[sirhawkeye]

I've got a question regarding cars that have been traded between dealers (not sold to customers, just moved around).

Should I be concerned? My local dealer has only 2 Focuses on their lot, and neither of them fit my preferences. So, they'll have to get one from another dealer. Now, most of them they found have about 100-300 miles on them, but they are all new (never sold to any customer, just moved around between dealers).

Should I be concerned with this? My biggest concern is that the first 2000 or so miles are crucial to any new car, and for all we know, someone could have driven the car 200 miles at a constant highway speed, which Ford does not recommend for the first 1000 or so miles.

Suggestions or opinions? I tried to explain to one dealer that if that were to happen, any issues wouldn't show up until the car had 80k+ (or so) on it and it was out of warranty. All of my previous cars, I've gotten them with under 100 miles on them. 100 miles or under, I don't mind, because you can only do so much in 100 miles (probably not enough to cause any permanent harm, unless you completely floor the car the entire 100 miles).

 

[sirhawkeye]

Should I ask for a little more off the car, or should I just accept it that this is how it has to be if the car has to be traded from another dealer?

I just don't want to get one that will have engine problems later because someone drove it like they stole it (you know, like a bat out of hell).

 

[MGbox]

I test drove a lot at different dealers and up to 300km was not uncommon, I wouldn't be worried. Check out the other thread about how many KMs were on their cars when they bought em.

 

[MGbox]

http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=263494

 

[FordFan1265]

You aren't going to get anything off the car for it being a dealer trade. And trades are never any different than a car from your dealer originally other than the mileage put on it to get it there. My car is a dealer trade and I have had no problems. Also, dealer trades are, at least in my experience, done by professionals paid by the dealer who are very knowledgeable about cars. They don't drive it like they stole it, they don't lock in the cruise control for the whole trip. They treat it right. The guys we had doing it for the dealer I used to work for even knew to vary their speed some if possible to keep it guessing if their delivery was more than a couple hundred miles. Dealer trades just happen, and sometimes dealers don't even tell you that your car will be traded for, so consider yourself lucky to know. You might be able to talk them into some freebies for the mileage, such as an extra tank of gas when you come get your plates, or free tint, or something along those lines. But don't worry, and don't be greedy. Do make sure the dealer they get it from is as reputable as your dealer though or there's no telling what they might have pulled when they had the car on their lot.

 

[ransil]

I found a few I wanted, problem was the other dealers we not willing to trade, my dealer had foci or other stuff to trade and the other dealers we not letting the foci go. I had to order what I wanted.

 

[Starfury]

My dealer had a Kona Blue hatch that they had coming in on dealer trade from Long Island.

Long story short- the LI dealership sold it before the trade went through, so I ordered one with the goodies I wanted.

I wonder if Ford has had this many customer orders on any other models before the 2012 Focus. Seems to be the norm for this car.

 

[gerryyy]

Here's my $.02 worth.

Everything FordFan is essentially correct. The only additions are that the trades are generally done by retirees who make a few bucks for their driving. Sometimes the salesperson will be the one doing the driving. In either case there is a cost associated with doing a dealer trade. If you're concerned about things going wrong at 80K get the FORD ESP. Don't buy a third party warranty. Stick with FORD.

 

[Technoholic]

I do the dealer trades sometimes. There's nothing to be concerned. It depends on what the dealer have to offer or want to make trade happen and to have it on their lot the sooner the better, the better to sell off. It's kinda like if you have more Escapes at one dealership, and more Foci at the other dealership. They can do a swap plus check or none. It's pretty much always a win-win situation for both dealerships.

 

[Nutty 5.0]

I've been buying and even performed the swap of dealer trade. Very common here. Buddy bought a 01 Cobra back in 01 and the dealer let us take an 01 Explorer 60 miles away so he could swap between for the Cobra from the other dealer. Not typical though!