118 Miles at delivery??

[runtohell121]

Is it normal for a brand "new" car to have 118 miles at delivery? I did all the paper work and such yesterday and went to pick up the car today since they had to get it from another dealer (didn't really tell me where, just Northern California). When I signed the papers, they estimated 65 miles on the odometer, but when I went to inspect the vehicle and pick it up, the odometer read 118 miles already. It is quite high mileage for a "new" car that I just bought.. Also, there was a paint/rock chip already on the car when I was inspecting it and I pretty much started refusing the pick up but they said they will "repair" the chip area and make it like "new" again. I'm kind of upset about my purchase so far but kind of too late to refuse and such since I signed the papers already and somewhat inspected the car, but have to leave it at the dealer for 1-2 more days for the paint chip repair. I have absolutely no clue how the car have 118 miles on it already. If I do a VIN number check, the car showed up on a Mazda dealer website in Sacromento, CA and I bought the car from Fremont, CA. According to Google Maps, the drive was approximately 115 miles.

Paint chip picture, but as they said, they're going to fix it and it should be "like new" again.. Which I don't know if that will be true or not..

 

[Seminole]

Seems like they drove your car down from the other dealer. It's not uncommon for them to do that unfortunately. Did they ever mention the way it would be getting to your dealer? The dealer I purchased from had to do a trade and tried to get me to agree to it being driven down (around 250 miles). I flat out refused and said if it wasn't flat bedded then not to bother.

 

[runtohell121]

Seems like they drove your car down from the other dealer. It's not uncommon for them to do that unfortunately. Did they ever mention the way it would be getting to your dealer? The dealer I purchased from had to do a trade and tried to get me to agree to it being driven down (around 250 miles). I flat out refused and said if it wasn't flat bedded then not to bother.

Nope. They did not mentioned how they were getting the car over here. I just found out today it was in a Northern California dealership. I had no clue where exactly the car was coming from and the DMV paper only said it would have estimated 65 miles on the car, not 118... I would have thought the car was going to be transferred on a flatbed/tow truck or something like that instead of a person driving the car from dealer to dealer.

 

[Seminole]

I'm not sure if you have any recourse now that you've signed the paperwork (not familiar with CA laws) but I would have never accepted delivery. For such a short distance they should have been able to send a truck with no issues, as mine was actually complaining about how far their truck would have to go to get it. If you're not happy make it known and speak to the sales manager. Since they already have the sale they might just blow you off, but you can ask for a few free accessories as a token of goodwill.

 

[runtohell121]

I'm not sure if you have any recourse now that you've signed the paperwork (not familiar with CA laws) but I would have never accepted delivery. For such a short distance they should have been able to send a truck with no issues, as mine was actually complaining about how far their truck would have to go to get it. If you're not happy make it known and speak to the sales manager. Since they already have the sale they might just blow you off, but you can ask for a few free accessories as a token of goodwill.

They are throwing in all weather floor mats.. and possibly a keychain.. That's all from the Financial Manager. From the Sales Manager, they are repairing the chipped paint on the front bumper free of charge which they should be doing so since it had a chip before I even drove off their dealer lot and also providing a rental car. I was trying to get them throw in cargo tray and other stuff but they're not budging.

 

[deepfriedsushi]

From what you found, it seems Fremont did a dealer trade with the mazda dealer in Sacramento. Once you gave them money/signed the papers, they drove the car over to have it delivered to you. The rock chip could have come from that road trip.

When I was shopping around for my CX5, I dealt with the Fremont mazda dealer and both DGDG Mazda dealers, Oaktree and Capitol Automall. Fremont was the most difficult to work with. They are a new dealership with new management and they barely had any CX5's in stock. They were being very pushy and kept offering me cars that were not on their lot. Like what they did with you, they also gave me estimates in how many miles would be put on the car due to them transferring from other dealers. They even told me something like...anything over 50 miles, they'll tow the car over. (I don't remember exactly what range they told me, but it was hard for me to believe them). One of the ones they quoted me (according to my googling of the vin) came all the way from Stockton.

In the end, they continued to quote me at very low and tempting prices, but always followed up with them not having the car on the lot, or I would have to make some refundable deposit so they could transfer the car. Their service was horrible, I probably talked with 5 different guys and could never find the same guy and always got different answers.

I know another person who bought a cx5 from them and when they picked it up, they were only given one key. When they went back to ask for the second one, they were given another, but incorrect key. When asked again to find the correct key, they said they couldn't find it.

