[EricK]

I was wondering you guys, when you first test drove the IS300, how hard did you push it? Did you use full throttle with the auto tranny shifting at the maximum shift point? That's what I did when I first test drove the IS300. I drove it hard and thoroughly.... I was wondering whether that's bad for a car that hasn't even been broken in yet or is that ok once in awhile during breakin period...
Eric....

 

[geoff]

i was SO fired up to drive the is300 for the first time -- it was the first car i wanted to look at. when i finally took it out, the saleslady was encouraging me to hammer it all over the place BIG TIME. we got onto a small stretch of hwy and she's all, "okay, now step on it!" i did, of course, but someone will wind up buying that yellow is300, and it's been hammered God knows how many times.

 

[disintegration]

It's funny you bring this up, beacause I know the demo IS they had at the dealership definitely got the sh*t beat out of it. I was driving with the sales guy around 65 mph (he tells me to slam on the brakes), we go off the side of the road in the gravel (he tells me to gun it to test the LSD and TRAC), not to mention hitting it full throttle all the time. These things are not great for a new car, but necessary to test out it's performance for a prospective buyer. The sad thing is that I went into the dealership a couple of weeks after I bought my car (3 miles on it), that same demo was all prepped up and ready to be delivered. I'd hate to be that owner ...

 

[cardinal_creek]

Yeah, I gunned it too. That's why I made sure that the one that *I* took home had only the minimum amount of miles on it. In my case it had 5 miles on it.

On the other hand, demos are sold ALL the time. And you know what? I have never heard anyone say, "I got a demo and the thing is a lemon."

 

[94Lude00S2OOO]

I wouldn't buy the demo, but luckily the local dealerships don't sell the demo's until the end. Not sure if they sell them as new or as a demo for a discount. The MB dealer is the same.

 

[IIIseries]

I have a friend who's a Lex sales rep and I feel SORRY for whoever ends up with his IS demo

He DOGS this car in the worst ways possible. The first night he had it, less than 40 miles on the odom, we had an all-out top speed war.

So, potential buyers, beware of demo ISs

 

[Falken]

I agree-I would hate to be the guy who buys the demo. Engines are not made to take that kind of a beating during the break-in. They usually don't even give much of a break on the price of demo cars.
When I bought my CLS I actually test drove the managers car. I thought it was kinda weird at first, but I can understand why they did it. I actually never floored it either. I downshifted a number of times, but never nailed it. I could tell that it had really good power and I kinda wanted to just wait "until the wedding night" to really find out what it could do. I didn't want to kill the anticipation and excitement right off the bat. Believe me, though, once that break in period was over all bets were off. Besides, coming from driving a 4cylinder I knew anything would be better.

------------------

 

[EricK]

I understand guys, but honestly.. Does it really hurt the car at the dealership when they are pushed from time to time during the break in... Today's engines should be designed to handle that kind of abuse, even during break in...
Eric...

 

[tony]

Originally posted by EricK:
I understand guys, but honestly.. Does it really hurt the car at the dealership when they are pushed from time to time during the break in... Today's engines should be designed to handle that kind of abuse, even during break in...
Eric...

When I went to test drive the IS for the first time, the demo car would pull up, some salesman and his customer would jump in and zoom off. I watched this happen at least five times before and after my own turn. I know that car did that all day. You should've seen the brake dust on the front wheels of this brand new car.

Demo cars get hammered.




------------------
Tony
'01 Spectra Blue
'94 Turbo Miata

 

[EricK]

Actually Tony I wasn't referring to a Demo car but a brand new car. A lot of people test drive brand new cars (that aren't demos) and push them HARD during a test drive. When the car is ready for sale it has 15 or more miles on it... Do you think that effects the longevity of the car? I would doubt it...
Eric....

