Delivery mileage: What is acceptable?

[HGUS]

What would be acceptable delivery mileage on collection of a brand new Lexus?

I am interested to know what the mileage was when people went to collect their brand new Lexus.

[Malc1]

I see brand new cars, all marques,  being driven from import ships to local open storage and then presumably on trailers to Main Dealers 

Thats about 4/5 miles maybe alone 🤔

They sometimes chase around like cars/cats outta hell too 😰

Malc 

[GMB]

I used to see the bedford and transit vans being driven from Southampton to the North up the M6.  Bat out of hell comes close to the driving. Then some poor mug tries to run them in at 40 mph. The damage is already done. Good for the dealers though, with oil leaks and bearing/piston ring failure at about 30K.

[HGUS]

Arrived at dealer yesterday and noticed 8 miles, via Lexus Link App.  By the end of the day, yesterday, I noticed it had upped to 22 miles.  Does anyone think that this is starting to get a little on the high side?  I still don't know if it's going to get any higher before collection!

On collection of my previous Lexus it was less than half the above stated 22 miles.

I'm interested to know what other people's miles were on collection of their Lexus?

 

[Gary H]

All barring one occasion my new cars have been in single digits on the day of collection. I think the lowest I've had was 3. My NX had 6 on it when I collected that. 

The highest I've had was my second to last Audi. They had a very similar one, unregistered in stock, up in Bolton. I'd accepted that one to save the wait but there was a catch - they had to physically drive it to my own dealer for me to get it in time. To get it transported, they said it could take up to three or four weeks longer. So, I ended up collecting that with something like 43 miles on it, which did annoy me. I did get some freebies from them to soften the blow but it still felt more like a 'used' car at that point as sad as that sounds. 

The highest delivery mileage that I've personally come across, that didn't involve a dealer-transfer, was back in 1998 when my father collected his brand new Corsa Sport. That had 13 on it and I remember being a little shocked it was as high as that. Especially considering the petrol station they used at the time was literally 200yds up the road. 

[HGUS]

1 hour ago, Gary H said:

All barring one occasion my new cars have been in single digits on the day of collection. I think the lowest I've had was 3. My NX had 6 on it when I collected that. 

The highest I've had was my second to last Audi. They had a very similar one, unregistered in stock, up in Bolton. I'd accepted that one to save the wait but there was a catch - they had to physically drive it to my own dealer for me to get it in time. To get it transported, they said it could take up to three or four weeks longer. So, I ended up collecting that with something like 43 miles on it, which did annoy me. I did get some freebies from them to soften the blow but it still felt more like a 'used' car at that point as sad as that sounds. 

The highest delivery mileage that I've personally come across, that didn't involve a dealer-transfer, was back in 1998 when my father collected his brand new Corsa Sport. That had 13 on it and I remember being a little shocked it was as high as that. Especially considering the petrol station they used at the time was literally 200yds up the road. 

Many thanks for your comment Gary.  43 miles is quite high!  I'm just a little concerned that mine is currently at 22 miles and the only way is upwards.  I don't want to have that 'used car' feeling on collection.  I emailed ALL at my dealer and expressed my concern. 

I'm also a little surprised that the dealer hasn't personally contacted me yet to say that my Lexus has arrived.  I hope they don't go the same way as my previous dealer as I left them due to their poor performance.  Not something I expect of a luxury brand!

[Linas.P]

My one and only new Lexus I had was 147km on the day of pick-up (so ~91 mile), but I picked it up "from the floor", so potentially it had few test drives in it, but it wasn't an official demo car either i.e. it was not registered before I bought it. I was totally not bothered, because it was 2012 IS250 F-Sport + "Premium pack" (whatever that means, as there is no such thing officially, but dealer said it was limited edition to close off mk2 production run) and I paid equivalent to about £20,000 for it (so ~£10,000 off the list), as it was sitting on the floor for few good months by then. The only difference from F-Sport in UK was that it had full dark rose leather F-Sport seats and no shaitecantara, but again outside of UK shaitcantara was an option for F-Sport anyway and not the only way like in UK, so the dealer may have been not entirely honest about it being "special".  

