Waiting for fresh VIN, or purchasing an in-stock model

[csboi]

Hey, new prospective 2024 Type R owner here.

I'm interested in learning through everyone who may have had this experience, and what value they saw in their decision to either buy a Type R that is already landed on a showroom floor, versus waiting for one that was in-transit.

I was inspired to ask the question because I see lots of people wondering where their CTR is by watching the VIN tracking thread, and I thought why all the waiting when there are so many cars landed at dealerships already (from what I am finding during my recent search).


So tell me your story. Did you make the choice to buy a floor model, or did you opt to purchase a car that was in-transit? What were your considerations in arriving to your decision?

Sponsored

 

[Fanatic]

Great topic of discussion.

Purchased in stock / on the floor. I don't have much patience plus I'm impulsive.

 

[CTRifecta]

My experience was that trying to purchase an in stock unit resulted in far higher adm, vs securing an incoming unit.

 

[Ohlins8990]

My guess is that the people waiting for cars to arrive are the ones getting the MSRP deals because they are on a list.

 

[bbrunty15]

My criteria was solely based on one thing, avoiding the markup. I am in Ohio and I saw a dealer in West Virginia was getting one in and they were advertising MSRP so I inquired and to my surprise they were actually selling at MSRP so I jumped on it. The car was still in its way to them when I bought it. I asked the dealer when it was all said and done why he was selling it at the price he was and he was super cool about it and said that every day that car sits at their dealership he loses money.

And I know this isn't what this thread is about but for the those who are considering buying a car out of state, it really wasn't difficult at all. Maybe that had something to do with the two states being neighbors, I am not sure but there wasn't anything to it.

Good luck!!

 

[RUNN1N]

I got on my local MSRP-only dealership's list in December '21, but they were tight-lipped about how many were on the list/where a customer might fall throughout the process. I got the call about the opportunity to buy in August '23 after the car had arrived, and gone through paint correction + PPF. The $1,200 for this work was added to the cost of the car, but I was able to verify it was done by a shop with great reviews and my dealership hadn't marked up the work.

If allowed to decline that work, the cheap-o in me honestly might've and I understand anything added to MSRP is a markup... but my logical side knows it's for the best that this work was done, and exactly what I would've/should've bought myself.

 

[CaryH]

Got on to a list at my dealership, way back in July of 2022..I was third for one of the first allocations coming to the midwest in December of 2022..the car was on the truck...first guy in the list didn't like the color second guy was out of the country, and low and behold I got it..and all these links,proclaiming the location of you fl5..aren't that accurate....trust me...I went through this a year and a month ago almost to the day...Ha Ha.

 

[csboi]

I have the opportunity to buy one that is currently on the floor, with 11 miles. Would any of you wager there to be a chance any of these miles could be rough miles, test drive miles?

Kinda nitpicky at this point, but for the amount of time it's been on the showroom floor there had to have been many people to sit in it as well. Perhaps opting for an in-transit unit reduces the likelihood of both.

I do want a CTR now, but for the same deal I don't mind waiting for a fresh one (as long as the wait isn't more than a few weeks). I'm wondering what the dealership would think about doing this.

 

[Clark_Kent]

I have the opportunity to buy one that is currently on the floor, with 11 miles. Would any of you wager there to be a chance any of these miles could be rough miles, test drive miles?

Kinda nitpicky at this point, but for the amount of time it's been on the showroom floor there had to have been many people to sit in it as well. Perhaps opting for an in-transit unit reduces the likelihood of both.

I do want a CTR now, but for the same deal I don't mind waiting for a fresh one (as long as the wait isn't more than a few weeks). I'm wondering what the dealership would think about doing this.

My vehicle was delivered to the dealership with 11 miles and when it was pulled off the truck at my location it had 11 miles. I wouldn't consider 11 miles as "not fresh" and it's doubtful it was test driven. If the deal and car ticks all of your boxes, I wouldn't hesitate.

 

[DRGN]

Depends what you're looking for. If you just want an FL5 now and don't care about price or anything else, you'd be fine getting one that's already here. But like others have said, waiting often has its benefits. Getting one right off the truck means it won't have the front bumper drilled, interior plastics removed, won't have been joyridden in, and you will likely get a better price on it.

 

[Tickle]

I wanted to get the car about a week before the FL5 reveal... I knew I had to commit to it before the reveal because we would get many inquiries about the car, and someone would commit to it. I should explain that I work at a Honda dealer.

So, I sat here and watched people place deposits on incoming cars and get all excited. However, Honda never allocated one to us. I mentioned something to my boss, and he reached out to Honda... a few days later, we were assigned an incoming vehicle that was about 5 days out from California. It was the absolute last color I wanted.. I bashed the color here on the forum, so it is only fitting that I would get Boost Blue.

My car had 31 miles on it when I signed for it. I am confident the tech didn't drive more than 5 miles. So I think it had about 25 when it arrived at the dealership. I did the initial cleaning before I had the car detailed and coated.

No test drive... but on my first drive, I was so excited that it was finally here.

I have nearly 17k on it now. I love the color... I love the car. I have debated getting a Type S for some of the creature comforts I am more accustomed to, but I have an attachment to this car now. I don't suspect I'll be parting ways with it anytime soon.

 

[Gaiakai]

I got my FK8 fresh off the truck (plastics still on, bumper not drilled, even still had the foam piece on the front bumper) with 14 miles on it. It went from factory -> dealership in WI -> transport to CA with the dealership not even getting a chance to fill it up with fuel. Those 11 miles are nothing to worry about.

 

[RUNN1N]

Just checked my paperwork. Mine had 21 miles on it and most of the interior plastics at purchase, and my "test drive" was about 6 of those miles, mostly in stop-and-go traffic with a top speed of about 38mph. What a way to test out a performance car!

I did ask if my car had been test-driven, and the sales manager quickly confirmed it hadn't. They had records showing its mileage (~15) when removed from the truck, and I have those documents around here somewhere. I'll share them when they turn up!

 

[CTRifecta]

11 miles is nothing, if you like the color and are able to get it closer to MSRP, go for it

 

[Fanatic]

Make sure you get it for MSRP or as close as possible to it. The dealership should normally lock the vehicle up so people don't go in and out of it. 11 miles on the odometer is pretty good.

Sponsored