HONDA PILOT .ORG Archive - Miles on new '06 Pilot

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Miles on new '06 Pilot - Click HERE for Original Thread

sdihome

I'm about to purchase a '06 pilot. The Dealer doesn't have the color that I want, so they are going to do a "dealer trade" to get the color of Pilot that I want. I don't like the idea of someone else putting the first miles on my new Pilot! When they do "dealer trades" do they drive them or do flat bed them? One way I figure that out is to know how many miles where on other members Pilot when they took delivery.

Bklynprince

When i recieved my 06 pilot, i remember it had only 6 miles on it, and i seen them take it down from a flat bed truck.

e2e

Not all dealers may do it the same way, and it may also depend on how far they have to go for the trade, but my experience with dealer trades has been that once the swap has been arranged with another dealer, someone from the dealership (in my case, the salesperson) literally takes a new car from his inventory, drives it to the exchanging dealer, and drives back in the car that was ordered by the customer. You can certainly ask your dealer what their plans are, and how far they're planning on going for your Pilot.

jl_ss

As others have stated it depends on the distance. My experience in MA is that dealers drive them when they dealer trade. When I commuted, I would regularly get passed by new Toyotas that were being traded to our local Toyota dealership. Drivers were usually younger service staff (in dealership service uniforms) passing me at about 100 mph on the highway. My favorite was watching two new Toyotas doing a tag team weave and pass routine following each other bumper to bumper at about 80 mph. That really turned me off from ever buying a Toyota at that particular dealership. If you don't want even the possibility that that will happen, then make sure you negotiate it as a requirement when buying.

ecsw

mine had about 20~30km on it. No a big deal to me. :)

whizmo

Mine had 9 miles on it when I received it. It was sitting on the lot unprepped for delivery when we cruised the lot looking at colors, so I'm reasonably certain these miles were after-prep test miles and the miles they pick up during transport from factory to dealer.

Dealer trades are always sketchy with respect to how the car gets transported. There are no hard-fast rules - generally short distances are more likely to be driven and longer distances are more likely to be put on a transporter. You can certainly insist that the car be transported rather than driven, but this may complicate the negotiations as the dealer may incur additional transport costs.

I didn't worry about these things ten years ago when I bought a Pathfinder and when it showed up, it had 300 miles on it. I went ahead and closed the deal, but this car always had a fairly pronouced valve clatter on startup, and a slightly noisy valve train all the time. Was this due to abuse during those 300 miles? Maybe. Hard to know. When I sold it at 50K, it was running fine, but perhaps the next owner paid the price.

In addition to transport miles, there is the issue of how many miles the car has right now on the other dealer's lot. It could be just a few or it could have several hundred if the car has been test-driven a great deal. Before I negotiate on a inter-dealer-trade car, I insist on getting this info - if the car has a hundred miles, I'd definitely discount a bit and get a right of refusal if the car doesn't seem to drive well when I take delivery.

Okay, after having scared the wits out of you, I have to say that for the most part, these cars are very robust and generally not sensitive to how they're initally driven. Short of outright total abuse, the car probably couldn't care less whether it's first few hundred miles are at the hands of some dealer yahoo or in your capable hands. So the risk of a future problem being sown in these first few miles is low. Nevertheless, I'd find out how many miles are on the car they're thinking about getting for you and insist on the car being transported if the other dealer is far away.

Cheers,

Whizmo

e2e

quote:
I have to say that for the most part, these cars are very robust and generally not sensitive to how they're initally driven. Short of outright total abuse, the car probably couldn't care less whether it's first few hundred miles are at the hands of some dealer yahoo or in your capable hands. So the risk of a future problem being sown in these first few miles is low.

Not sure I would agree with that. Honda specifically cautions against full throttle starts and hard acceleration during the first 600 miles, and hard braking duting the first 200 miles. Both of these sound like part of the job description of 18 year old porters at the car dealerships.

icodeit

Personally I did not want a dealer trade. I know how the goofers treat the cars (not well).

Not to mention you might get a dealer trade off a show floor where everyone has abused the vehicle already (I know I'm hard on showroom cars).

Also the car could have been the other dealers "outside" car, meaning its been test driven many times, and I aslo know how I and many other test drive cars.

In larger centers, dealer trades are driven. In smaller areas where dealers are further apart, they are transported.

The down side of not taking dealer trade, is that you have to wait for the next shipment from the factory, and those are done is segments and allocated to dealers upon request. So if you want a red one, if they have already allocated all the reds for this month, you have to wait until the next productions run or red ones. Then shipping etc.