I would say anything below 100miles is acceptable, between 100-1000 it becomes demo in my view, past 1000 - just simply used. But all this is purely psychological obviously, these cars are not collectables that sit on the museum floor, so whenever it is 100 or a 1000 it will be irrelevant after couple of months. 

That said I would appreciate if there would be literally like pull tab on the dash, where they only pull it when they deliver new car and it is irreversible and car starts for you at exactly 0 miles i.e. "technically brand new". Or more realistic - may some sort of code they can run to "zero" it to give this sentimental feeling of newness. If it is not exactly 0 - then it kind of doesn't matter, if it is 5, 10, 25, or 147.

[HGUS]

35 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

My one and only new Lexus I had was 147km on the day of pick-up (so ~91 mile), but I picked it up "from the floor", so potentially it had few test drives in it, but it wasn't an official demo car either i.e. it was not registered before I bought it. I was totally not bothered, because it was 2012 IS250 F-Sport + "Premium pack" (whatever that means, as there is no such thing officially, but dealer said it was limited edition to close off mk2 production run) and I paid equivalent to about £20,000 for it (so ~£10,000 off the list), as it was sitting on the floor for few good months by then. The only difference from F-Sport in UK was that it had full dark rose leather F-Sport seats and no shaitecantara, but again outside of UK shaitcantara was an option for F-Sport anyway and not the only way like in UK, so the dealer may have been not entirely honest about it being "special".  

I would say anything below 100miles is acceptable, between 100-1000 it becomes demo in my view, past 1000 - just simply used. But all this is purely psychological obviously, these cars are not collectables that sit on the museum floor, so whenever it is 100 or a 1000 it will be irrelevant after couple of months. 

That said I would appreciate if there would be literally like pull tab on the dash, where they only pull it when they deliver new car and it is irreversible and car starts for you at exactly 0 miles i.e. "technically brand new". Or more realistic - may some sort of code they can run to "zero" it to give this sentimental feeling of newness. If it is not exactly 0 - then it kind of doesn't matter, if it is 5, 10, 25, or 147.

Hi Linas,

It is all down to what an individual wants and expects.  I'm purchasing a brand new built to order car and paying the price for it and therefore don't expect it to have been taken out of its box, so to speak, and handed around and played with before I receive it.  I do accept that a few miles on the clock may be necessary to make sure that all is in working order but only the very bare minimum.

91 miles would not be acceptable to me but as you say yours had been sitting around for a while with potentially a few test drives in it and you got a large discount.

[Rabbers]

2 hours ago, Gary H said:

… his brand new Corsa Sport. That had 13 on it …

Many years ago in Belgium I refused (or threatened to refuse) a new Opel Commodore as my company car because it showed 160km, which was explained as the distance driven to Liege from a showroom in Antwerp for the sake of prompt delivery.  Rather than take the car back the dealer offered an extra 5% off the agreed price, which I accepted to my Account Dept’s delight.  

[HGUS]

3 minutes ago, Rabbers said:

Many years ago in Belgium I refused (or threatened to refuse) a new Opel Commodore as my company car because it showed 160km, which was explained as the distance driven to Liege from a showroom in Antwerp for the sake of prompt delivery.  Rather than take the car back the dealer offered an extra 5% off the agreed price, which I accepted to my Account Dept’s delight.  

Hi Renato,

I may well have done something similar, it sounds as though you did fairly well out of it in the end.  I have rejected brand new cars on collection day before but none (yet) due to high delivery mileage as every car I've had has had very low mileage which has been of no concern.

 

[Linas.P]

7 minutes ago, HGUS said:

Hi Linas,

It is all down to what an individual wants and expects.  I'm purchasing a brand new built to order car and paying the price for it and therefore don't expect it to have been taken out of its box, so to speak, and handed around and played with before I receive it.  I do accept that a few miles on the clock may be necessary to make sure that all is in working order but only the very bare minimum.

91 miles would not be acceptable to me but as you say yours had been sitting around for a while with potentially a few test drives in it and you got a large discount.

Yeah totally understand that, although as long as there is 1 mile on it it kind of defeats the point. As I said I understand the sentiment and I would like to see cars "zeroed" at the point of pick-up, especially more premium nicer cars. That would be nice touch and give the owner that "unboxing" experience. I know Lexus removes all the packaging before deliver, but to be fair I would even like to have an option for them to leave it, so that owner could do it, it is after all experience in itself. 

