which is partly why new car sales have been declining
New system? Can you elucidate?
@chumlee: About bloody time too. Good old Holden and their demo sales after getting dealers to license cars the month before to push sales numbers on vfacts
@spackbace: That article tells us how 'sales' have been happening for years. It DOES NOT tell us what the new system is……more stealership BS?
@oscargamer: Yes, the dealerships wrote that article.
You got us.
We all collaborated and became a journalist for caradvice. We're like the Borg.
Fk you're hilarious 😂
@spackbace: You won't, because you are too high and mighty, but have you seen this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10p4tujPvuM
You're right. Dealers didn't write that piece, manufacturers did.
@oscargamer: Lasted about 10 seconds on that vid, what was the point of it? That journos combined forces? Wtf does that have to do with dealers or manufacturers? Drive and Caradvice aren't run, or owned, by any manufacturer or dealership. They're journalists.
Are you able to go down 1 path in your argument or do you have to keep bringing up irrelevant shit?
We went from manufacturers demoing cars to fool vfacts figures (which they do, it's a known thing), to that being the fault of dealerships (it's not, they're governed by what HO tell them to do), to Drive and Caradvice merging.
Wtf
@spackbace: I think you need to take a time out and have a long hard look in the mirror at yourself and the area of work you have chosen to be part of.
Manufacturers won't give their advertising dollar to a publication that doesn't say nice things about their product.
Stealerships exist to exert every single dollar out of the customer.
You should have a look at things from the buyers perspective. https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&channel=cro…
Carsales men and women are scum. Nasty manipulative turds that the world wouldn't miss if they were all swallowed up by an intergalactic garbage truck.
Just read a few of the articles from my link and that's what we think of you (unless you can do a really good deal for us)
:)
Good night sweet prince, good night.
@oscargamer: I'll reiterate:
Are you able to go down 1 path in your argument or do you have to keep bringing up irrelevant shit?
Oh and judging people by their profession is fkn hilarious. It really is. You have no idea how much we get lied to, people thinking they're clever, as if we have never heard their lies before. It's laughable.
But again, statements like this:
Carsales men and women are scum. Nasty manipulative turds
Are hilarious and make you sound 12yo. Are you actually old enough to buy a car? Or did you just have an inability to negotiate? Because it's a pretty simple process.
Maybe 1 day you'll mature. I won't hold my breath tho. Not while you feel the need to write in caps to try to further some half-baked argument.
You should try a career in comedy 😉
@spackbace: I generally like your helpful advice navigating the car industry but the inherent positive bias often seeps in.
@oscargamer:AutoExpert TV has an agenda for clickbait profit
@oscargamer: @oscargamer You do realise we live in a capitalist society right? Everything you purchase or do revolves around money and everyone is profiting somewhere, you just have to be a moron not to understand that basic concept.
@Spacebace at least has the decency to be honest and provide inside industry information. Please tell us what do you do for a living that makes you so great to judge others for their profession.
Luv these spatz.
‘Intergalactic garbage truck’. Wonderful image. Curious to know what else the truck picks up, apart from car salespersons. And where it dumps the payload once the truck is full - a black hole at the far edge of the universe? Or released in far outer space to forever orbit some lonely unnamed planet?
I don't know about Mitsubishi but VW group vehicles the warranty starts the moment it's registered. This includes the dealer. A 6 month old demo will have used 6 months of warranty.
That changed about 18 months ago from memory after the accc cracked down on it. Warranty starts when it's transferred to new owner
If the Skoda / VW forums are anything to go by then VW have ignored the ACCC (which seems to be their modus operandi)
Interesting… that sounds pretty dodgy. Definitely something I hadn't considered.
Buy brand new or 1-2 years old. You will be paying near new price for a second hand car otherwise.
Wear a short skirt
The skirt won't help anyone with three legs.
You never know
You might get more than a car
I don't think my dad bod would be very attractive in a short skirt. Might be worth a shot though!
From a salesperson:
Imo tho there's a glut of ASXs out there. Compare price difference of new/demo/used. I doubt there's much of a difference.