I'm in the above situation, been waiting 5 weeks with hopefully only 1 week left to go prior to getting my "Gray" pilot. Its a long wait, but I know that it won't be pre-abused when I pick it up.

whizmo

quote:
Originally posted by e2e

Not sure I would agree with that. Honda specifically cautions against full throttle starts and hard acceleration during the first 600 miles, and hard braking duting the first 200 miles. Both of these sound like part of the job description of 18 year old porters at the car dealerships.

True, but I'd venture that 90% of all Pilots are subjected to both and show no distress. I'm not saying that break-in is a total myth, just pointing out the realities of how cars are used in the real world. And there is some evidence that excessively babying a new car does it more harm than good - it takes heat and combustion pressure to break in rings.

This is just one of those subjects where there are no hard and fast rules. Having said that, yes, I'd much prefer to have a new car that has not been driven by people who don't care about my car.

Whizmo

sdihome

Thanks to all for the info. I think I will wait (if I can stand it) until the dealer gets in the Pilot that I want ('06 AWD, EX-L w/nav, Nighthawk Black Pearl/ Grey)

ecsw

quote:
Originally posted by sdihome
Thanks to all for the info. I think I will wait (if I can stand it) until the dealer gets in the Pilot that I want ('06 AWD, EX-L w/nav, Nighthawk Black Pearl/ Grey)

hey, I must have your Pilot then. ;) Good choice. ;)

Sportymonk

I bought an 05 from a dealer in Raleigh NC. They had one like I wanted but it had been promised to another dealer already. They said they could get one on a dealer trade. I asked if they could let the other dealer take the trade and I get the one there. They said no as they had already made the deal. Maybe it was just paperwork but I felt part of it was a sense of integrity.

They asked how many miles I would accept. I asked what people usually do and they said a limit of 150 to 200 miles. I said lets keep it under 100. They delivered with the protective wrap still on it and only 42 miles on it. Since most have about 6 no matter what, they would mean about 36 miles. Pilot was in perfect shape. No scratches, No 70 mile vibrations, no loose anything. No problems. I was pleased even though it was transferred.

sdihome

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ecsw

hey, I must have your Pilot then. ;) Good choice. ;) [/QUOTE

No wonder I can't find it - its north of the border!]

ecsw

lol. But now I might consider a different color if I can buy it one more time. :p

I washed it on Saturday and I can't keep it clean for more than 3 days. :p

JerryL

Mine had 111 miles on it when I picked it up. They had to bring it up from Baltimore. The dealer uses retired people to jockey the cars, so I'm sure it wasn't abused on the way up to Philly.

sdihome

quote:
Originally posted by ecsw
lol. But now I might consider a different color if I can buy it one more time. :p

I washed it on Saturday and I can't keep it clean for more than 3 days. :p

Man do I know what you mean, I've had a Black, '84 Chevy, S-10 Blazer 4x4 for 22 years as of 12/19/05. When they (Black SUV's) are clean, they a gorgeous. (sorry no P.C. disclaimer)

ecsw

Especially the back. Extreamly easy to get dirty. :3:

Edthered

Mine was a dealer swap and they drove it from the trading dealer to the selling dealer. It ended up with 40 miles on it when I got it. I thorougly inspected it to make sure there was no road damage. The cars was fine. 40 miles in the scheme of things is too miniscule to fret over......:2:

Kataku2k3

The dealership I went through is doing a "dealer trade" on mine as well, but it hasn't arrived yet. It's supposed to be brought down today from up north in Bellevue, Washington. That trip alone is around 180 miles, but I just assumed that they'd be driving it. It would be kinda cool if they didn't though. Guess I'll find out tomorrow and report back...:)

Edthered

"Not sure I would agree with that. Honda specifically cautions against full throttle starts and hard acceleration during the first 600 miles, and hard braking duting the first 200 miles. Both of these sound like part of the job description of 18 year old porters at the car dealerships."

I recall in one of the forums ( I forget which) a professional Honda mechanic stating that the honda engineers during his training saying that they prefer the cars be driven normally and not babied when they are new.

My I met the driver my dealer used to transport the vehicle and she was much more mature than an 18 year old. Dealers wouldn't be very profitable if they used drivers who thrashed their new vehicles. You must have some pretty poor dealers to have developed such negative assumptions of them:14:

e2e

quote:
Originally posted by Edthered
I recall in one of the forums ( I forget which) a professional Honda mechanic stating that the honda engineers during his training saying that they prefer the cars be driven normally and not babied when they are new.

