A dealer has offered me a new, left-over Mazda B-3000 trick at a good price. Since I drive 'em “till they drop” depreciation is not an issue for me.
Is there anything I should worry about/ specially check on a truck that’s a left-over and been sutting around for awhile?
What year is it? A 2006? I think that the rubber seals are the biggest problem. I bought a Taurus once that had been on the lot for 7 months. The gaskets in the AC compressor dry rotted and had to be replaced. At their expense, of course.
Yes, there are a few things to look for.
A lot depends on how long the vehicle has sat without being started and driven to bring the engine up to operating temp and the components moving to lubricate seals, etc.
A vehicle that sits for long periods of time can acquire dried up seals in the a/c and other locations.
Brake rotors will likely be well rusted from sitting and not being used.
If the parking brake was left activated, it will likely be seized.
The engine oil could have drained off the cylinder walls (MAYBE) by now which means the engine should be cranked over by hand until the oil has been brought up to the cylinder walls and piston rings.
Once the engine has been turned over to get the oil up, you can crank the engine with the starter.
Old fuel in the tank and fuel lines, filter, fuel regulator, rail and injectors the tank will require fuel replacement. (Condensation builds up due to humidity)
Tires may well have sidewall cracks and the wheel bearings may have flat spots from the vehicle weight sitting in one position.
The windshield wiper rubber may need replacing as well.
Depending on the ground cover under the sitting vehicle, rodents may have been camping out in the engine compartment and may have made nests in the air intake entryways, they also may have chewed through the wiring.
I may have left out some other things to look out for, but I`m sure someone will do the adding.
So yes, you could say there may be things to look out for.
There is nothing really special to inspect or worry about. It’s a new vehicle, has the full factory warranty, and getting very light usage over the past few months does no harm. Insist on a good price.
Don’t worry.
My Subaru WRX was purchased exactly one year from the build date with 40 miles. Its fine.
I wouldn’t worry about it. Anything that could go wrong because of sitting around will show up quickly and the dealer should fix it under warranty. When I buy a new car I usually buy a left over model 1-2 months AFTER the new models have come out…usually at several thousand less then the new model.
If you change your mind a year from now, the depreciation may be more than you expect. Not that you get more than $10,000 for a trade on a three year old vehicle with 30,000 mi.
Keep in mind that if the vehicle is NEW new, as in 4 or 5 miles then no problem.
If the vehicle is a demo then the warranty period started when the vehicle was put into service as a demo by the dealer.
In that case, you will have loss of some warranty time and hopefully no lousy break in driving.