Demos offer route to a lower price

A dealership sets aside a vehicle for an employee to use a for test drives or for providing transportaton for service department customers, then sells it at a discount as used. So-called "demo cars- have been around forever — and with manufacturer-backed certified preowned programs. deals cn demo cars are more attractive than ever. 'We do have some available periodically." said Dove Hil-debrandt. used car sales manager for RUSS DARROW Chrysler Jeep Dodge Rem in West Bend. it used to be that just about everybody who worked at a dealer- ship had a demo to drive around. Now it limited to a few people. but if one's available, you condefinitely save money." Philip Reed. senior con-sumer advice editor for Edmuncls.com. agrees. He explains that while demo cars are not privately registered, they're still regarded as pre-owned. They generally have lass than 5.000 miles on the cdo-meter and are meticulously maintained. If you want proof, any ADAMM dealership will provide you a free vehicle history report from an organization such as Carta or AutoChecicCorsdIrecf.com also notes that demo cars (sometimes referred to as courtesy a executive vehicles) often come loaded with safety and comfort features that might put a vehicle cut of your price range if you were to buy it new. If you're considering a demo car. Reed and others sug- geet you do as much advance research as you would do wherever shopping for a nay vehicle. You should also familiarize yam-self with the true market value of comparably equipped new vehicles before you negotiate a deal. Before deciding, find out if the price of o demo car a lower than the price of a comparably equipped new car after any current manufacturer or dealer incentives have been applied. In any event. experts say. negotiate as you would when buying any teed vehicle. You should also ask the dealer about the warranty. Reed notes that a vehicle's in-service date starts the clock on the warranty ticking, so whether a vehicle has been in ser-vice for three months or six can make a difference. Steve Hatchet. who writes about automotive topics at Cura corn. however. said if a car is part of a certified pre-owned program that offers extra benefits. the warranty is BET-TER thon new." Hildebrandt also said that the exact model you're looking for may a may not be available at a given store at a given time. If you call dealerships a check internet listings, though, you might be able to find one, or get diba on one when it does become available.