"if they let you leave without buying, you've offered too little. They won't let you leave if a deal can be done."
ABSOLUTE CRAP.
If you leave having offered what you believe to be a reasonable price and they let you walk AND YOU LEAVE YOUR DETAILS AND THEY DON'T CALL YOU AFTER A NUMBER OF DAYS, then you might have offered too little AT THAT STEALERSHIP. That price may well succeed at the next one. Depends on lots of factors.
Calm down sunshine jees you act like I attacked your significant other or some shit! Holy crap 😂 Leave the caps lock button alone if you want to be taken seriously.
Now onto the topic at hand…
It's been years since I have witnessed a customer allowed to leave, and a Manager said "hey call them back and say we'll do it". If you are prepared to actually put your offer in writing (not just trying to verbally negotiate but to really put in a signed offer), and they let you leave, then your offer was ridiculous.
Every dealer pays the same amount for their cars. Only things that differ are demo vs new, and separate states having different stamp duty values.
But hey, take the word of the irrational person above me who would buy a car every few years, or the person who deals with vehicle purchasing every single day 😂
OK, sure.
One side of the fence vs the other.
If you seriously expect us to believe that every dealer gets the same margin from every car, then you are either a fool or a liar.
Did you actually read that article? It talks of bonuses and other incentives to 'sell' (register) cars. Each stealership sets the actual sale price of each car based on numerous factors. Please tell me I'm wrong.
Please tell me I'm wrong.
You're wrong.
Though you'll never believe that so why bother going into detail?
@spackbace: Hmmmm…..ok.
Just a link then, to a pertinent article? or relevant objective piece of literature?
Like I said, fool or liar….you tell me which?
@oscargamer: Spaceback (I always read it like that) was offering useful information. He gains nothing from this. Why do you keep attacking him?
Just a link then, to a pertinent article?
Can you elucidate?
One minute you're typing in all caps using made-up words like "STEALERSHIP", the next you sound like you've just devoured a dictionary.
You realise that if it costs a dealership $20k for a car, they won't sell it to you for less just because you think $19k is fair value. At the end of the day they need to make money. Dealerships have notoriously low margins and there is ample literature out for this. That is not the say they never made good money but most dealerships made money from owning the land + huge margins pre-internet days. Those days are gone.
Thanks Spackbace for the advice. It is sounding like demo cars aren't really worth it. Is there are a better SUV/4WD at the same price range?
Around $25k? Tbh not really. Though with the ASX I'd look to a 1yo one for under $20k, or see how much they can wiggle on a new one
Qashqai
More room, nicer ride, nicer CVT gearbox, a boot you can fit a pram in.
From memory the ASX has better infotainment (wow, touch screen…).
If you can stretch, an auto Xtrail is often $26k a few months each year. There is a demo auto with 2500km for under $25k
Qashqai is very good, (i have it). There is a lot of boot space (like you said). I think the main disadvantage of Qashqai is once you put your foot on the pedal, the engine just revs a lot. It is quite loud. This is probably because of it a 4 cylinder engine rather than a 6 cylinder like my previous car ( Toyota Aurion). With that being said, Nissan maintains its safety standards throughout all their vehicles which is a major positive.
Buy a wagon. Golf or Octavia wagons can be had in that price range easily and are better drives and have more space.
if they let you leave without buying, you've offered too little. They won't let you leave if a deal can be done.
My experience in buying new cars have been quite the opposite (1 Alfa Romeo - a terrible mistake, I knew of it a few months after purchasing, and then 2 Nissans from different dealers, and then a Toyota). I made my offer and was explicitly told it was too little on more than one occasion in different words by different dealers. Dropped in my contact info and walked away to the next dealer, and guess who calls back later? Every single time.
Of course, the responsibility relies on me to ensure that I know that exact car, including the trim level I want, and a fair price for that. And then I need to ensure that the dealer understands I'm serious about buying my car in the next few days. But each new car I purchased, every dealership let me leave without buying, only to call me back later to sell the car at the price I specified.
how often would you see salsesmsan using the technique to just let them leave then calling them afterwards to say yes?
fyi: i did this once, they never called me back
"if they let you leave without buying, you've offered too little. They won't let you leave if a deal can be done."