I'm not too sure what protections we have as consumers to say no to the car, but I've heard of dealers taking back cars after a week of ownership. You could do some research to see if it's legally possible to still refuse the car, or you can take a risk and let them repair the paint and deal with the extra miles. If you keep the car, maybe ask them for some free oil change coupons as compensation.

 

[runtohell121]

From what you found, it seems Fremont did a dealer trade with the mazda dealer in Sacramento. Once you gave them money/signed the papers, they drove the car over to have it delivered to you. The rock chip could have come from that road trip.

When I was shopping around for my CX5, I dealt with the Fremont mazda dealer and both DGDG Mazda dealers, Oaktree and Capitol Automall. Fremont was the most difficult to work with. They are a new dealership with new management and they barely had any CX5's in stock. They were being very pushy and kept offering me cars that were not on their lot. Like what they did with you, they also gave me estimates in how many miles would be put on the car due to them transferring from other dealers. They even told me something like...anything over 50 miles, they'll tow the car over. (I don't remember exactly what range they told me, but it was hard for me to believe them). One of the ones they quoted me (according to my googling of the vin) came all the way from Stockton.

In the end, they continued to quote me at very low and tempting prices, but always followed up with them not having the car on the lot, or I would have to make some refundable deposit so they could transfer the car. Their service was horrible, I probably talked with 5 different guys and could never find the same guy and always got different answers.

I know another person who bought a cx5 from them and when they picked it up, they were only given one key. When they went back to ask for the second one, they were given another, but incorrect key. When asked again to find the correct key, they said they couldn't find it.

I'm not too sure what protections we have as consumers to say no to the car, but I've heard of dealers taking back cars after a week of ownership. You could do some research to see if it's legally possible to still refuse the car, or you can take a risk and let them repair the paint and deal with the extra miles. If you keep the car, maybe ask them for some free oil change coupons as compensation.

Yeah, at first, I wanted to get the Touring w/o moonroof and such for a "low" price, but ended up getting a moonroof and bose package Touring at a somewhat decent price in my opinion after quoting other dealers via online and walking into a few.

I personally had no clue if this dealer was new or not, but was quite annoyed how their bad service actually was, making us wait and wait and wait for some simple procedures.

I will probably accept the car just because either way, in the future, the car is going to have a chips no matter what unless I have a bumper protection or something. When I was there today to inspect the car, I pretty much tried to refuse the car because of the chip and "high miles" on it already. So pretty much, they are slowly throwing in free accessories that aren't even worth much. I was trying to get them to give me the protection package accessory or whatever it was, but they refused, asked for cargo tray, nothing, only a keychain and the mats...

I do not tend to return to their dealer for services or anything since I really don't live near there but their quote was one of the "best" which I should have spent more time asking around probably, but ~$30k w/ 7 year warranty on a Touring AWD w/ Moonroof + Bose, cargo cover, roof rail, and rear bumper guard wasn't too bad I think.

I literally had no clue they were driving the car over to their dealer from wherever the car was at. I assume the car only had 3 miles at Sacromento since the drive from Sac to Fremont is ~115 miles

 

[deepfriedsushi]

I came really close to getting my car from them. They just kept giving really good prices. The best deal I got from them was a touring with bose+tech package for the price of a touring with no options. This was in the first month that the 2014 CX5's started arriving to Bay Area dealers too! However, they kept saying that it wasn't on their lot and it was coming from somewhere else and wouldn't tell me where. I knew it was going to be a dealer transfer, but when pressured, they straight up lied to me and said it's coming from Palo Alto. I knew they lied because there are no Mazda dealerships anywhere close to Palo Alto. After they did that, I just refused to give them my business along with the fact that I did not want to take a car that wasn't on their lot.

At least you got some extras out of it. Hopefully the rest of the process doesn't have any more hiccups.

 

[runtohell121]

I came really close to getting my car from them. They just kept giving really good prices. The best deal I got from them was a touring with bose+tech package for the price of a touring with no options. This was in the first month that the 2014 CX5's started arriving to Bay Area dealers too! However, they kept saying that it wasn't on their lot and it was coming from somewhere else and wouldn't tell me where. I knew it was going to be a dealer transfer, but when pressured, they straight up lied to me and said it's coming from Palo Alto. I knew they lied because there are no Mazda dealerships anywhere close to Palo Alto. After they did that, I just refused to give them my business along with the fact that I did not want to take a car that wasn't on their lot.

