[Rob_G77]

I saw my dealership has listed a few expensive (XM, X5MC) vehicles as 'used' on their website, even though they were never sold or even driven. Are they doing this to collect money from manufacturer incentives for themselves?

Rob

[Mason Hatcher]

How do you know they were not driven? Mileage?

[MADBMWX5MC]

Interesting...what years?

[NSXR]

There are multiple reasons for this. Some cars have to be titled to be sold x dollars over sticker. Sometimes the vehicle goes over a certain milage as a loaner and the manufacturer forces them to sell it as used. Sometimes dealerships are missing their new car sales numbers by just a tiny fraction and will purchase inventory cars to hit the numbers, then sell them as used. Also, most of the time factory allocations are dependent on sales, so no sale, no new allocation. Buying the car forces a new allocation. There are also factory "spiffs" or "dealer cash" on certain cars in certain months, so if they can make an additional thousand dollars on the back end, then they have more money to work with on the front end for the customer, and probably more of a profit for them overall.

[soldes]

Originally Posted by NSXR

There are multiple reasons for this. Some cars have to be titled to be sold x dollars over sticker. Sometimes the vehicle goes over a certain milage as a loaner and the manufacturer forces them to sell it as used. Sometimes dealerships are missing their new car sales numbers by just a tiny fraction and will purchase inventory cars to hit the numbers, then sell them as used. Also, most of the time factory allocations are dependent on sales, so no sale, no new allocation. Buying the car forces a new allocation. There are also factory "spiffs" or "dealer cash" on certain cars in certain months, so if they can make an additional thousand dollars on the back end, then they have more money to work with on the front end for the customer, and probably more of a profit for them overall.

What he said is spot on, for the possible reasons for this occurrence..

[Rob_G77]

Originally Posted by Mason Hatcher

How do you know they were not driven? Mileage?

I know because the vehicles have been on the lot a long time now. Besides, even if they were driven, that in itself doesn't make them used. Only being registered does that.

I'll ask when I'm there today.

Rob

[RockCrusher]

Originally Posted by Rob_G77

I know because the vehicles have been on the lot a long time now. Besides, even if they were driven, that in itself doesn't make them used. Only being registered does that.

I'll ask when I'm there today.

Rob

NSXR covered it very well.

If you are considering an otherwise new vehicle that has been listed as sold you need to get it in writing what the warranty period is.

A vehicle reported sold to the factory starts the warranty clock running.

[Mason Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Rob_G77

I know because the vehicles have been on the lot a long time now. Besides, even if they were driven, that in itself doesn't make them used. Only being registered does that.

I'll ask when I'm there today.

Rob

So you don't know about the mileage or if they've been driven. Odd assumption on your part. Odd OP question, too.

[MADBMWX5MC]

Originally Posted by Rob_G77

I know because the vehicles have been on the lot a long time now. Besides, even if they were driven, that in itself doesn't make them used. Only being registered does that.

I'll ask when I'm there today.

Rob

Great, you got our attention...looking fwd to what you find...

[BMWCCA1]

It is also possible they are listed as "used" to get around BMW's requirement that website inventory of new cars only indicate MSRP. Whether that means a higher or a lower price depends on how hot or distressed that model is at the time.

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by NSXR

There are multiple reasons for this. Some cars have to be titled to be sold x dollars over sticker. Sometimes the vehicle goes over a certain milage as a loaner and the manufacturer forces them to sell it as used. Sometimes dealerships are missing their new car sales numbers by just a tiny fraction and will purchase inventory cars to hit the numbers, then sell them as used. Also, most of the time factory allocations are dependent on sales, so no sale, no new allocation. Buying the car forces a new allocation. There are also factory "spiffs" or "dealer cash" on certain cars in certain months, so if they can make an additional thousand dollars on the back end, then they have more money to work with on the front end for the customer, and probably more of a profit for them overall.

Originally Posted by soldes

What he said is spot on, for the possible reasons for this occurrence..

In the industry they call this being “punched”. As in getting one’s ticket punched.

[orca-san]

what years are they doing this for?

[BXMW]

Originally Posted by RockCrusher

NSXR covered it very well.

If you are considering an otherwise new vehicle that has been listed as sold you need to get it in writing what the warranty period is.

A vehicle reported sold to the factory starts the warranty clock running.

+1 with a caveat. The car still needs to be “in service” and this can be different for different manufacturers but BMWs need to have at least 300 miles on the odometer.

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by RockCrusher

NSXR covered it very well.

If you are considering an otherwise new vehicle that has been listed as sold you need to get it in writing what the warranty period is.

A vehicle reported sold to the factory starts the warranty clock running.

Originally Posted by BXMW

+1 with a caveat. The car still needs to be “in service” and this can be different for different manufacturers but BMWs need to have at least 300 miles on the odometer.

This is a definite downside to buying a new BMW that has been punched. As RockCrusher mentioned, once it is punched/reported as sold to BMWNA the warranty clock starts running. Unless BMWNA has changed their rules in the last few years it doesn’t matter how many miles it has on it.

[Rob_G77]

Originally Posted by Mason Hatcher

So you don't know about the mileage or if they've been driven. Odd assumption on your part. Odd OP question, too.

The XM has been in the showroom from day 1. The advertised mileage on the website is 17km. It's still in the showroom.

This dealership also doesn't put mileage on any of their M cars because they know customers don't want one with mileage on it. They might allow a test drive for interested purchaser, but they still try to keep mileage very low, 50km or less. The X5MC has been sitting outside for 6+ months.

I was going to ask, everyone was gone for lunch when I was there so I didn't get an answer. No big deal...

edit - asked today and the dealership manager admitted it was so they could cash in incentives for themselves.

Rob