What do you guys think about buying an XJ dealer demo? The downside is that even though they all claim it was "driven by the owner" it is highly likely it was used for test drives by guys who drove it like it was stolen (as I tend to do on test drives). But, one upside is that the dealership is likely to keep it in tip-top shape (fix all squeaks and rattles) so prospective buyers see the car at its best.

Please let me know your thoughts.

 

The only issue is the warranty start date, which I believe begins when the dealer registers the demo, not when you buy it. I could be wrong on that, but that's my understanding. Outside of that, I think you run as much of a risk that an owner ragged the car vs. the dealer and their test drivers. In a manual transmission it's far worse, but with an automatic...I think it's all about the deal being where you want it to be, and not used vs. new vs. dealer demo. They buy the demos at a very heavy discount, so if they're just giving you $6k off MSRP or something, run, don't walk, to the nearest exit.

 

Unless you're talking about romping thru corn fields or imitations of the chase scene in "Bullit", I wouldn't worry too much. They're not made of glass :-)





If you like the car and like the price, I wouldn't let being a "demo" stand in the way.


Cheers
DD

 

Thanks for the input. Related question - does anybody know whether Jag gives the dealer a price break on cars that will be used as demos. For example, if Jag sells the dealer a car at "invoice" that is intended for resale, does Jag sell them a car intended for demo use at a price less than "invoice?"

 

The actual price paid by the dealer is the same no matter what they choose to do with the car. The only demo cars that a dealer pays less for are factory demos & most of those are sold to Jag dealers only at auction. They come on an MSO & can be leased or financed as a new car.

 

Wasn't there a member here that purchased a demo car, had nothing but problems with it but couldn't lemon-law it because the lemon-law only applies to new cars? I recall he was trying to get Jaguar to exchange it for another car but don't know if he was ever successful. Don't recall who it was either.

 

It's plausible. Lemon laws vary from state-to-state.

Usually, though, demos are sold as new cars, not used. That is, they've never been sold and titled to a purchaser. Here again state differences might come into play.

Cheers
DD

 

I just did a search and it was New2Jag that had the issues with his demo car. My point wasn't necessarily about lemon-law coverage (or not) but rather that just because a car is a dealer demo that one should not assume that any problems would already have been addressed. It looks like New2Jag eventually had his car replaced because he could never get the electronic gremlins fixed.

 

100% false statement...no idea where you got that information, but forget that you ever heard any of it...all incorrect. Please contact any jaguar dealer for verification. Jaguar Corp allows dealers to buy demos the exact same way they would buy any other car for inventory. The cars have stipulations, such as they must be sold as demos with under 6k (something like that) miles, and they can not be sold within the first 90 days of receipt. The cars are purchased by the dealers at about a 20% discount to their traditional cost. This is gospel. That is why I said that unless the discount is substantial, don't bother with a demo...they are ripping you off.

 

Yes, that's exactly correct. See post above.

 

I would love to know where you got this info from?? Having worked for a Jaguar dealer for the last 30 years i have never heard of what you are referring to. The factory cars sold at auction are sold in a closed auction, open to dealers only. The dealers are offered some of the executive cars at different times but never with any mileage or time restrictions. I think you may be confusing new car programs & incentives all into a very general statement. To quote you "100% false statement" It is statements like yours that cause a lot of confusion with consumers.

 

It's clear that I'm not going to prove it to you unless you inquire with the GM of your dealership. The question posed was whether a Jaguar dealer gets their demo cars at a discount to any other type of new car inventory. The answer is a resounding "yes", and there are specific stipulations set forth by Jaguar Corporate in exchange for said discounted vehicle. One of them is the duration that you must hold it prior to selling (lest dealers simply buy them and immediately sell them for a greater profit than other new merchandise), and the other is that you must sell them before the reach a certain mileage. If you simply look at it logically, why would any dealer want to purchase a car to use as a demo if it cost the same price to them? It follows logically that a dealer needs to be incentivised to have a demo on the lot, and that in turn is helpful for corporate in terms of their sales.

All I can say, outside of the aforementioned logic, is that I sat with the GM of a Jaguar dealer, and had a long drawn out conversation exactly on this topic. It went something like "how do you get demos? Does Jag corporate incentivise you to have them? What price do you actually buy a demo for from coporate vs. any other new car inventory? What are the stipulations to getting the demo at a discount? yada yada yada. Either I was lied to by the GM, or you are misinformed.