Not always. I went to give my local stealers the benefit of the doubt (closest dealer that does any recalls, but they're not very competitive, still, distance/time. I offered them a fair price, they couldn't possibly sell it at that. Wouldn't even alow a test drive to give me time to decide. I left, next day a few more at less than I'd offered came up on Carsales (lucky escape me!). 2.5 months later the same car is still for sale at 2k less than I offered and they "couldn't let go for less than". So, obviously a lie, but why bother? They'd have made a sale, obviously some profit, and cleared a space for a new car that might have also turned around in that time, it makes little sense to take the mickey out of your customers as your business as usual rule, I'd have been happy to buy again from them (ended up doing just that where we bought my partners car last year, as they didn't treat us like vermin, and seemed aware that 7 dealers within 50km also sold the exact same vehicles!)
Whether that's all stealers, or just this one is particularly dodgy, I'm not sure, but it seems there are no rules, only guidelines, and it's more the fact that all dealers act as if they're doing you a favour even entertaining allowing you to buy one of their products, when they all sell the same thing. Good guys didn't demand my commitment before selling me 12k of white goods, they just met the price I was willing to pay. And didn't make me feel like ai needed a bath after talking to them.
Car purchasing, being the second largest purchase most people make, should be a lot less creepy than it is.
That said, Spaceback does offer some helpful insights into the industry, for which we're all appreciative, if cynical!
You don’t want an ASX, it’s an ancient design that hasn’t been updated in years. It’s not close to the competition in anyway. Get a Hyundai or a Tiguan or a RAV4.
Shit, I agree with you 😂
I put the Rav4 in for your benefit.
😘
@spackbace: I actually think that despite my reservations over the awd system, the new Rav 4 is a very good car for what it is. It’s not just a corolla on stilts anymore.
@[Deactivated]: Yeah you're certainly not going to smash 1 around a track any time soon, but the hybrid rav is such a nice drive. A lot nicer than a standard petrol car (comparing drive of Camry 2.5 to RAV4 hybrid). Customers try to compare it to the competition and most come back in to order one.
Cruiser model hybrids have been selling like crazy. Fair call considering its only $7k between entry level GX and top of the range Cruiser.
I had an ASX hire car recently. If you are a "car person" then they probably disappoint. If you just need a run-a-bout then they are totally adequate and cheap as chips and have all the modern tech that most people need/want. I wouldn't buy one but if my daughter said she wanted one I wouldn't object.
Is there anything wrong with the ASX or features it is lacking in that 25k price range that the other cars at a similar price have?
The ASX was designed to a price. It's not the age of the platform. Two you mentioned are just as old, but they both have had several major chassis upgrades.
Nissan's are the only choice at this price range. The lowest I have seen one of those three is ~$27k with a ton of km's in poor condition.
You can typically get a new car at a demo price with Mitsubishi only way you can get one cheaper is if the dealership has service loaner payments on the vehicle from Mitsubishi. To get maximum service payments the car would need to be registered for at least 5 months meaning the vehicle is most likely last years build. As the ASX is a quick mover you will find that dealerships either have sold their service loaner or use it to advertise online to sell new cars off it. Typically you won't want this vehicle as it's not your desired colour and it will have bumps and bruises on it. If you see a cheap one online that's advertised thousands cheaper than the rest it's either a used car or it's had damaged to it. If your in QLD send me a message and I'll sell you one ;) no bull shiting around.
That makes sense. Maybe new is the way to go. I'm in QLD so I sent you a message.
That's not how Mitsubishi structures their bonuses.
You have an age and km hold before you can gut the car online.
As you seem to be currently employed by Mitsubishi, it is not smart to be talking about their cost structure online.
If you want to get extreme, go through a broker. That's how you get the most discount. The only caveat is with brands such as Mazda or Euro vehicles.
