[zacware]

I stopped in to a dealer to talk about getting a Forte Koup and got some pretty high pressure applied to me. The kept insisting it had to be sold at list (but eventually caved down to near invoice).

I was about to say OK but then I noticed that the manufacture date of the Koup was 11/09. The dealer said that "it takes a long time to arrive from overseas" and that it was just a few weeks old even though the manufacture date was from last year.

I don't believe that this is true. I would imagine a car manufactured at the plant overseas would be here in 4 to 6 weeks.

Just curious if anyone else has noticed their manufacture date versus purchase date.

I'm just being extra cautious as my previous car was a bit of a headache for me and I'm trying to eliminate as many issues as possible.

If the car has been sitting for months, there must be a reason why no one has bought it, and I'm not sure how the engine likes sitting without running frequently (oil, etc.)

 

[shattered.stars]

My car was manufactured in January and I got it in April. Don't let them pull that ish on you. And it seems like alot of the problems that people have had existed on the '09 built ones so maybe its worth finding one that is a little newer. Just my opinion.

 

[nouse4aname]

Well many of the '10 models are going to be almost a year old now. May have been dealer traded around in exchange for a customer looking for a specific color or some such and just been in the system for awhile. Doesn't necessarily mean anything's wrong with it.

Ports in Baltimore and Tacoma have backlogs of tens of thousands of vehicles on lots waiting to move to dealers. It's a slow economy. The Forte hasn't been advertised very heavily. I wouldn't be too worried about it. Comes with the warranty. Run a carfax report if you're really worried, should show change in dealer ownership if it's been moved around a lot.

And save yourself a headache and some money, negotiate the sale online pitting multiple dealers against each other, not in person.

 

[zacware]

Thanks for the replies. Normally I do negotiate online, but this is the first time ever that I have a trade-in to deal with, so I'm not used to have that to deal with. Tonight they only offered me $6000 for the trade, until I started walking out the door, and then the price jumped up to $7000. KBB and NADA list that as the MINIMUM trade in value. The dance begins........

Buying a first year car like the forte is a risk, so I'd rather get one that was produced later rather than earlier....

 

[displacement4me]

My build date is 04/10, and purchase date May 8, 2010.

I was looking for a Titanium Koup. The dealership called back five days later and said they didn't have a Titanium Koup, but they did just get an Electric Blue Koup SX that came off delivery and wasn't even pdi'd yet.

 

[ryude]

My build date is 11/09, purchase date was July 17 2010, that's 8 months. I have had no problems other than the horn intermittently working. Car only had 70 miles on it when I bought it, so I don't think you should worry too much about the sitting without miles.

 

[lunchbox84]

My build date was May 2010 and it rolled off the truck into the dealer begining of Aug. I wouldn't excpect it to be more than 8-12 weeks from build date to when it lands at the dealer.

 

[Tebore]

Mine was April 2010 and I bought it in June 2010.

 

[FEARtheFOX]

I believe mine is March 2010. Bought in May 2010.

 

[justdpot2001]

mine is 11-09 and bought mine dec 18 09 so about a month

 

[Timo Vic]

On the top of each Xbox box there is a little oblong hole (about 2 inches by 0.5 inches) that you push through with your fingers so the shop staff or yourself can see the console's serial number and manufacture date. The date is above the bar code/serial.

This does not 'open' the box in any way and remains sealed.

 

[forte-r]

^^^
Spam much?

 

[Tsunami]

My build date was 6/10 and I think they got it on the lot in 7/10.

They tried the same crap with me. I politely told them that the whole reason for looking at a forte was the 'value' and if I had to pay a 'market premium' that the value was no longer there.

Check out edmonds.com and go to their 'paid price' forum. It'll give you a great idea of what others are paying.

 

[KiaTech]

In Canada we're 4-8 weeks from build day to arrival at the dealer. You'll actually be harder pressed to find a car with an April or May 2010 build date as the Kia and Hyundai factories were on strike for much of that time. Korean labour laws don't really support paid vacation, so the workers instead strike annually (at least - looks like this year they may go again this fall) for a few weeks or so and get their rest time. Cars still roll off the line, just at a MUCH slower pace. Usually there is a stock of cars waiting at port in Korea that keeps the cars coming, but this spring they actually ran out and we were getting them 'fresh' from the factory.

I have been told the cars spend an average of 10 days at sea but that was not from someone who 'knew', it was likely fourth or fifth hand info by then and may have just been a guess. You also have backlogs at both ports, trucking/rail times (assume one day for every time zone heading East) and then of course the dealer still has to PDI the car.

Plenty of time to let the paint dry

 

[Civic Killer]

I use to be in Kia sales (now Honda service) and when i had to custom order a car for a customer because we didnt have it or couldnt locate it, it took about 7-8 weeks for us to even get a vin number and a few weeks after that the car would arrive. its pretty bogus

 

[ryude]

Maybe my car was manufactured 8 months before I bought it, but it sure hasn't given me any problems. In fact, out of the last 4 cars I've owned this one has been the best so far. I've been getting a lot of compliments as well