[nova.19_exe]

Well okay, everytime someone posts about them buying a new car, I have always noticed that the ODO reading stand at 3kms, 7kms, heck even 23kms at times! But I've always been curious about this!

Is there a way for a car to be delivered from factory-yard-showroom with 0kms on the ODO?

Curious to see if there are ways to get it done and your takes on it?

Cheers!

[GForceEnjoyer]

Volkswagen actually does this at their Wolfsburg factory! Check out this video. (0 km part mentioned at 2:02 seconds).

https://youtu.be/o0-b-D6TCpY?feature=shared

Seems like a super cool idea, and a historic moment for any owner, being able to put the first-ever kilometre on their car.

[GTO]

There is a "jugaad" way, although it may not mean that the car has run for 0 km. Many manufacturers allow dealers to reset the odometer one single time before delivery - related thread (Can new cars have their odometer reset by the dealer?).

[govigov]

The FIATs used to have a H letter on the odometer, as long as it within the first 200 kms, the odo can be reset to 0 kms at the time of delivery. It can only be done once, so that the customer can get the car with 0 kms on the odometer at the time of delivery.

[PaddleShifter]

As per standards expected from a manufacturer, various quality assurance protocols require testing of a product. A pre delivery inspection protocol mandates that dealers also do such testing before delivering the car to an owner.

Having an odometer reading of 5-10km actually shows that such inspections have been done thoroughly. Delivering a car with 0km indicates no road testing has been carried out.

The only way to ethically bypass it is to have a temporary odometer, e.g. in FIAT cars, the odometer reads H 0 to H 200 kilometers after which it resets to 0km to start the permanent odometer reading that can not be reset anymore. During the initial 200km with the prefix H, the odometer can be reset once to zero to begin the permanent odometer counting.

[nova.19_exe]

Originally Posted by GForceEnjoyer

Volkswagen actually does this at their Wolfsburg factory!
Seems like a super cool idea, and a historic moment for any owner, being able to put the first-ever kilometre on their car.

This seems pretty sweet, but let's be realistic for a minute, India doesn't have that type of tech right now. But it does seem like a pretty sick way of getting your car with 0KMs on the ODO. Hopefully in the future, India gets this stuff and people get to feel that 0KMs ODO delivery!

Originally Posted by GTO

There is a "jugaad" way, although it may not mean that the car has run for 0 km. Many manufacturers allow dealers to reset the odometer one single time before delivery - related thread (Can new cars have their odometer reset by the dealer?).

Okay, but isn't that unethical? Considering the fact that some people can file a case against them for cheating? Maybe I'm overexaggerating a little but I think you guys see my point here!

Originally Posted by govigov

The FIATs used to have a H letter on the odometer, as long as it within the first 200 kms, the odo can be reset to 0 kms at the time of delivery. It can only be done once, so that the customer can get the car with 0 kms on the odometer at the time of delivery.

Originally Posted by PaddleShifter

As per standards expected from a manufacturer, various quality assurance protocols require testing of a product. A pre delivery inspection protocol mandates that dealers also do such testing before delivering the car to an owner.

Having an odometer reading of 5-10km actually shows that such inspections have been done thoroughly. Delivering a car with 0km indicates no road testing has been carried out.

Agreed. Fair point!

The only way to ethically bypass it is to have a temporary odometer, e.g. in FIAT cars, the ofometer reads H 0 to H 200 kilometers after which it resets to 0km to start the permanent odometer reading that can not be reset anymore. During the initial 200km with the prefix H, the ofometer can be reset once to zero to begin the permanent odometer counting.

Okay, but again, isn't that considered cheating? Like a few people might not even know about this thing when getting their box fresh Fiat delivered. Heck, even I didn't know till you guys mentioned it.

[condor]

In India, practically no.

Dealerships have their yards outside the city where the cars are brought to from the factory. I would say the cars would have run at least a km in the factory itself. Then the car has to be brought to the showroom from the yards. So I will not expect a car in India to have a 0 km reading, unless it has been reset at the dealership.

[PaddleShifter]

Originally Posted by nova.19_exe

Okay, but again, isn't that considered cheating? Like a few people might not even know about this thing when getting their box fresh Fiat delivered. Heck, even I didn't know till you guys mentioned it.

I would humbly like to disagree that it is cheating. Cheating would be when a dealer deliberately tries to suppress the fact that the car was used as a test drive vehicle or was used for demonstrations and exhibitions before sale. Your point as a perspective owner is well understood even everyone would like to see as little reading as possible.

But, unlike a mobile phone box, a car needs to be driven and can not be lifted on a flatbed for every little detail. My car for example, was washed before delivery for which the car was taken to the service center 1km away from the showroom stockyard area. This added 2km on the odometer. The large truck can not enter the tight roads where the showroom is located so unloading is done roughly 2-3km away. The car needs to be driven to the shoqroom atockyard after that.

Now, some European manufacturers have this system of temporary odometer that can be used till 200km or less. Could this be due to tight roads in many places in Italy (I have seen this on TV, just like Bhupender Jogi) that make it necessary to drive the new car to the showroom.

Lets have an extreme example: Force Gurkha can not be loaded onto a truck so the car needs to be driven from the factory to the showroom, whether in Kashmir or in Andaman. Many owners get the box fresh car after first service.

