ex-management vehicle - safe or no-go?

[volumeone]

I am thinking of picking up a newish car with only 5,000 miles on it. It is a ex-Volvo management vehicle so it has really nice spec on it. Are these cars ok to buy or have they been abused by 'management' staff? Or, are these cars actually press release cars which really have been trashed?


Anyone ever bought such a car?

[RRS_Staffs]

Good call

Id always imagined they were management cars actually

A close friend has been "the management" in a major car firm for donkeys years
They get a new car every 1000 miles and can spec it to kingdom buggery as they choose
Then they get released into the general SH pool of said manufacturer

It never occurred to me that car firms would offload their testers as management cars

What do you know that I dont?

Cheers

[Garlick]

I think press cars are sold as management cars.....

[RRS_Staffs]

Define "think" LOL

[Garlick]

In fact, I am 90% certain.

[LHD]

Garlick said:

In fact, I am 90% certain.

Lots of odd spec 10MY RR Sports in the dealer network just now registered September 09 - the launch date of the 10MY cars.

[5charlie46]

wouldnt really enter my mind tbh, even if it has been used hard for 5k, its still a newish car and i doubt that it will have any bearing on mechanical wear etc. if the car cant manage 5000 miles without going to pieces its not worth buying lol... obviously do the usual check s/h etc but no i wouldnt worry

[XJR500bhp]

My father bought the DB9 form the autocar test 2007, black, manual, used in all the photo shots first DB9 with the sports pack, just made sure it had healthy warranty which in the end was a god sent, clutch, gearbox needed rebuilding and the rear shock absorbers started leaking. Bear in mind however this was given a bit of a bashing and was only owned 6 months.

[Dimski]

My XJR has turned out to be an ex Jaguar car.

And, ex engineering car.

It's currently ruining my opinion of entire marque of car, and a model I've always wanted to own.

So, I'd avoid!!!

[carl_w]

Pretty sure someone on here bought an "ex management" Monaro and it turned out to be the one they used on Top Gear to drive around Pendine Sands. When it was up on the ramps it turned out the sills were full of sand.

[thinfourth2]

Yes and all private owners are little old ladies who only drive the car once the oil temp is correct and look after the car wonderfully.

Not once has any owner of a new car been a ham fisted half brain who thrashes the crap out of a car.


All secondhand cars have unknown histories

[GravelBen]

thinfourth2 said:

All secondhand cars have unknown histories

Except for the ones you know have definitely been thrashed... you know, press cars.

[undred orse]

i had a lease bmw for 3 years and 60k miles that recently went back to the lease co.i found out that it was for sale at a car supermarket and went for a look out of interest to see what it was up for and if they had done anything to the stone chips etc.

i was told it was direct from a bmw senior manager and had been pampered all its life.

wish i'd been told i now work for bmw.

management can mean anything but i'd assume until proven otherwise on a low milage newish car that it was a press car or a lemon from a pcp/similar scheme.didn't ford at one stage feed rejected cars back into the network?

Edited by undred orse on Monday 23 August 09:12

[Riccardo1973]

I have bought my last three cars (2 BMWs & 1 Volvo) from main dealers as 'management cars'. All of them were about 5mths old with a few thousand miles on them and a good deal cheaper than the list price.

I would not hesitate to buy another one in the future.

[Phil Dicky]

My X Type is an ex management car, although I'm its third owner...it is speced up to the rafters and certainly didn't faze me

[daz4m]

Garlick said:

In fact, I am 90% certain.

There are too many ex management cars around for them all to be press cars. Best bet is to look at the registration dates, if they are launch cars then there is a chance they may have been.

BMW 'sometimes' add press pack prepared or similar in the spec when they sell cars via AUC.

However, I've known Ford to call ex rental vehicles management cars. The mileage is usually a giveaway here.

[R11ysf]

I think it all depends on what type of car you are looking at. Anything high performance will have definitely been round a track or 3 and been thrashed within an inch of it's life. I would be much more comfortable buying a Volvo which motoring journos have probably tested how many boxes they can get in the boot rather than it's 'ring time.

[Engineer1]

Just looking at the registration date doesn't help I have been told Honda UK management run round in the new vehicle prior to release just to check nothing falls off fails or fks up in normal use that you wouldn't notice in testing. Honda UK also give their "management" level employees an option on leasing a car that they keep for 9months or so then they are sold on, I'm fairly sure that employee spec is fairly standard with fewer cost options.

Edited to add does the location of the dealership selling the car match the location of Volvo UK's head office? If it does their is a better chance it really did belong to a Volvo manager and isn't a rejected car or a cocked up or cancelled order.

Edited by Engineer1 on Monday 23 August 09:42

[Matt106]

All Jaguar or Land Rover engineering vehicles are registered with a VX prefix on the reg so you can pick them out easily.

Management vehicles are registered with a normal prefix like AJ, AK, OE etc Im not sure if Volvo do the same sort of thing?

Ex-management cars can be a good buy but its worth checking the history to be on the safe side.

[blueg33]

I did a (anonymous manufacturer) driving day a few years ago in their highest performance model. We all got to drive a number of cars around a track all day at high speeds, doing brake testing, avoidance manouvers, 360 spins etc all the time being encouraged to drive harder and faster by the racing driver instructors.

When I enquired what they did with the cars afterwards, I was told that they were sold as ex management vehicles.

But, I suspect most ex management vehicles are just that, ex management, and won't have been too thrashed, the problem is that you are gambling, so its up to you. I have had many company cars over the years and have not driven them any harder than I drive my own car (except my Ford Orion which I loathed)