I was really excited about getting the fit. I was wondering if the community could give me some advice.

Backstory:
Dealer tricked me by showing me trip miles instead of actual miles on the odometer a 2011 Honda fit. They even wrote the trip miles on the contract. Miles on trip were 39. Real miles turned out to be 110. Average mpg = >21 mpg (Less than 21 mpg).

From this, I am going to assume car was driven hard.

Next time i get a new car, I will definitely check the odometer. I will always check to see if they put it on trip or actual miles. This was a hard lesson.

My questions are:
1) How should i approach the dealer about this? I am in California.

2) If the dealer does not do anything, How can I prevent future maintenance issues from coming up. I understand the car is not supposed to be driven hard until after 600+ miles or something like that.

Thank you for your advice. I really appreciate it.

 

Looks like he might have sold you a demo. As long as it's always been 'owned' by the dealer it isn't a used car, but somethings up.
Not sure what to do - price paid possibly? Get the paper work correct? Doubt it will have any adverse effects on the engine though.

 

21 mpg on a demo could also mean the people driving it were "pussyfooting" it. In other words, too nervous to drive it in any way other than, "soft". I did that with all the test drives. Something about it not being my car and a sales guy next to me that makes me drive like that... even though I TOLD myself to get a better feel for the car.

Take the car for a spin... after a tank, compare your mpg. Like KC said, doubt it had any adverse effects. 110 miles is nothing, but a drop in the bucket.

 

My car had 9 miles on it but the MM was at 90 percent so lots of idling. If they drove it hard the engine will thank you but the brakes might not be set right.

 

i would not assume the car was driven hard. if it was used as a test drive car, that would explain the horrible MPG. lots of short drives, engine never warms up, etc.

based on my own driving experience with my fit, i could totally believe the 21 MPG based on lots of short drives with "average driving habits."

as for them lying about the mileage.... i dont know what that's about. logically they'd know you'd find out soon enough. and the difference is virtually irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.


WTF?

 

110 miles is a drop in the bucket, however You paid for a new car, not a demo model. The dealer must do something about this if you insist upon it. Odometer fraud is a serious federal crime, and they signed an odometer statement that was bogus. You should have the sale voided and get another new Fit off the lot, or have him order one for you. When did you alert the dealer to the odometer discrepancy? If it was a week later, it may be difficult to prove.

 

I am always pretty easy on the brakes, I let the engine and air/rolling friction do most of that for me... but I thrashed my engine as soon as it was new, FWIW.

I also changed the high moly factory fill in the lot for a high-er moly, high mineral and thick break in oil, then went to the recommended 5w20 for the first change, and since then it has been 0w20 full syn.

Edit: Should mention I am not saying you should go this route, and for those who are going to tell me its bad or will void the warranty.. they honored the warranty the whole 3 years, and as of Saturday this week my warranty is up. So it didnt matter..

Now, 25,000 hard miles later, the engine is smooth and quiet. Even with spirited driving and big chunky snow tires I still avg. 32mpg without trying to be especially economical.

You can re-bed brakes if they f-ed it up. Or just have the rotors turned, toss some new pads in and go bed them the proper way!

It does sound fishy, but people make mistakes. Some people it seems would be pretty upset, and by all rights they should be I guess.

 

Every purchase agreement from a dealer that I have ever seen states the vehicles mileage in the contract at the time of purchase.

If the dealer put the wrong mileage on the contract, I would try to have the deal voided and demand a NEW car, or be compensated in some way (discount, free oil changes, etc.)

 

I did the same when I was test driving mine. Then the salesman insisted I let it out and I did. As for your getting screwed on the miles, that's messed up. I'd be asking for a new car or some form of compensation.

 

Dude that's jacked. I would definitely let the dealer know. Although its not a crazy amount of miles you could probably get some freebies or if you push hard enough, one with less miles. Keep us posted if you do hit the dealer up!

 

I bet that it was a plain & simple Mistake. Talk to the dealer and get your paperwork adjusted so your warranty covers the extra 100 miles. if they say don't worry about it they'll cover you, just ask them to complete the paperwork in case you have to move and have it serviced elsewhere. Also 21mpg on a "demo" car is actually pretty good. Most demos are going to Idle a bit, they'll get driven in stop/go traffic, and maybe a little bit on the highway.

I'm sure it's just fine... maybe you can get a set of floor mats or a few oil changes. you might get something small for compensation but don't expect anything. A dealer isn't going to adjust the price of a new car for 100 miles.

~SB

 

FWIW, It's not unusual to have 100 miles or more on a new car. Personally, I'd forget it as the difference in miles is not great. And I assume you've taken possession of the car so how do you prove it? The dealer can just say you drove the extra miles after you left the lot.

Demos? I don't see demo hondas much. I think they cycle the cars in the lot for test drives and try to keep the mileage reasonable so they can sell them as new. So this may have been test driven...or driven down from another dealer. This is one of the things I considered when buying my fit. I almost bought one that would have to be driven down from another state and the odo would probably read 300 miles. But I was able to find one with less than 10 miles on it so I got that instead.

 

A car with 100 miles on it is bot considered to be a demo at our dealer some cars get dropped off the truck with 30 and then.we have to test drive them.when we prep them

 

The Fit gets good mileage on the freeway not driving around side streets showing the car to people. 100 plus miles is not that many miles. I would not be worried about it. If it really bothers you go to the dealer and talk to the Manager. Don't let your car bother you to the point you are upset. If the dealer is cool he will let you trade it for a car with no miles. When I got my Fit the dealer did not bolt the tires on right. Every time I turned a corner my car would make this shaking noise. I regret not making the dealer take it back. My car is fine now. It just needed the tires bolted on. If you are truly upset stand up for yourself and get a different car.

 

Just so you know, if your car idles just sitting there the mpg drop like crazy, so you could have 5mpg if it sits idling long enough.

 

Seriously? You are pissed about this? This is a car that will likely run for several hundred thousand miles. A difference of 100 miles is what, less than a tenth of a percent of the total mileage on the car? If this was a specialty vehicle that had a true break in period, I might be concerned, but this is a Honda.

Stop worrying about this, and enjoy your new car.

 

This - In fact, if the contract says the trip mileage and not the actual mileage, I would have to assume that it was an honest mistake on the dealer's part because if the car has never been titled and is being sold as new than there is literally no benefit to them "cheating" you out of 80 miles.

110 miles is not all that unusual for a "new" car when you consider it sitting on the lot getting test drives, and potentially being driven over from another dealer as an exchange (example - I got an xD that had over 100 miles - had been on a dealer lot for a couple of months and then was driven 70+ miles from that dealer to my dealer).

The MPG is completely irrelevant - as others have said test drives are not exactly high-efficiency, PLUS you don't get peak fuel efficiency from a car that new.

 

I dunno if this applies on every states but a vehicle with 100 miles or more is considered/catalogued as used not new.. so if this applies to the state where you are then they should atleast given you a discounted price for an "Used" vehicle.

I bought my Fit with only 13 miles on the Odo and from those miles i probably put 3-4 when i test drove it.

 

I really wouldn't give it a second thought. Considering the life expectancy of the vehicle the amount you're talking about it nothing.

If you approached the dealer in a polite, civil way perhaps you could have them throw in a free oil change when it becomes due.

 

They swindled you on the price as well...