Most painful first week of ownership ever. At least when I picked it up, they only said to keep it under 160 km/hr for the first 2000 km. Luckily, I hit 2000 km just before turning onto the Stelvio Pass.
Dealership salesman car treatment
- Thread starter JoelB
- Start date
Factory-installed remote start systems have runtimes ranging from 5, 10, 20 minute options. If idling for 20 minutes was a problem (for the engine), they wouldn't give this setting choice.
9 out of 10 cars have NO break-in conditions detailed in their owner's manual. Don't the automakers know if it's necessary or not ?
What was the cause ? Didn't almost every car on the lot go through the same cycle ?
i think some of the break-in theories come from the old days of cast iron rings and flat tappet cams. that said, pretty sure my 2500HD manual said no towing for 500 miles or something along those lines, so there are still some break-in rules of some sort, at least for some vehicles.
I believe that requirement is mostly for the differential(s)
Condensation buildup in the oil. Freezes in cold temps, oil pressure control valve gets stuck, bearings overheat and seize.
I worked with a guy who washed cars for "Jolly John" back in high school. He helped himself to the car keys so he could shuffle the cars around to wash them better, and Jolly John himself fired the guy.
I wonder about the weather getting into the engine bay on those cars with the giant S-A-L-E signs jammed in open hoods.
I'm happy cars get moved around-- keeps "lot rot" off the brake rotors. The worst news about this treatment would be for a traditional 12V lead acid battery but that's why we have bumper-to-bumper warranties. I treat OE batteries like OE tires anyway... low expectations.
Some cars come with BCM programming that saves batteries when there are fewer than 25 miles on the odometer. Fewer courtesy lights on for shorter periods of time, etc. IIRC some need "unlocking" at the dealer for final customer delivery.
My Prius Prime came with one mile on it. Wish they charged the HV battery at the factory so it could putter around on that but it's bad for the lithium so I understand why they didn't. Delivered with a full tank of gas... and that's it.
I wonder about the weather getting into the engine bay on those cars with the giant S-A-L-E signs jammed in open hoods.
I'm happy cars get moved around-- keeps "lot rot" off the brake rotors. The worst news about this treatment would be for a traditional 12V lead acid battery but that's why we have bumper-to-bumper warranties. I treat OE batteries like OE tires anyway... low expectations.
Some cars come with BCM programming that saves batteries when there are fewer than 25 miles on the odometer. Fewer courtesy lights on for shorter periods of time, etc. IIRC some need "unlocking" at the dealer for final customer delivery.
My Prius Prime came with one mile on it. Wish they charged the HV battery at the factory so it could putter around on that but it's bad for the lithium so I understand why they didn't. Delivered with a full tank of gas... and that's it.
That's nothing. I bought a brand new 2016 VW Passat SEL Premium VR6, manufactured May 2016. But we bought it in December of 2018! 2018!!! It was 2 1/2 years old and had something like 75 miles on it. Most of that was probably from moving it back and forth on the lot. The stuff of BITOG nightmares!
MSRP was $38,430 but we got it OUT THE DOOR for $26,500. Given that was my first offer and they accepted it without much of a fight I think I could have done even better. Oh well. But worth it IMO. After 27K miles it's been flawless.
Immediately after buying it I put on H&R OEM Sport springs, Bilstein B6 struts/shocks, BBS SX 19x8.5 wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S 235/40s. I also had a body shop repaint the silver grill strip above the headlights gloss black.
Scott
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Reading this amazes me. I sold new cars for a couple dealerships when I needed to hire people to mange and run my other business. That's another story.
But the dealership would NOT allow some of the things posted in this thread. The sales people or employees would have been fired on the spot.
Any Sports car or performance car there were only a few that were even allowed to take customers on a test drive. No car was ever started and left idling unless the service shopped signed off on it.
Salesman were on the "ups" system so they were very motivated to make a sale.
Because of specific insurance regulation only a few had access to the keys to any vehicle and only a few that were listed on the policies could operate any "floored" vehicle.
These are actually pretty standard with most all dealership but like everything else no a days people gonna do whatever they want regardless of rules!!!
As for break in procedures.. well unless some have owned operated and built several engines most of the information passed around is just bad... LOL . Sure you can do most of them but in the end the engine that is properly broke in will generate more power, Torque and be less problematic through its lifetime in service.
But the dealership would NOT allow some of the things posted in this thread. The sales people or employees would have been fired on the spot.