At least you got some extras out of it. Hopefully the rest of the process doesn't have any more hiccups.

Yeah, technically, the price on Touring AWD w/ Moonroof+Bose before warranty is really similar to a Touring w/o any packages/add-on at other dealers that I asked around via email. That's how they got my attention to their dealer and also the Touring AWD w/o any add-on was supposedly only $26.9k OTD but obviously, they lied, telling me there isn't a vehicle anywhere in California with Soul Red or Sky Blue...

Still trying to get more extras, probably will go bug them when I inspect the car one more time either tomorrow or Thursday when they are done "repairing" my paint chipped bumper and the "high" mileage (hoping they didn't drive it even more

Wonder if and can I contact Mazda HQ and see what they say about this issue. I personally never really seen this issue on a new car (hearing stories from friends, online searching, and personal experience).

 

[sweet]

I worked for a Mazda dealership for two years, as a "runner". A runner does the swaps, with other dealerships. This is common with all dealerships (I also filled in for Toyota, Honda and Chevrolet dealerships). The farthest swap I ever did was 250 miles, making the car (CX-7) have over 500 miles when I returned (customer knew ahead of time). In some cases the dealership, where the car was coming from, backs out at the last minute, and another dealership supplies the car. The way a "swap" works. I would drive a Mazda, that the OTHER dealership would buy from me, and I would buy and return with the one we wanted.....So if you go to a dealership, and the car has 150 miles on it, THAT car was probably taken in as a swap, for one they sold to another dealership. This is a VERY COMMON practice in the industry today....the problem for "us" is, Mazda dealerships are far and few between. Example: In a 50 mile radius there could be up to ten (plus) Ford or Chevy dealerships...Mazda, it might be a 250 mile radius, or more, to get ten dealerships. Runtohell121, that chip should have been fixed BEFORE you inspected the car, shame on them!...Sometimes cars right off the boat, or from the transport carrier, have scratches or chips. they're fixed before the car is put on the lot.
As a responsible runner, I NEVER tailgated, and NEVER took chances...It was not my car, and I respected the fact that it was some ones NEW dream. But occasionally I would end up getting a chip, sometimes you just have no control over that, no matter how hard you try.
If you're not satisfied (be reasonable) let the dealership know that you are going to call North American Mazda HQ. Every NEW car buyer gets a survey in the mail. These surveys hold a lot of weight. To many bad surveys and they'll get a visit from Mazda HQ......Good Luck!

Edit: Your window sticker will have the name of the dealership where the car was ORIGINALLY delivered to.

 

[TreyP]

Every new car or truck I have bought has had between 200 and 400 miles on it when delivered for the reasons stated above (swaps), except for my CX-5, which only had 7 miles on it at delivery. It felt good to finally have what felt like a 'real' new car for a change.

For what it is worth, the dealer is required to add the miles to the warranty. So if the standard warranty is 36,000 miles, you should be covered for 36,118 miles. When you think of it that way, the 118 miles doesn't seem like much at all. But I do understand your dissatisfaction.

Also, I understand you have already signed, so you are probably obligated to that car, but I once had a specific color brought in for me and then switched to another color when I saw it in person. The second vehicle was also a swap. The dealer should do whatever it takes to make you happy.

 

[sweet]

Just got the call from the dealership! They're picking up (swap) my '14 GT today.....120 miles. I've inspected hundreds of Mazdas before. I can spot an ant turd, on the inside of a door jam...from 200 feet away.(whistle)

 

[runtohell121]

I worked for a Mazda dealership for two years, as a "runner". A runner does the swaps, with other dealerships. This is common with all dealerships (I also filled in for Toyota, Honda and Chevrolet dealerships). The farthest swap I ever did was 250 miles, making the car (CX-7) have over 500 miles when I returned (customer knew ahead of time). In some cases the dealership, where the car was coming from, backs out at the last minute, and another dealership supplies the car. The way a "swap" works. I would drive a Mazda, that the OTHER dealership would buy from me, and I would buy and return with the one we wanted.....So if you go to a dealership, and the car has 150 miles on it, THAT car was probably taken in as a swap, for one they sold to another dealership. This is a VERY COMMON practice in the industry today....the problem for "us" is, Mazda dealerships are far and few between. Example: In a 50 mile radius there could be up to ten (plus) Ford or Chevy dealerships...Mazda, it might be a 250 mile radius, or more, to get ten dealerships. Runtohell121, that chip should have been fixed BEFORE you inspected the car, shame on them!...Sometimes cars right off the boat, or from the transport carrier, have scratches or chips. they're fixed before the car is put on the lot.
As a responsible runner, I NEVER tailgated, and NEVER took chances...It was not my car, and I respected the fact that it was some ones NEW dream. But occasionally I would end up getting a chip, sometimes you just have no control over that, no matter how hard you try.
If you're not satisfied (be reasonable) let the dealership know that you are going to call North American Mazda HQ. Every NEW car buyer gets a survey in the mail. These surveys hold a lot of weight. To many bad surveys and they'll get a visit from Mazda HQ......Good Luck!

