Only 2300 miles, " the wife of the dealer owner drove it back and forth to Florida"

That is relevant. If he were to buy the car today and bring it back to trade it in next week he’d lose the $6,000… okay, $5,000 if you like. Therefore, IMHO, THAT is the real value of the car they’re trying to sell him.

In 2005 I bought a new car and traded it two months later due to medical problems. I lost $2500. That’s real world.

You may pay whatever you’d like. I’m offering advice to the OP. He can take it or leave it.

It’s also a dealer demonstrator; or worse. This means the warranty period started on the day it was put into service so there will be some loss of warranty per time and mileage to the purchaser and that translates to some loss of value also.

I’ve also heard that “dealer’s wife” tale a few times in the past. One car in particular was used by the dealer’s wife who was sedated most of the time with Valium and Crown Royal so odds are that one was gently driven. On the flip side, she did allow her hell on wheels daughter to drive it too…
Others could be debateable… :slight_smile:

I am the OP. The model is a fully loaded Mazda 6 Grand Touring with Technology package. There are no real improvements between 2014 and 15.same new car warranty.I will explore the real cost difference between the 2 choices,but if the difference is truly $3,000,I would probably do it and save the cash. I will explore having it be a certified used car,with extra warranty. Thanks for all your advice!

You’re putting a lot of good thought into this and making the decision carefully. While I’m always wary of salesmans’ stories, especially of they sound too good to be true, and I believe you might be ale to get even more off if you negotiate, your approach gives you a good chance of making a good decision.

I mentioned in an earlier post that in 2005 I traded a two month old car in due to medical problems. The car was a new Corolla, and the problem was that it was killing my bad back. I have degenerative disc disease, and the seats and ride were not designed for old farts with bad backs. The car itself was flawless. I mention it because it does occasionally happen that a good car comes back on the market almost immediately for problems other than the car itself. I sometimes wonder what story the salesman told the next buyer. But I hope this is strictly a stroke of good luck on your part. Mazda makes a good car. You’ve chosen well.

Sincere best,
TSM

It still has the original warranty for 3 years or 36,000 miles. If it is a demo, it may not have been registered. You may get the full 3 years. You should check that out. The CarFax, which should be available on line at the dealer’s web site, should at least have reliable registration information. I’m all for saving money too, and 2300 miles isn’t much. You should have them change the oil since it could have been up to a year since it was first used. You can find the date of assembly on a sticker inside the front driver’s door.

Seems to me that the days of huge discounts and deep negotiating are mostly over unless you want a new car that is out of favor. Discounts on Mazdas are about $2,000 off MRSP, and nearly identical from dealer to dealer…so many now embrace a no hassle price…feels like collusion! Since model changes are usually not significant, I am not sure that there is as much depreciation from year to year…feels like a new world

Actually, the Mazda6 is under-appreciated according to Cars.com. You should get a good discount for that reason.

Discounts on Mazdas are about $2,000 off MRSP, and nearly identical from dealer to dealer…so many now embrace a no hassle price…feels like collusion!

The advent of widely accessible information via the internet spelled doom for isolated pricing where people would have to expend the energy required to drive around price shopping. They gambled most people wouldn’t do that and relied upon haggling to set the price paid. Now just about anyone can look it up and that puts tremendous pressure on high margin pricing. There is still a certain amount of customer sizing up going on but most of the pressure is applied in after the fact add-ons rather than the base sticker pricing of the vehicle.

I ended up passing on the car with 2300 miles, found a new one at about the same price at a dealer that is close and offers more services (e.g 3 yrs of free oil changes, lifetime warranty of power train)

Rationally, I am sure the 2300 car would have been fine, emotionally it bothered me, reinforced by many comments here

At most, I spent another $1,000 for that reassurance

thanks for all your help

John

Thanks a million for the followup post. It’s good to hear the results.

Yeah, it would have bothered me too… possibly forever. And sleeping well at night, being comfortable with your decision, has value too.

I honestly and truly believe that you made the right choice. Congrats!