That said we all know cars travels thousands of miles to get to us, not necessarily driven, but they go trough rough transport... hence new car detailing is a thing - they are technically new, but they been in the ships, driven by dock workers, trough the rough seas, trough the storms and quite often are already scratched in places. 

I guess the only way to get real 0 miles car is to get in front of the Tahara plant gate in Japan and pick it off production line. And the reason I am labouring "0 miles" is because then the argument becomes kind of irrelevant, what is acceptable/unacceptable etc. where to draw the line... 

I am not sure really, would I make an issue with car having 91 miles if it was made to order rather than off the floor? To be honest I doubt it... but I am in no risk of finding out as I honestly have no plans to buy brand new car ever, even if I would be billionaire I can't see myself doing it as can't handle depreciation - in this context I am much less sensitive to find miles on "new car" and much more sensitive knowing that the minute I drive trough the showroom door (figuratively speaking) and add 2000 miles on that car it just lost literally 30% of it's value. Now I guess that kind of makes it important to get new car with as little miles as possible, because the difference between 22 miles and 2000 miles is that 30% extra cost to get it new, and if the car you getting has say 200 miles, then perhaps it should be severely discounted. That is valid point. Hence I kind of grouped them in up-to 100, 100-1000 and over 1000. In perfect world first group would be exactly 0 and second group 0-1000, but sadly we are not in ideal world.

[dutchie01]

What is an acceptable mileage if you bring your car in for a service? Testdrive after repair?

[Spock66]

1 hour ago, dutchie01 said:

What is an acceptable mileage if you bring your car in for a service? Testdrive after repair?

Not sure there is a test drive for just a service, for a repair it would depend on the issue - for example something that only happens at high speed would require a trip to the nearest motorway.

[Linas.P]

1 hour ago, dutchie01 said:

What is an acceptable mileage if you bring your car in for a service? Testdrive after repair?

I don't think that is quite the same as with new car - for new car it is sentimental thing, for repair it is more of "fair use vs. abuse" i.e. expectation is that technician won't use your car to go get drive-trough burger, pick-up kids from school after shift and commute into work next day, picking-up some penalty points on the way. 

[Malc1]

Going back to 1988….. my brand spanking new company Vauxhall Carlton was actually delivered, by a driver, to my nominated address …… can’t remember the mileage on the clock at all …… I was just happy to have a free company car 😄

Malc 

🤔I think he may have driven it from Luton factory to Petts Wood Kent 

[Malc1]

John ......  have you come to any conclusion ?

Malc

[Alan Thompson]

Mine had 7 miles on it when I collected it in March 22

[HGUS]

Many thanks for all your comments guys. 

As for a conclusion, well obviously the lower mileage the better and there are a few single digit figures mentioned in the posts which is what I have experienced myself in the past.  My Lexus Link App is still saying 22 miles and I'm not going to be too overjoyed if it increases much above that.   I am expecting a brand new vehicle and the experience of putting the mileage on it myself, not for someone else to do it before I have even seen it

.

[Spock66]

When I buy a used car and double the mileage I always get a sense of the car is now really mine.

[HGUS]

20 minutes ago, Spock66 said:

When I buy a used car and double the mileage I always get a sense of the car is now really mine.

WOW !!!😮 So 'IF' 100,000 miles on the clock when bought then you'll not feel it's really yours until it's done 200,000 😉😀 

[Spock66]

1 hour ago, HGUS said:

WOW !!!😮 So 'IF' 100,000 miles on the clock when bought then you'll not feel it's really yours until it's done 200,000 😉😀 

Yes, but I let folks like you pay the full price of a new car 😉

I then buy nearly new <10,000 miles with a significant discount 😉

[Tickedon]

I can’t remember the make (possibly Ford?) but one manufacturer was able to “zero” the mileage as long as it hasn’t been driven above a certain speed and number of miles. You thus got the “new car” mileage even if they’d had to reset it a couple of times while getting it ready for delivery... 

I would think anything up to 100 is probably reasonable if it came with an explanation. 