Edit: Your window sticker will have the name of the dealership where the car was ORIGINALLY delivered to.

I technically saw no window sticker on my car as I only saw the car at pick up yesterday and everything was already removed. The only thing I was told was that it was swapped at a Northern California dealership when I saw the mileage on my car upon inspection. I find myself being lied to not letting me know where the car was from, only telling me expected 65 miles on the car since that's what they put on the DMV paper. I was never expecting almost double the mileage on a new new car that I signed to.

I was literally surprised to see a paint chip already on the car and they didn't say anything until I personally saw it upon inspection. I didn't even bug them about the terrible detailing job they did. I saw a lot of bug marks on it but I'm sure I can deal with it when I get home since I plan on detailing the car thoroughly when I get it back to home. But the paint chip was the most unacceptable thing. I plan on doing a full inspection either today or Thursday, whenever the dealer tells me my car is ready to be picked up. That's why I didn't want them to drive the car to me since they did give me the option on delivering the car to me, but I rather inspect the car one more time before it gets to my place.

Every new car or truck I have bought has had between 200 and 400 miles on it when delivered for the reasons stated above (swaps), except for my CX-5, which only had 7 miles on it at delivery. It felt good to finally have what felt like a 'real' new car for a change.

For what it is worth, the dealer is required to add the miles to the warranty. So if the standard warranty is 36,000 miles, you should be covered for 36,118 miles. When you think of it that way, the 118 miles doesn't seem like much at all. But I do understand your dissatisfaction.

Also, I understand you have already signed, so you are probably obligated to that car, but I once had a specific color brought in for me and then switched to another color when I saw it in person. The second vehicle was also a swap. The dealer should do whatever it takes to make you happy.

Yeah, but my papers were signed at 65 miles (on contract/DMV) which I only expect 65, give or take 5 miles from that, not a whooping 118 miles. I wanted Soul Red and they told me it was the only one in Northern California... Which I highly doubt...

Just got the call from the dealership! They're picking up (swap) my '14 GT today.....120 miles. I've inspected hundreds of Mazdas before. I can spot an ant turd, on the inside of a door jam...from 200 feet away.(whistle)

Congrats! Yeah, I can spot things easily as I detail my cars and know what to look for. I wasn't complaining about bug marks/stains that I saw on the headlight, bumper, doors, etc. I only complained about the damn chipped paint which is unexpected on a new car upon inspection/delivery.


edit: even on my rental car, they lied to me.. one of the employee (financial manager) told me they were giving me a full tank of gas on rental car.. upon receiving the rental car (Mazda 6, I think 2009ish), I received half a tank which only allowed me to drive home and back to their dealership basically, with maybe 20-30 mile to spare. That means I can't really go anywhere with that car without refueling myself. Such a terrible experience at Fremont Mazda, totally not recommending them to anyone. I'm not even 100% sure will I be receiving my all weather floor mats and keychain since it was only word spoken from the financial manager though I think he was the one who did the paperwork for the repair. Not sure. Since that dealer have a lot of people working on one customer, I get lost with who is who from time to time.

 

[sweet]

I would complain about the window sticker. It comes with a NEW car, it's yours, they have it somewhere. The ONLY Mazda I removed the window sticker, when swapping, were Miatas (for safety). I very carefully removed it and placed it in the paperwork, knowing that the customer would want it..Like I mentioned above, you will get a survey in the mail. If that dealership can't make people happy on delivery, they'll never make people happy on anything!....Mazda wants to know this. There are no crappy dealerships, just crappy employees.

