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Should I buy an ex-press demo car?
I have found a very nice upmarket car for sale at my local BMW dealer at a good price. When I got home I thought I would seek Honest John's views on it and it turns out it is the same model you tested. I looked at all the other reviews and again it was the same car in all of them bar one. Is it sensible to buy a car which many journalists may have thrashed to an inch of its life? Should the dealer tell me this or is it legitimate to simply say its a manufacturer's own car? It was a BMW 320d xDrive Grande Coupe by the way
Asked on 4 December 2016 by Chris Ottewell
Answered by
Honest John
I don't thrash cars whether they're my own or on test, especially diesel cars because the whole point of them is economy. I wouldn't worry. Like an ex-rental car, an ex-press demo benefits from having driven in a lot of different ways by a lot of different drivers. We've got an ex-press demo 2010 sitting outside as I write. What would put me off though, is if it's on stupid 20-inch wheels with ridiculous low profile tyres. Needs to be on 18-inch max.
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