When you lease a new car, should it already have mileage?

[zCypher]

When my bro drove his new echo hatchback home (bahaha ) ... it had something like 2 or 5km on it. Acceptable, right?
When I got my Lancer a few months ago... (new) it had 200km+ on it. I didn't notice right away, only when i was already on the highway (but had only driven about 10km... had just left the dealer lot). But there was 200+ kilometers on it already! I haven't had any major problems yet but this still bothers me. How come it had mileage on it? Isn't it SUPPOSED to be at 0 or close to it when you pick up the car?

I don't really know, this is why I'm asking - so if you've leased a car or many cars please put in your two cents on the matter. Thanks

btw.. camaro is still going strong haven't put a cent into it in since the initial trouble when i first got the car. woot!

 

[iamwiz82]

i would assume it was from testing/transportation and maybe a salesperson used it on a test drive.

 

[Amorphus]

might want to change the oil, then.

 

[zCypher]

Originally posted by: Amorphus
might want to change the oil, then.

?? I have (twice) already.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Originally posted by: zCypher

Originally posted by: Amorphus
might want to change the oil, then.

?? I have (twice) already.

wtf for?

A lot of dealers have to swap cars. If the Chevy dealer here wants a particular Tahoe from another dealer, they have to send one of theirs to replace it. The dealership may be a couple of hundred miles away.

The car I wanted was 120 miles away. So when I got it, it had about 135 miles on it.

 

[freebee]

See what your LA indicates. Make sure they indicated the mileage when you leased it, otherwise they may charge you for it later. And stop changing the oil so much.

 

[StageLeft]

Dealers swapping cars, test drives, and driving it from where it was shipped to are going to add miles. Least miles I've ever driven on a car (and I've test driven many new ones) were 9 on a recent car. If your car is shipped on a boat it will have to be driven from the docks to the dealer. I think most new cars I've driven had in the ballpark of 20-50, most of those probably test drive miles.

He didn't say how long ago it was on his lancer. I'm guessing he isn't changing the oil every 100 miles, so he must be well into the thousands by now.

 

[AkumaX]

my friend got a car w/ 300 miles in CA. is that still considered "new" from the dealership (she bought it as new)

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: AkumaX
my friend got a car w/ 300 miles in CA. is that still considered "new" from the dealership (she bought it as new)

AFAIK any car is "new" if it's not been titled before, totally regardless of mileage. That would probably be considered a demo model and should come with a discount.

 

[dartworth]

One of the first things I did when I picked up my truck was check the odometer. 8 miles on it.

The car a bouhgt before that only had .8 miles on it.

Once you leave the lot, it would be hard to prove anything. I also remember signing some document which stated the mileage when I pick up the car.

 

[FelixDeCat]

Well Ive owned 13 cars in 15 years. 3 of those were new. The most one had new was 33miles. The least was 11miles.

 

[Zenmervolt]

200Km is on the high end, but as others have said, it's not unheard-of.

ZV

 

[GtPrOjEcTX]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: AkumaX
my friend got a car w/ 300 miles in CA. is that still considered "new" from the dealership (she bought it as new)

AFAIK any car is "new" if it's not been titled before, totally regardless of mileage. That would probably be considered a demo model and should come with a discount.

huh? I'm pretty sure dealerships can sell a car as "new" if it has < 3,000 miles on it. Sucks but true.

edit: Confused "new" and "demo".

 

[mugs]

My car had 135 miles on it... they had to pick it up from New York.

 

[PeeluckyDuckee]

200? I'd consider that being a bit close to demo territory and wouldn't touch it.

 

[v3rrv3]

May I ask what the point of leasing a car is? I've never really understood it, is there some "lease to own" thing like with renting?

- Kevin

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: v3rrv3
May I ask what the point of leasing a car is? I've never really understood it, is there some "lease to own" thing like with renting?

- Kevin

Generally leasing is used by those who want to drive a car nicer than what others would consider this person can truly afford. In some cases there are tax benefits to it though. My father has leased for years for this reason.

 

[InverseOfNeo]

Originally posted by: v3rrv3
May I ask what the point of leasing a car is? I've never really understood it, is there some "lease to own" thing like with renting?

- Kevin

Ive never really understood it either. From what I can tell you pretty much pay the total cost of the car by leasing it but then you have to give it back. There is usualy a buy-out option but I dont understand the whole concept of leasing.