Last minute purchase fears!

Hey guys,

First off, I'm not having any second thoughts about the C or anything, I'm totally stoked to be getting this car!

But it is my first vehicle purchase, and as such it's an exciting but scary experience.

The color I ordered apparently arrived last week on the lot (nobody called to tell me, and I only found several days later when I called to ask if there was any news) Anyway, I'm scheduled to take delivery on Saturday, but I suddenly started questioning: what do i do if the car has a bunch of miles on it already? Is there a ballpark number when paying new vehicle price that this should become a concern? (Or is this just silly paranoia?)

I did a quick bit of searching online and it seems there could be many explanations in such a situation: moving the car between dealerships, testing that occurs at the manufacturing plant, or (least appealingly) that the vehicle has been getting test driven/loaned out frequently.

Anyway, just wondering what other people's odometer readouts were on purchase, and if it's even something worth worrying over...

Thanks!

this was my first brand new car too
my odo was at 9km

My WRX purchased in 2003 had 8 miles on it. My Prius v purchased last month had 58 miles. I think it had been on the lot for about a week according to the salesman. The person who ordered it backed out for some reason. You could ask how the miles you find on there got there. Even if a few test drives happened in it, in my opinion it's mostly psychological... people aren't exactly drag racing prii.

I just got mine on Monday and there were 25 miles on it. It was my very first vehicle purchase as well and as exciting as it was, I was terrified the whole time! It's a roller coaster but I LOVE my Summer Rain Metallic Prius C!

When I got my C it had 9 miles on it.

Thanks for the replies everyone!

I'd be totally thrilled to if it's within 100km or so. The dealer said he had gotten my vehicle from another Toyota dealership, so I'm kinda prepared for the potential that it was driven and not transported between the two, but it'll somehow feel pretty disheartening if it's got something like 3-400kms and had been getting test driven by lord knows who (although ZpriusV5 has a point, how aggressively would anyone really drive a Prius?)

I doubt anyone drove it that hard. But my C didn't sit at the dealer it still had to be shipped over and brought to the dealer waited a few days for it to arrive lol. I'm sure there won't be that many miles on it.

26 miles on mine. It was driven from another dealer in the area. My dealer detailed it before I picked it up so not a single smudge when I got it.

5 miles on mine at time of purchase, right off the dealership truck shipment.

Mine had 100 miles on it.

Mine had 13 miles on it when I test drove it, and by the time we purchased it we had put an additional 14 miles on. So when we took actual possession the odo was at 27 miles. I guess it depends on how far it had to move from one dealership to another and how many test drove it without buying it.

Mine had 110 miles, but I knew that they had t drive it down from another dealer (they made a swap to get the color and package that I wanted. It didn't worry me. I think some states have a mileage threshhold for whether they can sell a car as "new"

My SRM C3 had 18 miles when I got the delivery after I ordered over the phone. The car was transported from a dealer 300 miles away from my place, on a 2 car transport trailer. It was very hard to find the color anywhere in the vicinity of 250 miles !

Word. Any big ticket purchase is always a bit nerve wracking. The only cure is to do it many times!

Your experience sounds normal. Most dealership salespeople are too lazy to follow up with customers, even if there's a commission hanging in the balance. It's rather amazing, but nevertheless, normal.

With your car is coming from another dealership, it's tough to know beforehand if it's been test driven. Typically "sold" cars are not allowed to be driven [any further], however you'll just have to wait and see. Anything over 100 miles would start raising eyebrows and asking for more freebies to be thrown in to ease the annoyance of not being the one to break its cherry. After all, you're buying a new car, not a used one. Just for comparison, my c Two had 9 miles on it and allegedly I was the 1st test drive. The "first heat cycle" smells certainly indicated I was the first test drive.

Since the Atkinson cycle engine runs differently [i.e. more relaxed & always Stoich] than the typical Otto cycle, break-in is far less "human". As such, if you had to pick a car to buy that *had* to be test-driven by others, a Prius is probably one of the best, as there's literally nothing the driver can do to strain the engine. Now, brakes & tires on the other hand, I certainly gave a hella-workout during my lengthy test drive!

I am also in the process of buying a Prius C II. My car should arrive next week by truck from about 300 miles away. I hope my car has fewer than 30 miles on it, it is challenging to find a II. Many of the Cs on the area lots are 3s or 4s.

Thanks again guys!

My rational mind has finally caught up to my more eager irrational one. I'm sure in the case of the C they probably turn over their limited inventory pretty fast, and even if this one is coming from another lot, it probably wasn't sitting there for long either. Just excited more than anything now!

That's great! I can almost guarantee you, you are going to LOVE it!

Btw, what color did you choose?

My 12 Camry hybrid xle had 3 miles after prep and gas 4 when I picked it up but 20-30 is reasonable depending where it came from. I once walked from a deal similar to yours. I had a down payment on a crv coming in off a truck and they never called. I happen to see it on the lot no sold sign etc. someone or 2 test drove it so i got my deposit back. It was principal for me and I bought 9 other cars from them so they got sloppy = lost sale. Just because you think we are friends it's still a business deal so get it right the first time. Okay ending my rant.

Motodisney yeah that sort of scenario is where my jaded mind initially went, and I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being partially the case. But with some of the wait times I've seen people mention around here, I think I'll be able to shrug off any dealer shenanigans rather that wait a year (?!) for a fresh one straight off a boat just to get the first couple hundred km to myself

3 miles on mine. From the dock to the inspection. Salesman said only one person drove the car and that was the inspector. I waited 2 months for my car so I'm glad no one else drove it. Got the car the morning it arrived at the dealership