"New" 2014 model car at a dealership - should I be afraid?

Going today.

if you are scared of a 3 year old new car, then maybe a slightly used Caprice cop car would be more your style.. it's the same chassis, but with a little more wheelbase for more rear seat leg room. the Chevy dealer in the next town over had a 2011 Caprice with 20,000 miles on it for $23k last summer. it had the big motor in it- 420hp, i think- and a pretty basic interior with a rubber floor mat instead of carpet. the car looked brand new in every way, but it was parked in a row of Impalas so it kind of blended in.. it disappeared one day, so i don't know if someone bought it or if they traded it to another dealer or what..

I work at a dealer and there have have been some new couple year old cars that sat that just were odd balls or no one was looking for them.

How would one find these cars? Autotrader and cars.com come up empty for new cars that are 2014 or older.

mtn wrote: How would one find these cars? Autotrader and cars.com come up empty for new cars that are 2014 or older.

Nevermind. I just wasn't searching far enough away.

The biggest risk I see is that it's a 2014, and already 2 model years old in the eyes of an insurance company or potential buyer ( if you decide to sell at some later date).

Resale and insurance values once it leaves the lot will most likely be in line with any other 2014, with a small adjustment for mileage.

If financing, gap insurance would be strongly recommended.

Well, I looked at it and drove it. I liked it a lot, but didn't love it, and I'm not dropping this kind of coin unless I'm sure, especially since I didn't want to move this soon anyhow.

But the car itself was 100% fine. It's a new car in every aspect except the model year. Still has the plastic on the nav screen, etc. Tires looked absolutely fine, after my years of racing and autocrossing, I know what abused tires look like. It's a great price for an SS, but I decided an SS isn't for me. It's at Milnes Chevrolet in Imlay City, MI if anyone else is interested. I'll put you in contact with the guy I dealt with, he was good.

You clearly have not drive an SS yet or we would not be having this conversation.

I keep seeing a few of the SS models around and they sure are sexy. Get it. I've also come across lots of 14s for sale brand new in my search for a new wife mobile. I feel they are cars that usually just get lost in a shuffle at dealerships, they push new models out, then "oh snap we have that 14 that still hasn't sold" happened a few times at dealerships I worked at.

grafmiata wrote: My guess would be a late-build '14, and has been sitting due to the fact that it's an automatic.

When I was hunting for Sonic RSs, I found a number of new 2 year old models.

Automatics.

I like automatics, but behind a 1.4l? Nope.

Tom_Spangler wrote: Well, I looked at it and drove it. I liked it a lot, but didn't love it, and I'm not dropping this kind of coin unless I'm sure, especially since I didn't want to move this soon anyhow.

Just curious (since you liked the G8), what you didn't love about it? I.E., what kept you from pulling the trigger? The price or something about the car itself?

-Rob

A lot of it was the price. I want to stay under $30k really, but was willing to stretch for a car that hit all the right buttons, but the SS didn't, at least for me. Don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic car, and for 90% of enthusiasts, they'd probably love it.

Performance-wise, it's great. Fast as hell, handles great, nice responsive steering (if a bit numb-feeling), but the interior had some issues for me, mainly the seats. They are pretty deeply bolstered, and my fat ass and bad hip did not like them at all. I'm not exceeding my price limit by a significant amount to buy a DD that's not comfortable for me. I also wasn't nuts about the interior in general, it's very busy and not all that roomy considering the size of the car.

Tom_Spangler wrote: Imlay City, MI

I hope you had some Maryland chicken while you were in town.

Dang. Wish I was in the market - that looks like a great deal.

It's funny and sad when car dealers don't want to admit (to themselves) that they made a mistake.

The Hyundai dealer I'm trying to beat up bought TWO orange, stick shift 2015 Accents for their lot - one base, one Sport. They've been sitting on both of them for almost a year. We're about $500-800 apart, and they won't budge.

The same dealer has TWO brand-new 2014s on their lot. Since Hyundai no longer has rebates on 2014 models, both of them are showing on the website for about the same prices as 2016s, which do have rebates.

If I understand the dealership business model correctly, dealers pay interest on cars sitting on the lot for more than 60-90 days. You would think at some point they would cut their losses and dump old/new cars for whatever they can get, but not in this case. I don't get it.

logdog wrote:

Tom_Spangler wrote: Imlay City, MI

I hope you had some Maryland chicken while you were in town.

I've driven by that place hundreds of times since '98 on my way to customers in Brown City, Caro, Cass City, Nasty Hatchet, and points beyond. Never stopped. Is the chicken any good?

I tried to test drive an SS last year and was told that all I could do was sit in it and start it up as they dealership didn't allow test drives in their performance cars. Still like them a lot and only rarely see them on the road except at Dream Cruise time when Chevy seems to put a bunch on the road.

I'm not sure I would call it sexy. I would be hard pressed to tell the difference between that, a Malibu and an impala with just a glance. But I do want one, if only because it comes with a stick. Otherwise a Charger or SHO.