 

[tony]

Originally posted by EricK:
Actually Tony I wasn't referring to a Demo car but a brand new car. A lot of people test drive brand new cars (that aren't demos) and push them HARD during a test drive. When the car is ready for sale it has 15 or more miles on it... Do you think that effects the longevity of the car? I would doubt it...
Eric....

I don't know Eric, the demo car I was referring to was a brand new car, it came of the truck that day and then proceeded to get pounded.




------------------
Tony
'01 Spectra Blue
'94 Turbo Miata

 

[EricK]

My friend that bought his Tiptronic S4 back in June had 150 miles on it.. ouch

Eric...

 

[ISisBEST]

My IS had 19 miles on it. Do you think it could have been a demo. What is the average mileage of a new car? I know it is at least 3 miles.

 

[cardinal_creek]

Originally posted by ISisBEST:
My IS had 19 miles on it. Do you think it could have been a demo. What is the average mileage of a new car? I know it is at least 3 miles.

Mine had 5 miles on it. That accounts for test drives at the port. 19 sounds like someone test drove it

Somehow I'd think you'll be OK

 

[mrclam]

if you think about it, this has probalby been a common practice for forever and ever...as long as the mileage that you got your car at wasnt' at like 500(hard driven) miles or something....i think you should be fine

 

[laughingboy]

When I went to the dealership to pick mine up, they wanted me to drive it before "signing on the dotted line" (mine was the 5th IS sold at that dealearship). So, I proceeded to pound the crap out of it. Tearing around corners, flooring it, braking like crazy. Basically, I was going for a test drive of my car. After leaving the lot with my IS, I continued to drive relatively normal (i.e., no babying). I didn't observe the "break-in" period that every talks about. I would floor it...drive at very high speeds...took it on road trips to Vegas...just your normal everyday driving situations. And look at it now...with 13K+ miles, it runs just as good as that first day I picked it up.

 

[mrclam]

laughingboy: if i were you i'd sell the car before hitting 100k miles. you're not going to see problems now, but POSSIBLY later in the engine's life.

 

[cardinal_creek]

Originally posted by mrclam:
laughingboy: if i were you i'd sell the car before hitting 100k miles. you're not going to see problems now, but POSSIBLY later in the engine's life.

Interesting comment from someone that bought a USED car. How do you know how your car was driven during the break in? I know, you're going to say that you are not planning on keeping it that long.

I would *love* for someone to prove to me that a hard driven car (during break in) is any less reliable...

 

[mrclam]

to tell you the truth, i don't know that it won't have problems. i don't know exactly how you can tell but if i recall, breaking an engine in basically allows te engine seals to settle. the m3 is basically bulletproof, but no car is immune to the consequences of abuse. and as for the length of time that i'm going to keep the car for...a VERY long time. even when the car is old, it will still make a VERY potent daily driver.

and yeah....if troubles come, i'll have to deal. from the way it looks, the car was previously owned by some rich guy who used the car as a daily driver. i'm at 35k miles and still probably another 8k miles till inspection two, which means the previous owner didn't exactly beat the car up. most owners hit inspection two by 36k miels. (fyi, the inspection on the m3 is indicated by lights which are dependant on driving style. for example, if i drive to redline everyday of the week it will probalby take me 10k to hit an inspection, whereas if i drive like a grandma it will take me possibly more than 20k.)

[This message has been edited by mrclam (edited October 19, 2000).]

 

[laughingboy]

Originally posted by mrclam:
laughingboy: if i were you i'd sell the car before hitting 100k miles. you're not going to see problems now, but POSSIBLY later in the engine's life.

I've done the same thing I described before to two previous cars I've owned (Civic and Dodge Ram) and did not experience any problems that were out of the ordinary. Drove the Civic to 110K (sold) and the Ram to 100K (trade-in). Just like normal electronics, if something unexpectedly is going to go wrong, it's going to happen relatively early in its life. If something happens later in life (like at 100K), it'll be just because of normal wear and tear.

(knocking on wood as I drive my IS the way it was meant to be driven

)