 

[erhayes]

I've purchased 7 new vehicle from 3 different manufactures/dealers and not one had over 20 miles on the odometer. I think if a dealer offered me a vehicle with more than 50 miles on it, I would be unhappy and renegotiate for some $$ off or some assories I wanted.

 

[runtohell121]

I would complain about the window sticker. It comes with a NEW car, it's yours, they have it somewhere. The ONLY Mazda I removed the window sticker, when swapping, were Miatas (for safety). I very carefully removed it and placed it in the paperwork, knowing that the customer would want it..Like I mentioned above, you will get a survey in the mail. If that dealership can't make people happy on delivery, they'll never make people happy on anything!....Mazda wants to know this. There are no crappy dealerships, just crappy employees.

Maybe it is in the glove box since I haven't really checked the interior. I only inspected the outside and the odometer for mileage. I sent out an email half an hour ago to Mazda HQ about this issue. I would have thought dealers will tell customers everything about the car the buyer is purchasing, not finding out upon inspection.

I've purchased 7 new vehicle from 3 different manufactures/dealers and not one had over 20 miles on the odometer. I think if a dealer offered me a vehicle with more than 50 miles on it, I would be unhappy and renegotiate for some $$ off or some assories I wanted.

I tried to negotiate for some accessories I really wanted, but they're not budging, only giving me floor mats and possibly a keychain. So my step is to notify Mazda HQ about the unsatisfying purchase and mileage issue.

 

[runtohell121]

Well.. That was fast, Mazda HQ, contacting dealers to follow up on the situation which I still don't think there is much to do at this point besides wait and see what Mazda HQ and dealer say about it because on the day of signing (7/15), the title/contract whatever said 65 miles, but upon pickup/inspection, it was 118 miles which was surprising to me. Hope Mazda HQ don't contact the wrong dealer though since they said they are contacting Maita Mazda (Sacromento, CA) but my car was bought at Fremont Mazda (Newark, CA).

 

[HandA]

that explains the mileage. According to google it is 115 miles between those two dealers so that might have been a brand new one on Maita's lot.

 

[runtohell121]

that explains the mileage. According to google it is 115 miles between those two dealers so that might have been a brand new one on Maita's lot.

Fremont Mazda should have told me exactly where it was from, how many miles it will get to their dealer and not tell me that my car will have roughly 65 miles on it. They never said how my car was being transferred to their dealer and how far it was. So when I was inspecting the car, I would have expected roughly 65 miles, not a surprising 118 miles on the car already where my DMV registration/buying paperwork says 65 at signing.

 

[HandA]

I wanted Soul Red and they told me it was the only one in Northern California... Which I highly doubt...

you can search Mazda inventory online at: http://mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/vlStart.action But sometimes cars show up on there that aren't actually in the dealers inventory yet.

Also it may not have been the only one in Northern California but it might have been the only place they could find a dealer that was willing to trade theirs away. Dealers aren't always willing to trade away a hot seller.

I understand how the mileage can make it seem less 'new' but with modern cars, the way they are built and how long they last 118 miles is nothing in the grand scheme of things. And once you start driving it you'll be finding excuses to drive it more and those miles will be so far in the past really fast. And 115 miles of freeway driving seems better to me than half that many miles of test driving.

Fremont Mazda should have told me exactly where it was from, how many miles it will get to their dealer and not tell me that my car will have roughly 65 miles on it. They never said how my car was being transferred to their dealer and how far it was. So when I was inspecting the car, I would have expected roughly 65 miles, not a surprising 118 miles on the car already where my DMV registration/buying paperwork says 65 at signing.

I also know the feeling of being deceived with the mileage but I'd give them the benefit of the doubt that they just botched their guess on how far away Sacramento was when they did the paperwork. Everyone has different priorities and what they are willing to fight for but if it were me I'd make sure they did the chip repair properly, get what free items they were willing to toss in and move on and enjoy the car. But that is just me.

I've heard horror stories on dealer trades and stories of where it went flawless. One I hadn't thought of before is the person I know who drove the trade to the other dealer and drove their new car back to the selling dealer. That is one way to make sure it is done right.

And believe me, I understand negative feelings towards salespeople and dealerships when car buying. We won't even consider an Audi after the way we were treated at their dealership. And we walked away from several purchases over the years when they insisted on playing games or the time when the sales manager was shocked that $3,000 over MSRP on a Buick was too much for us.
I'd just hate to see a really good car tainted from the start with bad feelings over an error of 50 miles.