How many test-drive miles on a new manual car is your limit?

[Mustang5ohMan]

Mine had .6 miles. Dealership - gas station - back. They don't let anyone test drive manual Mustang GT / GT350 / GT350R.

my hey gave me the keys to a stick 5.0 to drive solo in the rain.

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[WildHorse]

my hey gave me the keys to a stick 5.0 to drive solo in the rain.

v-good. I feel sorry for the guy who bought it.

 

[Mustang5ohMan]

v-good. I feel sorry for the guy who bought it.

I went to the dealership, about 2 months ago. Salesman gave me the keys to a GT 6spd and a plate and it was raining. Drive it down the block and then brought it back lol.

 

[BimmerDriver]

Just want to hear where you'd draw the line. Thank you.
JC

I remember vividly when I went to test-drive a new BMW M3 V8 (I bought one a few weeks later). Stupid salesman didn't even warm up the car, and proceeded to redline the crap out of it when the temp gauge hadn't even moved. Missed several shifts, and just drove like crap. Next guy was even worse.

I've seen a lot of bad driving as well. I remember one salesman redlining a cold engine, and I mentioned to him that some folks consider that to be abuse. He replied that "these new engines have micropolished cams and it doesn't matter any more". I suggested that I disagreed with him, and then commented on his driving, which was dangerous, and he said "I used to be a race car driver." I replied that maybe he should have mentioned that before he did 100 MPH on a city street, and I don't appreciate him doing that. I may have also called him a dick and of course, I did not buy that car or anything else from him.

So... my last new manual transmission car was my M2. It had something like 160 miles on it. Those were all test drive miles, and their test "route" was about 3 or 4 miles, so that's what, 40 test drives? All on a cold engine with cold oil and on a short drive with no chance to get the oil up to operating temperature? OMG. But the car has been fine. Well, not fine, but none of the issues were related to the engine. Of course, I'd prefer to have had one with no miles, but M2s at the time were hard to come by.

The GT I'm about to buy had 14 miles on it when I test drove it. I'm going to drive it again today to make sure that I want the PP1, and I'll probably put 40 miles on it, but I'll behave myself.

There are good arguments for breaking in an engine (and transmission and brakes and differential) properly, but not everyone agrees with that on modern engines and modern lubricants. To answer the OP's question, I'd suggest that anything under 50 miles wouldn't be a concern.

Oh, for a point of interest: I had a Porsche Boxster with some drivability issues, so I took it into the dealer and went for a drive with the shop foreman. The first thing he does is redline it through the first few gears. "We do this with all of the cars when they come in," he says. "You guys don't drive them hard enough." There is some truth to that, and he wasn't abusive about it, but I dare say that the majority of Porsche owners would have a cow if they knew that. In my case, I didn't really care and he said my complaints were detectable but "they all do that" which of course, they don't, but enough do that Porsche doesn't have a fix for it, and I sold the car.

To be fair, I don't typically keep cars very long, so I don't get too worried about longevity, although I still break-in my cars properly, and don't abuse them.

 

[wazslow]

Just because you trade in a car, the entire amount does not have to be a down payment. The dealer can write you a check for a portion of the trade in, then you can finance the $5,000 in order to save $1,500 from the ford rebate. I've done it before. What would they do if your trade in was worth more than the car you were buying? They would write you a check....

 

[Mustang5ohMan]

I've seen a lot of bad driving as well. I remember one salesman redlining a cold engine, and I mentioned to him that some folks consider that to be abuse. He replied that "these new engines have micropolished cams and it doesn't matter any more". I suggested that I disagreed with him, and then commented on his driving, which was dangerous, and he said "I used to be a race car driver." I replied that maybe he should have mentioned that before he did 100 MPH on a city street, and I don't appreciate him doing that. I may have also called him a dick and of course, I did not buy that car or anything else from him.

So... my last new manual transmission car was my M2. It had something like 160 miles on it. Those were all test drive miles, and their test "route" was about 3 or 4 miles, so that's what, 40 test drives? All on a cold engine with cold oil and on a short drive with no chance to get the oil up to operating temperature? OMG. But the car has been fine. Well, not fine, but none of the issues were related to the engine. Of course, I'd prefer to have had one with no miles, but M2s at the time were hard to come by.

