Would you buy a demo Audi S1?

[Volks]

If you were planning to buy an Audi S1 would you buy a demo and why?

The savings can be really good but the arguments tend to be that the car has been:

1. Driven to an inch of its life by every single customer.
2. A demo with 2000-3000km may have had over a 100+ test drives thus accelerated wear and tear
3. Some say it’s good for the engine others say not if it’s been driven with a cold engine which is highly likely.
4. How hard can you really push it during a test drive near the CBD of a major city?

[Sharkie]

If you were planning to buy an Audi S1 would you buy a demo and why?

The savings can be really good but the arguments tend to be that the car has been:

1. Driven to an inch of its life by every single customer.
2. A demo with 2000-3000km may have had over a 100+ test drives thus accelerated wear and tear
3. Some say it’s good for the engine others say not if it’s been driven with a cold engine which is highly likely.
4. How hard can you really push it during a test drive near the CBD of a major city?

If the price was right I'd consider it ...... for the following reasons in response to your questions ....

1. Its a manual and most Australians cannot drive a manual ..... limited customer base so less test drives
2. unlikely to be 100+ test drives, see #1 above
3. driving it hard is good for the engine, though given #1, may have been cold at the start of the drive
4. not that hard actually, nanny state speed enforcement seriously curbs this activity, I've barely managed to hit the redline twice in a test drive recently .......

[Flipper Dog]

You won't get a test drive without the dealer sitting next to you. Once you try to gun it around you will get the notice to calm it down. The dealers will normally take it out for a good 5 minutes to warm it up before allowing you a change over as driver.

Biggest disadvantage is it is a lucky dip with options/colours.

[Johnbu]

If it was a bit cheaper I would. .

Demographics of buyers is unlikely to abuse the car.

[Notso Swift]

Adding to what Sharkie has said
There are "Demo Cars" and there are "Demo cars"
Most of the time it is being used by dealership staff or the commute

Also as above (if the car is warm) a good thrash helps bed the rings

[Volks]

You won't get a test drive without the dealer sitting next to you. Once you try to gun it around you will get the notice to calm it down. The dealers will normally take it out for a good 5 minutes to warm it up before allowing you a change over as driver.

Believe it or not I actually did get to test drive the S1 without the dealer. He did take us around the block and handed the car over back at the dealership, I can only assume he was to tall to sit in the back.

Biggest disadvantage is it is a lucky dip with options/colours.

True, but if you get exactly what you want or close enough then its hard to resist especially since a lot of demos are well optioned.

If it was a bit cheaper I would. .

Demographics of buyers is unlikely to abuse the car.

You could argue if they are looking for a fast hatch like the S1 they are going to drive it hard otherwise why not settle for a cheaper A1

Adding to what Sharkie has said
There are "Demo Cars" and there are "Demo cars"
Most of the time it is being used by dealership staff or the commute

Yes this does worry me, I doubt the dealer would come clean if it was used as a commute or courtesy car. I don't think there is anyway you can tell?

[Dutch77]

No, unless the discount was at least 15% off new rrp.

No doubt some demo stock is well treated but the vast majority isn't. Unless you know the dealer personally and trust their call that it hasn't been thrashed repeatedly off cold starts or whatever else because they sat in on every test drive then it's just hearsay.

In recent years the vast majority of my test drives (admittedly back in Adelaide) across various dealers/makes were all unattended by the sales rep.

I'd be more wary of a dealer who claimed the demo was ONLY used for commute by staff - this is their standard con for thrashed test driven stock.

[AdamD]

I've test-driven a lot of cars recently. The majority were handed to me with the oil temp very very cold. Most were only for 30 minute test drives, and the oil would take 15+ mins to warm up. Did I wait before cutting loose? Let's just say I'm glad they weren't my cars.

[sillyboy]

It's not a bad thing a new car being driven hard (it's actually good for the run in), the problem is the car would be driven hard when it's still cold most of the time.

[Sharkie]

Even at 15% I off RRP I won't but at 20+% I'd start thinking about it.

As far as I can recall S1 is around $50K +ORC new and you can get a new R in a manual for $50K driveaway (with some haggling and a good discount) and a new S1 also for $50K driveaway with the current Audi Quattro drive-away deals (until 30June) , so it would need to be at $40K or less before it would be worth the risk in my view.