This old chestnut always crops up regardless of which marque you go for - the percieved value difference...
IMHO, even if it's been sat on the dock for 9 months (which let's face it, they ALL have), the dealer *should* get the car into a saleable state prior to even going on the forecourt.
I'd guess that there's a rate of attrition so those get sent offloaded as alternative scrap etc? Don't know to be honest.
FWIW, I had the same thing when I was looking at Subarus - at the time the official dealer network sent out scare stories about them, IM (the importers) actually told dealer service departments that they could lose the franchise if they worked or even sold parts to an import owner!!!! crazy.
The whole reason was that the official dealers were losing money hand over fist because of the imports. Rather than embrace this change and accommodate servicing etc (where good service could lead to future car sales etc) they shunned it.
Thankfully, these days, it's not got the stigma that it used to have. IN fact I would go as far to say that most of the car-buying public don't know or care where there car comes from as long as it's cheap, reliable etc.
As has been said - they've all been built to the same spec, and in some cases better spec! So what's the problem?
Dan