The GT I'm about to buy had 14 miles on it when I test drove it. I'm going to drive it again today to make sure that I want the PP1, and I'll probably put 40 miles on it, but I'll behave myself.

There are good arguments for breaking in an engine (and transmission and brakes and differential) properly, but not everyone agrees with that on modern engines and modern lubricants. To answer the OP's question, I'd suggest that anything under 50 miles wouldn't be a concern.

Oh, for a point of interest: I had a Porsche Boxster with some drivability issues, so I took it into the dealer and went for a drive with the shop foreman. The first thing he does is redline it through the first few gears. "We do this with all of the cars when they come in," he says. "You guys don't drive them hard enough." There is some truth to that, and he wasn't abusive about it, but I dare say that the majority of Porsche owners would have a cow if they knew that. In my case, I didn't really care and he said my complaints were detectable but "they all do that" which of course, they don't, but enough do that Porsche doesn't have a fix for it, and I sold the car.

To be fair, I don't typically keep cars very long, so I don't get too worried about longevity, although I still break-in my cars properly, and don't abuse them.

Stick to the BMWs

 

[Briebee72]

I find it interesting everyone wants to test drive cars but dont want to buy cars that have been test driven. Everyone wants to test the cars out first. I would expect most cars get test driven. Not everyone can buy a car right off the truck. I owned a civic type R and everyone was so admit that they wanted a non test driven car. They didn't want the car beat on or run hard before they owned it. Well guess what. Honda has a 2 mile track at the factory and they take every single one of the type rs straight off the line and run it hard on the track before putting on truck. Soo thats out the window.. LOL The problem is everyone thinks they are the only ones who can drive. That everyone but them will take it and beat it and redline it... guess what. That is the exact same thing the other drivers think you did as well. Who cares... the car is meant to be road hard.... redlined...tracked... drag stripped... driven hard... I seriously doubt a test driver is gonna do any worse then you will to it. I actually had a friend who would absolutely not buy a car that had been test driven, he said all the same things.. they are hard on them, th trany ... blah blah. then he would buy the car and basically take it sideways smokin the tires out the dealer???? really? The I wont buy a test drove car is just a mental hang up. My car had 200 miles on it, the dealer drove it from another dealer out of state. so what...

My point OP, I think this is what the 4th post you made now stressing the shit out of buying a car. Calm down buy a car its just a machine a thing a item. Dont stress it so much. Buy the one you want and stop looking for or finding reasons not to. couple hundred miles yeah might be concerned but 66.. I can run up 66 miles just running chores for an afternoon.

 

[James_GT]

O.P: Unless you catch the truck unloading a car it's going to have some test driven miles on it. The longer the dealer has it the more short trip test drive it'll have.

 

[Idaho2018GTPremium]

This thread is sort of comical. People crapping their pants about a few hard miles. Then on another thread in this forum, someone asks about redlining their car, and everyone's response is "These things are made to be driven hard, redline it without worry!"

That said, I understand the difference being that the new car engines are not fully broken in so there is that concern. But, the Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde responses are a bit funny.

My '18 GT Premium had almost 300 miles on it when I bought it new in Nov. '18. But I got a great deal, so it is what it is. It bothered me at first for a few minutes, but I haven't really thought about it since.

And those that put a hard limit on mileage...like "anything less than 50 miles is OK". As if there's any difference between 50 and 52 miles? Eh, just get a good deal and buy the thing.

 

[Elp_jc]

Just because you trade in a car, the entire amount does not have to be a down payment. The dealer can write you a check for a portion of the trade in, then you can finance the $5,000 in order to save $1,500 from the ford rebate. I've done it before. What would they do if your trade in was worth more than the car you were buying? They would write you a check....

That was a great point. I've done that a few times before, as a matter of fact. Sent your reply to the salesman. Ha ha. Thanks brother.

I find it interesting everyone wants to test drive cars but don't want to buy cars that have been test driven. Everyone wants to test the cars out first. I would expect most cars get test driven.