What did you do for the dealership for 30 years that provided you with insight into the question at hand regarding the dealer pricing on demos? If you truly were in a position to intimately know what the dealer pays to get a XJ new to use as a demo, and the stipulations surrounding that, then I apologize, you are coorect, and I will never post in this forum ever again because I'm frankly too stupid to ever add value to any future topics. I feel that confident that what I've written is 100% gospel. Sometimes you think you're 100% right, and you're completely wrong...as much as I hate to think it's possible, it is.

I will see what I can do about getting a written response from that GM to corroborate my comments. If I'm wrong, it was nice spending some time with you folks.

 

Like I said all dealers pay the same price for all the cars. There is no price reduction on the cars destined to be demos. There is a demo program that allows a dealer to put a car into a demo status ( the number of cars allowed based on sales volume) they can stay in this status for up to 90 days to recieve max incentive. They also are required to have a demo log showing who drove the car & how many miles driven (this is for audit purpose only). The cars driven by dealer owners etc do not come under this program. Jaguar will also at different times have programs for dealers to put cars into loaner service as well. We get no direct reduction in price for a car destined to be a demo. As I said you are confusing different programs they have had all into one. I think if you were to ask your dealers GM to be more specific you may have a better understanding on demos & other incentive programs that might available or were in the past. The programs that Jag offers come to us at the beginning of each month & are updates thru the month. You should ask your friendly GM to show you the latest programs on JBN (he will know what that means). This would give you a true insight into our buisness instead of your general from the hip statements. I think after that you will be able to post reality not your percerption. I have the abality to go into the Jag system & reprint in original invoice on your car as do all Jag dealers. It would be the same as we pay for our Supersports.

 

I have no reason or basis to disagree. However, my first thoughts were "Is that the ONLY way a dealer acquires a demo and puts it into service?" and "How long has it been that way?"

I spent 30+ years of my life at new car dealers and although none were Jaguar, the incentives, process, legalities and even individual dealer practices regarding demos varied and changed quite a bit. I seriously doubt that Jaguar of America and its dealers always do it one way and have always done it that same way.

I drove demos for many years myself. Usually it was a car already in inventory...usually one that had multiple twins. Sometimes the dealers themselves would order a special car for his personal (or his wife's) use as a "demo" (believe me...they were never used as demonstrators) but sometimes they'd select one out of inventory. I recall that most incentives came when the car was sold to a retail buyer....and not at the time it was pruchased from the manufacturer. But again, these things often change...even with the same manufacturer...as time goes by.





Good grief, a bit of an over reaction, don't ya think?

Cheers
DD

 

Doug you are correct, the biggest problem today is that cars get driven as demos at dealerships & are never written down on their books so they own a car with miles for the same money as one with no miles. The other problem is the warranty clock will start to tick if the car has over 1000 miles on it. You will notice with changes in tax laws regarding demos a lot of dealers are going to an allowance for a car instead of gving a demo. I am sure if our resident know-it-all does speak to his GM he may learn why a dealer employee would be in a lease. The owner @ our dealership leases 2 cars for personal use.

 

I'm not a know-it-all in the least. As a matter of fact, I went as far as to say that, while I feel extremely confident in what I've been told, that I could be wrong. And if that is the case, I will cease and decist posting on this forum as punishment to myself (and relief to others perhaps) for my stupidity. I think that's the polar opposite of a know-it-all...someone who says that they actually could be wrong, despite how confident they feel that they are right. And who, if wrong, will actually take responsibility for that.

 

No matter what you call it, it looks like the dealers do get some sort of a break when buying demos--if not a lower price up front, then some other sort of incentive with restrictions on mileage and time for sale to keep them honest. It still lowers their cost and makes perfect sense--Jaguar has to make it less painful for a dealer to put cars out there for prospective buyers to drive without them having to take a hugh hit on resale. That's one of the things that really irritates me about motorcycle manufacturers/dealers--very rarely can you get a test ride on a new model at a dealer. You have to wait for some sort of a demo ride at a show and wait in a huge line.

 

There is no need to cease posting just because you're 100% wrong on a topic where you say you're very confident of your words and pretty sure you're saying facts .
No one is blaming you or can not ,this is friendly discussion .Everyone can do mistakes . So, disagreements,misconceptions can happen anytime and you're not trying to fool anyone besides you're trying to navigate a good way in your facts but these could be wrong too .
Believe in me , there is no worth leavin' the forums for that

 

Except for the poor fellow who asked the original question we all own new fantastic cars. Why are we always so damn testy about everything on this forum?

Everyone needs to go take a nice long Sunday drive.

 

All forums develop some threads where posters get on each other--some are more caustic than others due to the anonymous nature of postings (one would think twice about saying some of those things to a person's face or if they knew who you were and could look you up).
Take it with a grain of salt and move on to the next thread--don't throw in the towel.