# Mulling some diesels near me. Buy fresh or get a "lot lounger?"



## Zenturi (Jan 25, 2014)

I've been studying the inventory in my area, and CTD's are not too hard to find within 100 miles. Some dealers even have 2 or 3. Reviewing the VINs I can tell there are cars that have been available since last summer up through recent shipments.

With a gasoline vehicle, I'd probably not think too much about the "lot time". My current car was a March build that I bought in December of its model year, and I've gotten many years of service from it. I just wanted that color and configuration, so I bought it. (Salesman offered it for about $200 over invoice right off the bat, so I did not even need to haggle... they probably wanted rid of the vehicles costing them in floor planning.)

Considering how new the CTD is, and the peculiarities of diesel fuel gelling in the winter, I'm weighing whether I should be more flexible on color and options. Has GM been doing any tweaking of the components since launch? Would it be wiser to stick to considering the most recently shipped vehicles? :icon_scratch:


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## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

Haven't been any tweaks that were admitted to but haven't heard of any being needed either.

Good luck,
Rob


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## MilTownSHO (Oct 9, 2013)

Buy the one in the color and options you want, regardless of build date, you will be fine.

New cars don't generally sit on a lot with a full tank. So when they fill it, it will be winter blend diesel anyhow.


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## DieselMan33 (Oct 13, 2013)

Zenturi said:


> I've been studying the inventory in my area, and CTD's are not too hard to find within 100 miles. Some dealers even have 2 or 3. Reviewing the VINs I can tell there are cars that have been available since last summer up through recent shipments.
> 
> With a gasoline vehicle, I'd probably not think too much about the "lot time". My current car was a March build that I bought in December of its model year, and I've gotten many years of service from it. I just wanted that color and configuration, so I bought it. (Salesman offered it for about $200 over invoice right off the bat, so I did not even need to haggle... they probably wanted rid of the vehicles costing them in floor planning.)
> 
> Considering how new the CTD is, and the peculiarities of diesel fuel gelling in the winter, I'm weighing whether I should be more flexible on color and options. Has GM been doing any tweaking of the components since launch? Would it be wiser to stick to considering the most recently shipped vehicles? :icon_scratch:


Where are you located? Like said above you should find one with exactly the options you want. The only thing I would worry about is the miles on the car. If it has 200 plus miles then you know it has been tested a lot. I would not hesitate to buy one that has 50 miles and has been sitting for a couple months. That means it has not been abused by test drivers.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

You can usually get one that's been sitting around for a while for a fantastic price because the dealer just wants to get rid of it. Got my Cruze for invoice + free fog lights after it had been on the dealer lot for 5 months (stick LT - probably not many takers), and my dad got a top-level Honda stick shift for a great deal for the same reason. 


Sent from AutoGuide.com App


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## Cruze2.0Diesel (Jun 30, 2013)

Mine was built in May and I absolutely love the diesel. The only thing I regret is not stretching the cost of the black granite metallic diesel they had on the showroom floor  No problems with over 15k, in fact my MPG's are getting better.


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## CosmosGoat (Sep 23, 2013)

When I was shopping for my TD I test drove the one the dealer had with 250+ miles on it. I told the sales guy i wasn't going to buy the test car. Something with 50 or less I would consider. They ended up doing a dealer trade and my salesman went to get the car to ensure it was treated right for its early miles. delivered to me with 62 on the clock after a 30+ mile ride from the other dealer.


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## TD_Cruze (Jan 15, 2014)

Buy whatever you need. A lot of them are still there because of lack of advertising the diesel, and the public just doesn't know about them yet. Also the price may be scaring off a lot of people. I have already decided to buy one in the spring because of the high miles I drive for my commute. You will be fine with whatever cruze you pick, but a word of warning, as with other posters "there is no cure for cruze addiction".


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

jblackburn said:


> You can usually get one that's been sitting around for a while for a fantastic price because the dealer just wants to get rid of it. Got my Cruze for invoice + free fog lights after it had been on the dealer lot for 5 months (stick LT - probably not many takers), and my dad got a top-level Honda stick shift for a great deal for the same reason.
> 
> 
> Sent from AutoGuide.com App


Beat me to this. The dealership is paying for licensing, taxes, registration, and in some cases interest to GM as long as a car sits on the lot.


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## Zenturi (Jan 25, 2014)

Sounds like from studying other threads, that a diesel vehicle in the southeast should be fine with overwintering. Even with the cold snap it hasn't really gotten below about 10 degrees in my area.

I'll probably skip the very earliest builds with 100xxx VINs that have sat the longest, but open my parameters to include autumn deliveries. That'll help avoid cars with lots of test miles on them or early factory startup glitches.

Some of these dealers have really annoying websites, BTW. You're working with the selection tool - and that "Wanna Chat?" pop-up will migrate over there, and actually block you from filtering for vehicles if you don't click it away. :th_thumbsdownsm:


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

I have one with 100XXX VIN and no problems in 42K miles.


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## PanJet (Jun 18, 2013)

TD_Cruze said:


> Buy whatever you need. A lot of them are still there because of lack of advertising the diesel, and the public just doesn't know about them yet. Also the price may be scaring off a lot of people.


To be fair, I have seen quite a fair number of gas Cruzen that have been on the lot for months since I was shopping for my diesel. Especially in the northern states, small cars just don't sell in the winter. December sales of small cars across the board was evidence of that.


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## Zenturi (Jan 25, 2014)

For what it's worth to cap off this thread... I got a November 2013 build with just 21 test miles on it. Probably was only on the lot for two months. I wasn't totally obsessive about this, there were some newer vehicles I could have settled on if I compromised on color and options.

But hopefully if there were any software or parts improvements since the launch six months before, I got some benefit from how I made the selection.


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## ParisTNDude (Oct 7, 2013)

When I bought mine, well optioned CTDs were hard to find. Bought mine in September and build date was August, so it hadn't sat on the lot very long. It had 20 or 30 test mile on it...I love it.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

Zenturi said:


> For what it's worth to cap off this thread... I got a November 2013 build with just 21 test miles on it. Probably was only on the lot for two months. I wasn't totally obsessive about this, there were some newer vehicles I could have settled on if I compromised on color and options.
> 
> But hopefully if there were any software or parts improvements since the launch six months before, I got some benefit from how I made the selection.


That is an interesting question. I wonder if the CTD's being made now have any differences from mine, which was one of the first off the line.


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