Should I Pass ?

Well, you don't have the manual yet, but this is what it says about break-in:

Break- in period
Drive gently and avoid high speeds.
Your vehicle does not need an elaborate
break- in. But following a few simple tips
for the first 1000 km (600 miles) can add
to the future economy and long life of
your vehicle:
* Avoid full- throttle acceleration when
starting and driving.
* Avoid racing the hybrid engine.
* Try to avoid hard stops during the first
300 km (200 miles).

I don't understand why he drove it at all, unless you are 200 miles away from him. I got mine from my dealer with 3 miles on it. Edit: Hopefully, those weren't test drive miles, or ALL of those things were probably done to it. I know I did them to my test drive car!

Edit: Whoops, forgot to look at where you were located (see next post), but people in the US may want to consider whether they are getting too close to the 2006 tax break to accept delivery...

 

Somewhat confusing in that your info says Surrey, UK, but you use mph and miles.... Obviously no big fat 06 tax break for UK'ers.

Hmmmm....

 

Personal opinion.... I would pass. He will have NO problem selling it to someone else, and tell him you want one with < 10 miles (or something reasonable) on it.

I would not accept that car for ANY reason, but thats just me. If you ended up with low mileage down the road you would ALWAYS wonder if it were because of this and it would hang over your head for the life of the car.

 

Yeah, pass and try to get the salesdroid to cut you a better deal for having screwed up on following instructions. B)

 

The big question: Are you 200 miles from the dealer?

If so, then I'd take it. If not, then why would they have put 200 miles on it? It doesn't sound like the way it was drive would have affected the break in at all.

 

I'd accept it.

You don't give quite enough information, but if he drove 200 miles---from the dealership?---wouldn't you also have to drive that far? If so, then is the main issue the speed at which he MAY have driven it?

I bought a TRAC '04 with 8,000 mi. on it. All I did was inspect it closely for evidence of repaired body damage or even "touch-up". It has performed as well as if it were new.

Other considerations: how long to get another, comparable one, if even possible?

Take it!

 

I doubt it did any real harm..... but you never know.

Shoot, I didnt even want my salesperson to drive mine to the gas station, but for a free fillup I guess I'd let him

I would not want a 'new' car with 200 miles on it no matter how much they knocked off... period.

 

That and that the dealer violated agreed to arrangements.

 

I'll add.. my Prius had just over 60 miles. All due to the installation of the leather which was done at a 3rd party place 30 miles or so away.

I guess the 200 miles to a degree can be relative to how much you drive as well. For me, that's just a few days of driving, so it doesn't seem like a big deal.

There's really no right or wrong answer here. As other stated, there's a number of factors that could lead you one way or another, biggest possibly being how long you'd have to wait for something else.

 

I'd take it. I doubt it was abused while it was being driven to your home. Break-in on new vehicles is a non-issue. The rule of thumb is, don't drive like a lunatic if you don't have to, but drive it normally. Engines are tested and pre-run at the factory. There used to be a time long ago where auto manufacturers asembeled engines and then shipped them directly to the line for installation. If there was a problem with the engine it was discovered in the finished car, not before it got to the finished car. That was when break-in procedure was necessary.

Today, the engine is broken in before it gets to the car. Any break-in you may do after taking delievery is to the rest of the car; wheel bearings, suspension components, steering components, brakes.

 

I'd take it. 'course, I drove mine home from upstate NY... plenty of miles, mostly at 70 mph. The manual says nothing about a 50 mph break-in period.

Of course, the whole failing to follow what you requested could be enough to pass on the car. But if you do based entirely on that, what do you gain? Are you going to wait on another dealer? Will you end up just buying another from the same dealer?

I'd go ahead and take it. The car is probably driven harder getting unloaded from the boat.

 

I think I would take it. After I had to wait 11 months for mine when I bought it.

I was happy to just get it. I had a daily commute of 60 round trip to work and I was driving a supercharged V8 Mustang.

 

So Pinball -- this day is now over -- what did you do?

 

He's driven 200 miles - mostly freeway on cruise - at 60-70 mph on a brand new engine..... :
[/quote]

In Surrey? A freeway? What's that? Do you mean a motorway? If so, which one?
The round trip must have taken all day. Has the dealer got staff with nothing to do?

 

Isn't Surrey located just southwest of London? I am sure that there are several Toyota dealers quite a bit closer than 200 miles away.

I smell a Troll.

 

IAP... a bit quick to jump into your Troll Patrol uniform today? :lol:

Don't worry about Pinball, we've had conversations before and the car was due to come in soon. And Pinball, I will get back to you soon as I can.