Dealerships driving stock vehicles on the road

[jessef]

I was approached recently on more than one occasion by people living in my area asking if I'm selling my Delica.

I haven't advertised, nor even contemplated it

Because I had two (Granola and Marshmellow), I told them I already sold the white one and this one (Chamonix) is not for sale.

Their reply was that they thought they saw my Delica with dealer plates and thought it was for sale.

I asked them if it was a white one like Marshmellow or a black one like Granola.

They said that they've been seeing both parked in the same area for quite some time.

I took a walk this past week and sure enough, there is a steady cycle of different Delica's with the same dealer plate on every week in my neighborhood.

I won't mention the dealer because I don't think it's relevant.

I'm just wondering if it's normal as I'm getting quite the feedback from people in the neighborhood.

Some of the people in my building think I'm loaded and own a bunch of Delica's.

Is it normal for a dealer to drive their used vehicles (in this case Delica's) around town frequently with dealer plates ?

[bae146]

As a buyer from a dealer I would be thrilled to find my vehicle had been driven by a dealer. What better way to work out any quirks before selling the vehicle. I know out here in Alberta the used (non JDM ) dealers do it all the time.

[jessef]

As a buyer from a dealer I would be thrilled to find my vehicle had been driven by a dealer. What better way to work out any quirks before selling the vehicle. I know out here in Alberta the used (non JDM ) dealers do it all the time.

Ditto. At least you know the vehicle is getting used and not sitting around.

Just wonder if it's common amongst dealers.

[Profister]

The reason why they drive different vehicles with the same license plate is because there is some sort of regulation prohibiting driving one vehicle with a demo plate for more that 3 or whatsoever days. I know that because I was in a situation when I got a car from a dealer when I was waiting for my new car to arrive. I was told that they could not give it to me with demo plates for more than 3 days or they would get in trouble if police caught me.

[The Pinkfingers]

Is it normal for a dealer to drive their used vehicles (in this case Delica's) around town frequently with dealer plates ?

Fairly normal with used vehicles. When we bought from Budget Used Cars (on Marine) a few years ago, we were looking at minivans, but couldn't find the right one. The salesman said his co-worker (or boss - can't remember) drove one home to Delta. So we got in one of their vans, drove to Delta, picked up the other van, left the one we drove out, and drove the other one back.

It was just parked in his driveway. Both vans had dealer plates.