'Date of First Use' meaning?

What does/is 'Date of First Use' mean on a Vin lookup? I actually called the dealership, and they couldn't explain it to me which baffles me, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

 

A "date of first use" in reference to a Toyota vehicle means the day when the vehicle was first put into service, essentially the date the original owner took delivery and began driving it, marking the start of the warranty period and maintenance plan coverage

 

date when the vehicle was first put into retail service, the warranty doesn't start till the customer takes delivery or first in service date.

 

So if I bought a new tundra on Nov 30 with some miles on it and the date of first service is May 2, that means it wasn’t new?

 

how would you buy a NEW Tundra with some miles on it? Mine had 7 when I took delivery. If you bought a used Tundra on Nov 30, and May 2 is when it was sold NEW then the first in service date is May 2.

 

what does the paperwork say was the sale date?

dealers like to flub the paperwork to show an earlier sales date than actual delivery date. toyota will go by the sale date.

 

It was sold to me as new. It had 200 miles on it. Dealer said it was a trade from a different dealership that they drove it from, which made sense to me, but now that I found this date when I was looking up my Vin as I was setting up and reviewing my payments and warranty, this made me start thinking something fishy.

 

November 30, 2024.

 

and sale date is when your tags are due for renewal also. so just because you picked up it may 2, your state reg and sale date will determine your first in use date.

 

i make that a big point when before i sign paperwork since my tags renewal date is based on sale date, not when i drive off the lot.

had some shady dealers do that to me before and i end up losing a month here or there on renewals and when i get extended warranties.

 

No, I picked it up & purchased it on Nov. 30 off the new car lot at the dealership, but the date of first use shows May 2.

 

Here's what I show.

 

And this doc.

 

I purchased it on November 30 with a little over 200 miles. Hope this clarifies, sorry for the confusion.

 

i would get a screen print of that, someone was nice

 

Was it previously titled?

there are some cases where a dealer can sell a demo car as new, but the date of service should be the date of sale to you, the first owner.

it sounds like the vehicle was sold and titled, then either surrendered, repossessed or lemon-law returned. This should have been disclosed and not sold as a new vehicle. ETA: a Carfax should show if the vehicle was previously titled. If it was, it should not have been sold as new.

it’s also possible than an
Administrative mistake was made. In any case, you need to get it corrected or you are out six months of warranty in addition to whatever possible shenanigans the dealer pulled.

 

if they did a pre delivery inspection for someone then it was sold, I am wondering if the dealer has a 48-72 hour cooling off period whereby customers can change their minds or decisions and returned this truck back to the dealer. I have never seen an inventory dealer trade being advantageous to someone. I have seen allocated trades work out but never in stock dealer trades. They usually have stories and here is another one.

 

I had them pull the Carfax and it shows only one owner, me. So they said I'll have to get ahold of corporate to get the other stuff fixed for the warranty and all.

Thanks everyone for the input!

 

In this case, it sounds like an administrative mistake. The dealer should be correcting it, not the customer. However, exercise due diligence in making sure this is corrected.

 

My wife has bought dealer demos and got financing like it was a new car.
They would also start the factory warranty from the date of sale.
That was 2 Volvos and a Cadillac, they said they could sell them as new because they were never registered.
Although they all had around 3K to 5K miles on them.
Not sure how much truth was in those deals considering they were car salesman..

 

I used our TIS to look at your VIN, Production date March 5, 2024 DOFU May 2. 2024

 

I bought a 2023 dealer demo this past August. I found out the hard way the in service date is the date the dealer put the truck in service not the day I bought it. I am the only owner listed on the title and the truck was sold as new. In service date May 2023, date purchased August 2024 with 4500 miles. Warranty started in May of 2023 according to Toyota corp (I called and had a nice long conversation with them and the salesman). The warranty starts the from the in service date on any vehicle.

If you have in writing from the sales person that the truck was never in service you may have a case with Toyota NA otherwise you are looking at a a warranty that started prior to the sale date of the truck.

 

that’s crazy. Was it disclosed at the time of sale?

I bought a GM demo and the in-service date (date of first use) was the date of sale to me.

 

When was the first day you got your woman in the back seat !

 

Now THATS how you break in a new truck!

 

It was disclosed at the time of sale that its was a dealer demo. After the purchase and arguing with Toyota NA unsuccessfully, I found the in service date is typically when they start the warranty as shown in the following links;

https://www.bobeuckmanford.com/blog/2024/february/5/what-to-know-about-ford-demo-vehicles.htm

https://www.waldorf-chevy.com/blogs...reasons-buy-dealership-demonstration-vehicle/

https://www.capitalone.com/cars/lea...o-cars-these-negotiation-tips-could-help/1541

Long story short, I learned to always ask what the in service date of the vehicle is and what warranty are they going to offer to help make of for the lost warranty time.

 

It's tradition ......and you have to understand, we aint exactly 20 anymore LOL

 

Negative, I talked to them later this afternoon after I posted this and they claim it's new....who knows. I do love the truck though, just weird. Guess I'll start the Toyo Corp calls to get my warranty straightened out.

 

Thanks for that info!

 

Get it in writing. Send the service advisor your working with or whoever an email with "per our discussion" then bird dog them for a response. If you cant get it in writing, Toyota NA won't do anything.