Any Sports car or performance car there were only a few that were even allowed to take customers on a test drive. No car was ever started and left idling unless the service shopped signed off on it.
Salesman were on the "ups" system so they were very motivated to make a sale.
Because of specific insurance regulation only a few had access to the keys to any vehicle and only a few that were listed on the policies could operate any "floored" vehicle.
These are actually pretty standard with most all dealership but like everything else no a days people gonna do whatever they want regardless of rules!!!
As for break in procedures.. well unless some have owned operated and built several engines most of the information passed around is just bad... LOL . Sure you can do most of them but in the end the engine that is properly broke in will generate more power, Torque and be less problematic through its lifetime in service.
When we bought our Mazda four years ago we called the day before to arrange the test drive. That morning it was around freezing. The car was idling right at the main door with the seat heat and climate controls set to make it toasty inside. How long had it been idling I don’t know but we still spent another five minutes with the drivers license copy procedure etc before driving off.
It’s not something I would worry about.
It’s not something I would worry about.
If and when bad acts are tolerated, they become the norm which then becomes the culture. it follows across all fields.
Personally, not that anal about these things. But for those that are, a Driver Information Center that lists engine hours might provide some sense of relief.
The automakers know that most people don't follow the instructions they haven't even read. Many people also have the notion that break-in is unnecessary due to modern manufacturing techniques but they are missing the point. Engines still need to be broken in for best performance and longevity. The break-in instructions have gotten ever more simplified. Following the instructions is not rocket science anyway.
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If you think that's bad, just realize sometimes the car haulers just don't care. Especially if it's a fast car there's a good chance a car hauler or porter thrashed it. Every so often a new car comes off the trailer with damage and gets fixed without going on it's record. When I was a porter at a BMW dealer and there would be bad weather, we'd start the new cars and immediately move them to get the job done as fast as possible - zero warmup.
When I was porter/detailer at the local Honda dealer, I made it a point to idle the cars I moved for 10-20 minutes to put a charge in the batteries. I also drove the cars I touched with respect - not like an idiot. Sometimes, with a car that had a dead battery and if the service department wasn’t using it, I’d hook up our “fancy” Midtronics GR-8 to the battery and let it charge in an empty service bay. If a car was low on gas, I’d ask the sales managers or service manager for a gas tag. Chevron station was a mile down the road. $10 was plenty for moving the car and test drives.
All new cars will have some mileage from train. /ship to truck on its way to the dealer’s lot and then for PDI. All the OEMs want the PDI done, and do reimburse the dealerships for it. Else, if a PDI was never performed, some warranty work could be denied. A PDI then was to install the fuse for the rest of the systems to work(for shipping only essential systems are powered), initialize the TPMS, run the engine until the fans cycle, install anything loose in the trunk(front plate mount, wheel covers, anything of that sort)
All new cars will have some mileage from train. /ship to truck on its way to the dealer’s lot and then for PDI. All the OEMs want the PDI done, and do reimburse the dealerships for it. Else, if a PDI was never performed, some warranty work could be denied. A PDI then was to install the fuse for the rest of the systems to work(for shipping only essential systems are powered), initialize the TPMS, run the engine until the fans cycle, install anything loose in the trunk(front plate mount, wheel covers, anything of that sort)
I was a porter as well, for Subaru. I'd take the new cars that came off the truck with virtually no gas and fill them up, document, inspect etc. Each car had 3 miles on it. Did they test them? Not sure. But I always treated them like they were my own.
l remember buying a new Forester in the winter of '05. The car was running the whole time while doing the pre-delivery paperwork to "warm it up". l was not happy. lt was also on the lot for a few months and had accumulated about 30 miles so no telling how much it was abused. But it was reliable and lasted 10+ years without any major issues.
l got smart for my last purchase and purchased my Venza the day it hit the dealers website. lt had exactly 3 miles on the odometer when l picked it up.
l got smart for my last purchase and purchased my Venza the day it hit the dealers website. lt had exactly 3 miles on the odometer when l picked it up.
Also, once a car leaves the assembly line, it’s in the hands of the railway/shipping company until it arrives at a 3rd party logistics company for the automotive industry - AWC is the biggest “warehouser” of cars but there’s others. And there’s the trucking companies as well - AFAIK also 3rd party. Estenson and PMT I see out here in California but also Toyota owns their own trucking fleet. The last mile between AWC or other lot operator and the dealer is as worrisome as the dealer.
