Question For AutoBrag: Why Is There Mileage On A New Car
Question: I was shopping for a Honda today and a dealership wanted to sell me a “new” car that already had 190 miles on it. They claim it was a trade with another dealership that was driven here from another state. Is this normal practice? Or is this car basically a demo/test drive car that has been driven hard? Advice, please!
Queen of the Road: Hi there. Welcome to AutoBragBlog!
All of us car enthusiasts like to see the odometer at 00000 but chances are that is never going to happen. WHY? New cars have to go through something called Pre Delivery Inspection (PDI for short). This is a process that occurs for every new car before it is sold to a new car buyer. Usually, the PDI is performed after the new cars come off of the trucks that transport the cars. The dealership will inspect just about everything and this includes taking the car out for a spin which will put on miles.
As to the Honda you are looking at… technically even with 190 miles it is indeed a new car. Dealerships often trade inventory with other dealerships for specific trims of a particular car. The reason being customer A goes to the dealer and requests a car that is not in stock. This dealer will go into the inventory system and look for the exact car the customer is looking for. Upon locating the car it is transported to the dealership. However, with that being said if two identical new Hondas were next to each other we would pick the one with the lower miles as well.
Remember, this is your money and if you don’t like the way things are going then simply wait until you feel absolutely comfortable.