My I met the driver my dealer used to transport the vehicle and she was much more mature than an 18 year old. Dealers wouldn't be very profitable if they used drivers who thrashed their new vehicles. You must have some pretty poor dealers to have developed such negative assumptions of them:14:

I never said that new Pilots need to be babied - I merely quoted the Honda Owners' Manual which says to avoid full throttle acceleration during the first 600 miles and hard braking during the first 200.

I also pointed out in my earlier post (#3 in the thread) that all dealers are different, and mentioned a satisfactory dealer trade on a previous vehicle that my salesperson went and brought back himself.

But, like poster #4, I have also been on the road and frequently observed pairs of obviously new cars with magnetic dealer plates being driven pretty recklessly -- to the point where I've commented that I was glad it wasn't my new car they weren't bringing back to the dealership. My original advice was get the details on how your car is going to be delivered and who is going to get it. As in so many other situations, caveat emptor.

sdihome

quote:
Originally posted by sdihome
I'm about to purchase a '06 pilot. The Dealer doesn't have the color that I want, so they are going to do a "dealer trade" to get the color of Pilot that I want. I don't like the idea of someone else putting the first miles on my new Pilot! When they do "dealer trades" do they drive them or do flat bed them? One way I figure that out is to know how many miles where on other members Pilot when they took delivery.

Update Decoded against the dealer trade. The dealer says that they looked on the list of Pilots that Honda is going to build for them and there is a Pilot just like I want ('06 AWD, EX-L w/Nav in Nighthawk Black Pearl w/grey). Per the salesman Honda is to build it today and he should get the VIN next week. Salesman says I should get my Pilot about 1/2/06. One can only hope!!

sdihome

quote:
Originally posted by sdihome

Update Decided against the dealer trade. The dealer says that they looked on the list of Pilots that Honda is going to build for them and there is a Pilot just like I want ('06 AWD, EX-L w/Nav in Nighthawk Black Pearl w/Grey). Per the salesman Honda is to build it today and he should get the VIN next week. Salesman says I should get my Pilot about 1/2/06. One can only hope!!

I think I fixed the spelling errors

wwong

Sportymonk

quote:
Originally posted by sdihome

I think I fixed the spelling errors

Rather than rquote yourself, you can just hit the edit key to fix typos. Lord knows I have learned that. I kept spelling "as" as something similar.

sdihome

O K, thanks

TooHypper

quote:
Originally posted by e2e
Not all dealers may do it the same way, and it may also depend on how far they have to go for the trade, but my experience with dealer trades has been that once the swap has been arranged with another dealer, someone from the dealership (in my case, the salesperson) literally takes a new car from his inventory, drives it to the exchanging dealer, and drives back in the car that was ordered by the customer. You can certainly ask your dealer what their plans are, and how far they're planning on going for your Pilot.

I did that...because I wanted WHITE with Navigation...there were about 100 miles onmine whenI got it....but that is because they swapped.

I got over 4 K off the MSRP too! :)

Edthered

quote:
Originally posted by e2e

But, like poster #4, I have also been on the road and frequently observed pairs of obviously new cars with magnetic dealer plates being driven pretty recklessly -- to the point where I've commented that I was glad it wasn't my new car they weren't bringing back to the dealership. My original advice was get the details on how your car is going to be delivered and who is going to get it. As in so many other situations, caveat emptor.

How unfortunate you live in an area where you "frequently" see dealer trades being driven "recklessly"? It would seem Chicago is not the place to buy a new car if it's going to be a dealer trade. That or the two dealer trades I've bought have been rare? good experiences........

Kataku2k3

Mine wasn't trailed... Had a little over 200miles, just as I'd figured. I'm normally extremely anal about this kinda stuff, but whatever. It's still pretty clean!

skyking

Here in Connecticut, most all Dealer's try to swap with others. Since 1988, I have bought only new Nissans, Toyotas, Subarus, and Hondas. In each and every case where the Dealer did not have a particular model or color in Stock, They said they would swap with another dealer. Also, in all cases of the swap offer, they would only drive not flatbed. Only on one occassion, 10 years ago when I ordered a '95 Nissan Maxima SE with cold-weather package, did the dealer flatbed the car, but then it was 200 mi away. When I bought my wife's RAV4 in August, those salespeople practically begged on bended knee to let them swap for another car (the closest was 100 mi away). I said N.F.W. and waited the ten weeks to get a factory fresh one. For my '06 Pilot, The salesman was a family friend and called me the day the truck from the port brought up a billet silver one. Had 2.8 miles on it.