11th Sep 2010, 13:40
I have never, and will never buy any car that I cannot check out the overall performance parameters on. Any dealership that refuses me a test drive will end up sending a potential customer to another dealership. If a customer is refused a thorough test drive, it strongly indicates a lack of confidence in the product.
11th Sep 2010, 22:44
Personally I hate the sales pitches and being trapped in a car and showroom with someone dying for a sale. Rent the same car 2 or 3 times, you are not being bombarded with the sales pitch. You can buy when you want to and are free to choose. That is the best way.
I almost sold new cars a while back and walked out on training. I could not do it.
12th Sep 2010, 08:49
On the very road where there are 4 or 5 car dealerships, there are traffic cameras everywhere. Run through a single light with your solo weekend test and it's $125 for each incident. The car's not in the person's name whatsoever, so the car dealer would pay. Get on the interstate and go through the EZ Pass lanes without paying is yet another concern. Or take it out for the evening and have several drinks, and possibly rack it up or hurt someone.
I just do not see how, even a friend or not, it's sound business sense to allow a test drive without an employee with the car. There's always these possibilities, let alone having a car stolen or stripped. If I were an insurance company, I would not insure or pay. That's my opinion. There's just too much liability nowadays.
I have a company car, and I am checked frequently for points and issues. If I go through any traffic camera, the bill is given to me, and expected to be paid. It takes a month typically to see a traffic camera bill arrive in the mail in my city. A test drive customer could certainly rack up a lot of running lights, even in an hour, and decide not to buy a car.
My only issue with test drives, is you are driving a vehicle you are not use to, and are hearing and divulging a lot to a salesman. I think you can get distracted and say too much. It's your money. If you do take a long test drive, the salesman can be asking out everything possible about what you can pay. When you are doing so, your old car to trade is gone for a while too. I like to sell privately, and if I do buy new, I internet a 100 mile radius looking for specials. I see the dealer's internet manager after I sell my own car. It takes work, and walking in with a trade in is easy but costly.
The paperwork I use to see is confusing. The car you just test drove is incorporated into your trade, and circled is what the car cost. It's not 2 clean pieces of paper; one for your trade and one for the cost of the new car. They also ask how much is your monthly payment and then extend the period accordingly. Or how much you are spending.
I bought my Trailblazer from a dealer, and it was only 4 months old. They bought a bigger Denali. I found it on the Internet and saved over 10K. I had no trade to reduce that 10K savings that the credit mgr. could add onto or buy a bunch of warranties and packs. It seems like you have to do as much homework in what you do and say to the salespeople, as actually the make and model you select. If you have a friend with a new similar car, ride with them and ask what repairs they have. They are not out to make a sale. They may either tell you they like it or avoid it altogether. That way you do not have to pay a rental, although that sounds cheap in the long run to do so. Then walk in with a clear head and buy immediately and get out. If you know nothing, maybe you can say everything and have everything explained to you. But the more you know, the more you can save. I had a nice trade, a perfect car and heard how they buy at auctions all week, and that's what they pay wholesale. They also said my car had acid rain spots (it was garaged). It sold in a week for $6000 more than I received, so it must have been a nice low mileage car. I ask some technical questions, which do have value, but I copy my internet lists call and go in ready. And I get Carfaxes always.
Good luck!
12th Sep 2010, 15:48
"The car's not in the person's name whatsoever, so the car dealer would pay."
In NY they can't legally ticket you for a moving violation unless they personally catch you doing it. Anyone could borrow someones car, go 100 mph in a 30 zone and the owner would be responsible? Not in NY! This is why they don't use the EZ Pass toll system to write tickets. They could easily clock your on and off times and figure out how fast you were going and mail you a ticket. They'd be breaking their own law if they did. Trust me, I have had long arguments about this with people, and I finally researched it thoroughly to get a clear answer.
7th Sep 2010, 13:42
Well you would be refused wholeheartedly by my dealership if you came in looking to take one of my cars and thoroughly abuse it to see if it suits your needs. Sorry, buy it first then abuse it. Yes, there is no break-in on car engines these days. However, that is not without limits. Any good mechanic will tell you to just drive the car the way you would normally drive. You don't have to baby it like 20 years ago. BUT don't redline it and don't slam the brakes on. Keep away from extremes until it has 500-1000 miles on it. Anyone who thinks you can start a brand new engine and go drag racing at full throttle without consequence is mistaken.
They build cars to specific tolerances that will withstand the use of the average driver. Imagine how much more it would cost to beef up every average car to take full out abuse every time it was driven. They build them as cheaply as possible and as low end as possible. I have talked to many mechanics that say over and over the average road car is not made for a high degree of abuse. Laws on the road don't warrant a high amount of abuse, so why would they build a car to any higher specs than they need to? Yeah, they wouldn't.
Why don't you put your money up, buy the car and then beat the crap out of it so YOU can pay the repair bills instead of someone else. To me, there is just no valid reason or excuse for abusing any car that you are test driving. Like others have said, if you need to drive that hard to be satisfied, turn in your license and save yourself and other innocent drivers.