But as Spock said, I too typically buy “nearly new” (up to 15k miles and under 9 months old) to secure a far better price. My Audi was £40k list, £33k new via a broker, or £20k(!) 9 months old with 14k miles on it (via a main Audi dealer). I had thought the pandemic had ended my string of car deals, until my current NX purchase!

I appreciate a new car smell and almost zero odometer is worth something, but I’ll take my £10k+ savings instead. 

[HGUS]

12 minutes ago, Tickedon said:

I can’t remember the make (possibly Ford?) but one manufacturer was able to “zero” the mileage as long as it hasn’t been driven above a certain speed and number of miles. You thus got the “new car” mileage even if they’d had to reset it a couple of times while getting it ready for delivery... 

I would think anything up to 100 is probably reasonable if it came with an explanation. 

But as Spock said, I too typically buy “nearly new” (up to 15k miles and under 9 months old) to secure a far better price. My Audi was £40k list, £33k new via a broker, or £20k(!) 9 months old with 14k miles on it (via a main Audi dealer). I had thought the pandemic had ended my string of car deals, until my current NX purchase!

I appreciate a new car smell and almost zero odometer is worth something, but I’ll take my £10k+ savings instead. 

No, No, NO, the feel, taste, smell ,sensation of a crisp brand sparkling new Lexus.  Those beautiful lines, the lovely unsullied interior AND exterior, not a speck of dust or a greasy fingerprint.  It just can't be beaten!   Definitely worth a few more GBPs. 

[Malc1]

7 hours ago, HGUS said:

No, No, NO, the feel, taste, smell ,sensation of a crisp brand sparkling new Lexus.  Those beautiful lines, the lovely unsullied interior AND exterior, not a speck of dust or a greasy fingerprint.  It just can't be beaten!   Definitely worth a few more GBPs. 

A £ 1000 a fingerprint 😄

Malc 

[Linas.P]

11 hours ago, Tickedon said:

I can’t remember the make (possibly Ford?) but one manufacturer was able to “zero” the mileage as long as it hasn’t been driven above a certain speed and number of miles. You thus got the “new car” mileage even if they’d had to reset it a couple of times while getting it ready for delivery... 

I would think anything up to 100 is probably reasonable if it came with an explanation. 

But as Spock said, I too typically buy “nearly new” (up to 15k miles and under 9 months old) to secure a far better price. My Audi was £40k list, £33k new via a broker, or £20k(!) 9 months old with 14k miles on it (via a main Audi dealer). I had thought the pandemic had ended my string of car deals, until my current NX purchase!

I appreciate a new car smell and almost zero odometer is worth something, but I’ll take my £10k+ savings instead. 

Same here every time, I guess my target is little bit higher - 2-3 years and ~30k miles. I know that for average brand that is well worn, but all the Lexus cars I had were pretty much as good as new.

In current crazy market such deals have dried-up, but pre-pandemic one could expect 50% off for such car returning after it's first lease. 

11 hours ago, HGUS said:

No, No, NO, the feel, taste, smell ,sensation of a crisp brand sparkling new Lexus.  Those beautiful lines, the lovely unsullied interior AND exterior, not a speck of dust or a greasy fingerprint.  It just can't be beaten!   Definitely worth a few more GBPs. 

As for scratches, smell and fingerprints - I have far higher level of expectation than any new car ever, all cars comes with small scratches, all even thought cleaned before delivery will have some smear or fingerprint, so I am really not fussed. I know that any car I will get will be detailed by myself anyway and to the level exceeding any mainstream dealer delivered new car. And perhaps I safe my health not breathing in the new plastic gassing out the chemicals for first few months (although that may be myth from the past, I assume modern and decent cars like Lexus don't use some horrible volatile chemicals anymore).

Talking about smell specifically, once you get even 30k miles Lexus clean and if you don't use any excessively smelling cleaners and assuming previous owner was not smoking, spilling milkshakes or doing some other crazy stuff in the car then it will smell like brand new car every time. This one would be able to check before buying - obviously never buy the car if you suspect somebody was smoking in it, as that smell is pretty much impossible to remove, I have done it, but then car does not smell like new anymore anyway . When I sold my last RC I think it already had 54k miles and it still smelled like a new car. So it is just a matter of knowing what to use to clean it and what to clean.