Used to be in the game New & Used plus a little wholesale. Broker's deal directly with either the sales manager of even fleet depending on the dealer.
No, being honest about what you are trying to achieve with your sales person is the best way to get the best deal. Or search car sales by price, then buy that vehicle. If you sales person won't work with you to achieve your goal, find another one.
Brokers have a fee. That fee gets added to the cost of your car.
do brokers only work for new cars or used cars as well? im interesetd if anyone actaully save a lot
Going to a car dealer for a good price?
Some Demo cars are a great buy, we brought one 10 years ago, a Kia Rio and it had 12km on it. It was registered for about a week so we got the full 5-year warranty minus a week.
A lot of dealers will register a car to say they sold a car to meet the monthly quota.
I wouldn't buy a true demo car with a few thousand km on it though.
You can always try and negotiate a brand new car for the price advertised for a demo …….you should be able to get around 15% off the recommended drive away price.
you should be able to get around 15% off the recommended drive away price.
15% off a cheap car normally means the car was significantly over priced to begin with, it has had significant damage or it is discontinued and it's replacement has been out for at least a quarter.
I know people who prided them self on never letting a customer walk. The 15% off budget cars were all significantly repaired.
You could try calling a car fleet company and see how much their prices are. Because they buy in volume they can get some discounts of the list price.
That'll be a good baseline to start off with. Then in your discussions with dealerships you'll know if what they're offering is a reasonable price or not.
Once you hit the ceiling with price and you think they won't budge anymore, ask for other benefits/extra to improve the value proposition. i.e. free servicing, extended warranty, options in the car, etc
Good luck!
I don't know how typical an experience mine is but we recently bought a car with 1,100 on the clock. Drive away price was in the window as $53,888 we purchased for $48,990 (almost ten percent less than it was advertised at).
As an earlier post of mine shows I am far from a car person and there are probably many factors at different dealerships that come into play… The dealer initially told us they couldn't get the 'first number under 5' but we went from that to the contract within half an hour I think (it all happened very fast - from just looking to sold quicker than we had thought).
ETA - we didn't play what I consider games. We did not need to buy but the car suited our needs. Assuming the price did too we were ready to buy. We told the dealer this and as I said came to an agreement relatively quickly after we started talking sums. Our research before making the offer suggested the first price was okay, we are pretty happy with what we paid. I say pretty as less is always better with these things!
be careful with ex-demo might have had maintenance done but also highly used work car.
that said bought an ex-demo liberty with 150k km and other than a heap of recalls has had no issues. was a few grand cheaper but will flog off before long
150,000km is pushing the definition of a demo.
Op:
ex-demo
Me:
ex-demo
You:
demo
You are the first person who I've ever heard refer to a car with 150k km on it as an "ex-demo".
To me that is simply a "used car" and its "ex-demo" status is completely irrelevant
It seems very clear from the context and all other comments that the OP is referring to a car sold immediately after being used as a demo model. E.g when they ask "Is there a difference in how to get the price down on an ex-demo vs a brand new car?"
A lot of of knowledgeable comments and the discount quantum to request. I once walked into a Porsche stealership and the arrogant salesman told me there are no discount for Porsche cars! Is this real? I gave up on my search for demo Macan.
The other comments*** I get from salesman is “if you want this price YY, you are always welcome to buy from another stealership”. This also show their arrogance.
Just leave and then drive past them with the new porsche you bought from the other dealer.
An ex-demo is a used car that has been trashed from cold its entire life.
Don't buy an ex-demo.
If you wonder why the demo cars kms are because demos have been used by staff for 2 months (to from work, personal use)
once a demo car gets over say 200km…i wouldnt call it even a demo car.
Edit: Every 2 months staff can request to change
Just ask for a discount then negotiate.
Perhaps first ask how much THEY would pay for a used car which they sold with say 5,000km and then use that as your starting point
Bought 2 cars in the last 13 months here. Both were at least 17% off the rrp driveaway prices.
Negotiate hard and you will get them 🙂
Prepare to be underwhelmed with the discount