The rest of your post was a diatribe. Ha ha. You just don't get it, and that's okay. First of all, we're discussing MANUAL cars here; I'm much less picky with autos. The issue is HOW the car is driven, under what conditions, and by whom. The most concerning issue to me is abusing an engine on COLD OIL. You can decrease the life of that engine significantly, especially with several test drives. If it was done on a fully warmed up engine, it's not nearly as bad. The next issue is you might be a great driver, but it's a f***ing new car, and you don't know it. If you're a good driver, you don't abuse a car until you actually know it. If you grind a tranny hard enough, you could ruin it right there (broken tooth, etc). Or worse: after you buy it. But the biggie on a manual is a money shift (downshifting instead of upshifting, mechanically overrevving the engine). Those could also dramatically decrease the life of the engine (if not too much over). So say whatever you want, but you can do real damage with even less than 50 miles. Oh, and by the way, I always ask for a demo to test-drive. If not available, I test drive it sedately, just like if I had just bought it myself. You're probably going to say next that I'm stupid, but that's who I am: always respectful, even if others aren't. And if it's a demo, I don't get on it (if at all) until oil is at operating temperature (or 10-15 miles, if no gauge). If a new car, I simply don't get on it, out of respect for the new future owner (in case they're like me. Ha ha).

As I said already, the 66 miles on this car are not an automatic deal-breaker; that depends on how the test-drive go... if it even goes. Still waiting on photos of door panels, sills, etc., to see what's the damage. And my biggest hurdle is one that I might not be able to overcome: If dealer doesn't want to give me money back, to be able to finance the minimum of $5K they want, there won't be any Bullitt. Will ask a few people I know that might want my truck, and if I could do a deal privately without having to advertise it, then I'd be able to buy something farther away. We'll see how it goes. But I'm not going to give away several thousands dollars just because the difference has to be 5 grand.

 

[Mustang5ohMan]

That was a great point. I've done that a few times before, as a matter of fact. Sent your reply to the salesman. Ha ha. Thanks brother.


The rest of your post was a diatribe. Ha ha. You just don't get it, and that's okay. First of all, we're discussing MANUAL cars here; I'm much less picky with autos. The issue is HOW the car is driven, under what conditions, and by whom. The most concerning issue to me is abusing an engine on COLD OIL. You can decrease the life of that engine significantly, especially with several test drives. If it was done on a fully warmed up engine, it's not nearly as bad. The next issue is you might be a great driver, but it's a f***ing new car, and you don't know it. If you're a good driver, you don't abuse a car until you actually know it. If you grind a tranny hard enough, you could ruin it right there (broken tooth, etc). Or worse: after you buy it. But the biggie on a manual is a money shift (downshifting instead of upshifting, mechanically overrevving the engine). Those could also dramatically decrease the life of the engine (if not too much over). So say whatever you want, but you can do real damage with even less than 50 miles. Oh, and by the way, I always ask for a demo to test-drive. If not available, I test drive it sedately, just like if I had just bought it myself. You're probably going to say next that I'm stupid, but that's who I am: always respectful, even if others aren't. And if it's a demo, I don't get on it (if at all) until oil is at operating temperature (or 10-15 miles, if no gauge). If a new car, I simply don't get on it, out of respect for the new future owner (in case they're like me. Ha ha).

As I said already, the 66 miles on this car are not an automatic deal-breaker; that depends on how the test-drive go... if it even goes. Still waiting on photos of door panels, sills, etc., to see what's the damage. And my biggest hurdle is one that I might not be able to overcome: If dealer doesn't want to give me money back, to be able to finance the minimum of $5K they want, there won't be any Bullitt. Will ask a few people I know that might want my truck, and if I could do a deal privately without having to advertise it, then I'd be able to buy something farther away. We'll see how it goes. But I'm not going to give away several thousands dollars just because the difference has to be 5 grand.

Ah shucks get I wouldn’t get to use my 3/36 mile warranty.

 

[m3incorp]

Hey wait, are you suggesting that you are willing to add more miles to that car for the next guy or gal, if you should decide not to buy it.

Mine had 5 miles and then the supercharger was put on it and 35 miles added before I picked it up from the dealer.....hmmm I wonder if they strapped that supercharger on it and then babied it for that 35 mile check ride......of course I don't worry about that......... As said above, most people worry that the everyone else except themself can't drive a manual or will abuse it. You keep adding restrictions to your search...I'm thinking you might just want to order a brand new car and I've been in that position, so know how it can be.