[sgiitk]

Let us see, A new car gets a road test, then it is loaded onto the transporter and unloaded at the other. The dealer has to do a pre-delivery clean up. So a genuine 0km delivery is a no-go. As has been pointed out is is a pre delivery, zeroing by the dealer.

[ajmat]

I took delivery of an Elevate with only 6 km on it

[brownkaiser]

In Mahindra XUV 5OO, there is an option to reset the odometer to 0, before it reaches 100. This can be done only once and also before you cross 100 kms.

My car had 13 km on the odo while taking delivery, and I used this trick to reset it back to 0.

[Gansan]

The only way is for the dealer to reset the odo to zero before delivery. There is no other way.

In Chennai it is common for Maruti cars to be unloaded at a railhead about 40 km away and then be driven to the dealer stockyard from there. Then there will be a drive from stockyard to the showroom. Then a drive from the showroom to the RTO office.

What some dealers do is disconnect the speedometer right at the railhead and then drive the cars to the yard. In short, even if your brand new car's odo shows a perfect zero at the showroom before delivery, can you believe it!

Just observe the condition of the tyres, it will be very easy to spot new tyres that have not been driven much. There will be telltale signs if otherwise.

[nova.19_exe]

Originally Posted by condor

In India, practically no.

Dealerships have their yards outside the city where the cars are brought to from the factory. I would say the cars would have run at least a km in the factory itself. Then the car has to be brought to the showroom from the yards. So I will not expect a car in India to have a 0 km reading, unless it has been reset at the dealership.

So that's a no, unless they don't reset it. Fair enough.

Originally Posted by PaddleShifter

I would humbly like to disagree that it is cheating. Cheating would be when a dealer deliberately tries to suppress the fact that the car was used as a test drive vehicle or was used for demonstrations and exhibitions before sale. Your point as a perspective owner is well understood even everyone would like to see as little reading as possible.

But, unlike a mobile phone box, a car needs to be driven and can not be lifted on a flatbed for every little detail. My car for example, was washed before delivery for which the car was taken to the service center 1km away from the showroom stockyard area. This added 2km on the odometer. The large truck can not enter the tight roads where the showroom is located so unloading is done roughly 2-3km away. The car needs to be driven to the shoqroom atockyard after that.

Now, some European manufacturers have this system of temporary odometer that can be used till 200km or less. Could this be due to tight roads in many places in Italy (I have seen this on TV, just like Bhupender Jogi) that make it necessary to drive the new car to the showroom.

Lets have an extreme example: Force Gurkha can not be loaded onto a truck so the car needs to be driven from the factory to the showroom, whether in Kashmir or in Andaman. Many owners get the box fresh car after first service.

That makes much more sense! Considering the size of the Gurkha, yes that isn't possible!

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Let us see, A new car gets a road test, then it is loaded onto the transporter and unloaded at the other. The dealer has to do a pre-delivery clean up. So a genuine 0km delivery is a no-go. As has been pointed out is is a pre delivery, zeroing by the dealer.

Valid point!

Originally Posted by ajmat

I took delivery of an Elevate with only 6 km on it

Oh congrats on the new ride! 6kms. That's pretty good!! Hope to see a writeup on that real soon!

Originally Posted by brownkaiser

In Mahindra XUV 5OO, there is an option to reset the odometer to 0, before it reaches 100. This can be done only once and also before you cross 100 kms.

My car had 13 km on the odo while taking delivery, and I used this trick to reset it back to 0.

I don't think such an option exists on modern cars like the XUV7OO or the Virtus! So that's ruled out now I guess!

Originally Posted by Gansan

The only way is for the dealer to reset the odo to zero before delivery. There is no other way.

In Chennai it is common for Maruti cars to be unloaded at a railhead about 40 km away and then be driven to the dealer stockyard from there. Then there will be a drive from stockyard to the showroom. Then a drive from the showroom to the RTO office.

What some dealers do is disconnect the speedometer right at the railhead and then drive the cars to the yard. In short, even if your brand new car's odo shows a perfect zero at the showroom before delivery, can you believe it!

Just observe the condition of the tyres, it will be very easy to spot new tyres that have not been driven much. There will be telltale signs if otherwise.

Right-o. But then why wouldn't they load the cars on a truck from the railhead and deliver to the stockyard? Wouldn't that be a better option?

Wait a second!!! You can disconnect the speedo? Isn't that unethical?


Okay, I had a brainwave? What if you tell the dealer that you wanna take the delivery from the stockyard or the railhead itself? Wouldn't that give you a 0KMs ODO? Won't the dealer have any objections with that? You get to drive your box fresh car from the railhead to the stockyard which gives both, you and the dealer, to check the car for any problems. And then drive from the stockyard to the showroom for the formalities i.e cake-cutting, documents. Isn't that possible?

[Ltinsane]

There might be some vehicles that can have Odo reset pre delivery by the dealer but that would not mean that vehicle has not been driven. All vehicles are test driven in the factory itself so there's that.

[athray9]

I got my 2022 X3 30i with just 5 miles on the ODO. Probably on of the lower readings I've seen in any new car.