That was a great point. I've done that a few times before, as a matter of fact. Sent your reply to the salesman.
As I said already, the 66 miles on this car are not an automatic deal-breaker; that depends on how the test-drive go... if it even goes. Still waiting on photos of door panels, sills, etc., to see what's the damage. And my biggest hurdle is one that I might not be able to overcome: If dealer doesn't want to give me money back, to be able to finance the minimum of $5K they want, there won't be any Bullitt. Will ask a few people I know that might want my truck, and if I could do a deal privately without having to advertise it, then I'd be able to buy something farther away. We'll see how it goes. But I'm not going to give away several thousands dollars just because the difference has to be 5 grand.

 

[CrashOverride]

Mine had 25k on it when I bought it, but I did buy it used. I bought one truck new with around 40 miles on it. The dealer drove it to a place to change out the head unit and put in a sunroof. It made the lease cheaper and since it wasn't "my" car, I didn't care. I bought a scion once that had 1 or 2 miles on it. The guy told me it was from driving it from the factory to the container ship and then from the container ship in Long Beach to the transport.

I buy most of my cars used and despite what any high performance owners tells you, they were romped on. I tell people that when they are buying used cars from me. Nobody and I mean nobody buys a high performance model just because they like paying $200 extra every month and paying more for insurance and gasoline. So that being said, I buy mine fully expecting abuse.

But, for a new car which I'm guessing is ~$50k (? Not sure what they go for new) yeah I'd expect them to deliver to my house in a cardboard box. The dealers can say what they want, but when the model comes at twice the price of a base model, you know there is some serious profit baked into the deal.

While this is probably not what you'd be interested in, Galpin Ford over here in SoCal is a huge Ford dealership. I'm sure they can get you what you want. Perhaps reach out to them and see if they can do a trade deal with your local dealer, or perhaps ship it to you if the deal is right and you can get enough pictures. $50k for a car here is nothing, so I doubt they sit long. We do have birds and it was darn near 100 a few weeks ago, but so far, for most of this year it's been fairly cool.

I promise I don't work at Galpin - I've never been there because it's pretty far from where I live, but I know they are deep into bed with Ford on custom packages like that dealer in Lebanon OH.

 

[dn1984]

Hey gang, I'm a little disappointed now. All the search work I did turned to $hit, for one reason or another. The last car in the list (100 miles away, in a different state), has scuff damage, AND they want too much money, because dealer said Ford requires a minimum of $5K to finance (is that correct?). Problem is my trade is worth almost as much as the Bullitt, so dealer wants to basically give me $5K less to meet their damn minimum. Not going to happen, but I'm probably f***ed with a 2019 if that's the case, since it's a $1,500 rebate. I always pay cash for everything, but don't mind financing the car and paying it off in a month. The issue is if I can't trade my truck, I'd lose the trade-in tax differential, automatically making the deal almost 3 grand more expensive. Can't do that either.

At any rate, now to the biggest issue for me, and the title of the thread: That car has 66 freaking miles. I've always bought my manual cars right off the truck, with hardly any miles (less than 5). It the car had 1 test drive, hmmm, okay. Two? That's pushing it. But there were a lot more than that with 66 miles. That also means probably redlining the engine on cold oil, and my worst fear is crunching the tranny, since this one doesn't like to be rushed, especially with cold/warm oil (instead of hot). Just curious where you'd draw the line on test miles. I know I'm close to being extreme on this issue, but a cousin who is less than me, also told me he'd pass on 66 miles. Just want to hear where you'd draw the line. Thank you.
JC

tell them to cut you a check for your equity. they're just trying you on to see if you're dumb enough to get hosed on it

 

[lew]

So, the search for the perfect new/unused, year old manual GT has presented a few obstacles. I would say most of the problems you have been faced with could be eliminated by ordering a 2020 GT with the options you have decided upon. You say you pay cash for all the cars you have purchased, however financing and price seems to be a concern for this purchase. You may be the root cause of your frustrations.

My special order GT was delivered to me in immaculate condition with .07 on the speedo. Along with the rebates and great trade-in I was also surprised to receive 750 off the bottom line for customer appreciation from Ford. I say trade your car in and pay the diff in cash on a special order 2020. Good Luck JC.

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