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Location: Living near our Nation's Capitol since 2010
2,218 posts, read 3,453,976 times
Reputation: 6035
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First, let me say I am a woman and I know very little about mechanical matters. I am in the process of replacing my well-worn Prius. I do not want another hybrid. The short list I will want to test drive is this: Mercedes 250 or 300, Lexus IS, BMW 328i, Audi and probably a Subaru outback just for comparison. Yes, I know the Subaru is not in the same league, but I have friends who want me to drive one.
Now, yesterday I went to Mercedes. THe salesperson was very knowledgable about his product, of course. The car looks pretty good (C250). So, when he offered me a test drive I say yes. Well, we drove for maybe a total of 2 miles...all on surface roads (no highway) and he seemed to think that was enough for me to see if I liked it. Ummm....no. Sure, I could have asked for a longer/better test ride, but it was evident to me that he was not interested in going further. Of course, I will go to another dealer to drive it again, but my question is this: have any of you ever had such a short and uninformative test ride?
First, let me say I am a woman and I know very little about mechanical matters. I am in the process of replacing my well-worn Prius. I do not want another hybrid. The short list I will want to test drive is this: Mercedes 250 or 300, Lexus IS, BMW 328i, Audi and probably a Subaru outback just for comparison. Yes, I know the Subaru is not in the same league, but I have friends who want me to drive one.
Now, yesterday I went to Mercedes. THe salesperson was very knowledgable about his product, of course. The car looks pretty good (C250). So, when he offered me a test drive I say yes. Well, we drove for maybe a total of 2 miles...all on surface roads (no highway) and he seemed to think that was enough for me to see if I liked it. Ummm....no. Sure, I could have asked for a longer/better test ride, but it was evident to me that he was not interested in going further. Of course, I will go to another dealer to drive it again, but my question is this: have any of you ever had such a short and uninformative test ride?
I went to test drive a used Toyota once and the salesman insisted on going with me and turning back shortly. I told him, never mind, I will buy a car somewhere else. I own a repair shop and where I refer my customers looking for a car they let you go out for the car on your own all day. If you are a musician or a cyclist you can do a trial loading of your gear to see how it fits. What if you found out the seating of a car gave you back discomfort after 4 hours? A long test drive is essential when your choices get narrowed down.
Location: Living near our Nation's Capitol since 2010
2,218 posts, read 3,453,976 times
Reputation: 6035
I agree with you, Don. I would have liked taking the car out by myself, doing some high speed highway driving (most of my commute to work is high speed), etc. Of course, the Mercedes is a pricey car, maybe they dont allow that sort of thing? Believe me, I would never buy a car, especially one in this price range, without a very long test ride.
I am currently renting a Corolla while my Prius is in the shop. I drove it yesterday for about 2 hours and I could hardly walk after sitting in that thing for that long. My sciatic nerve is still killing me. So, yes, I want to see if any car I am about to buy will give me a bad back!!
Most dealers are like that. They get a lot of tire kickers every day and spending a lot of time with each one is not in their best interests. Be assertive and ask for more time behind the wheel. I've never had anyone say no. Pick a route out you'd like to drive and make it a reasonable amount of time.
My first stop when buying a new car is to read as many reviews as I can. See what reviewers like or dislike about a car. That may whittle down your list some. Then a short test drive is fine. That may whittle it down some more. Then, with the cars you're really serious about, ask for a better test drive. If they balk, walk away.
I value a good dealer as much as a good car. I find it harder to find a good dealer than a good car. If they won't treat you right as a prospective customer, imagine what after the sale will be like. Nice cars you're considering. Love the BMW , and the new ones have a 4 year, service included warranty. Good luck.
Yes it has but only once and what I did was call the new car sales manager at that dealership when I got home and gave him the facts plus stated that I would be going to different dealership.
He was soooooooo nice on the phone promising that he would talk to the salesperson I spoke with but I told him that you get only (1) bite at the apple and I would never go back.
First impressions are a big deal to dealership salesmen. If I drive up in a nice car, they bend over backwards to help, have no problems with an extended test drive or even letting me take the car for a few hours/days. If I drive up in a crappy car, the service I receive usually matches. Sometimes that's a good thing if I don't want to be hassled and just want to go look at different cars without anyone pestering me.
Either way, be up front about what you expect to accomplish during your visit. If you want an extended test drive, say so, and if that particular salesman is not willing to let you do that, grab another one. I did that once before and got rid of a salesman that I found particularly annoying. Didn't know answers to my questions and was basically bs'ing his knowledge of the car, and even gave incorrect info. Didn't want to let me get on the highway for the test drive, so we went back to the dealer, and I asked the manager for a new salesperson, and ended up buying the car from the new sales guy. I'm sure it really pissed off the first guy, but that's not my problem.
I find a lot of dealers do that short drive initially. I think they do it to guage your level of interest in buying a car as much as anything.
I also find that many will, after this initial drive, be willing to let you take the car out longer if you are interested, but inquire about a longer drive. In most situations, I have been offered the car, by myself (no salesperson) anywhere from a few hours to taking it for a weekend.
I am sure it varies by dealer as well. I would never buy any car based on a short, around the block drive.
First impressions are a big deal to dealership salesmen. If I drive up in a nice car, they bend over backwards to help, have no problems with an extended test drive or even letting me take the car for a few hours/days. If I drive up in a crappy car, the service I receive usually matches. Sometimes that's a good thing if I don't want to be hassled and just want to go look at different cars without anyone pestering me.
Either way, be up front about what you expect to accomplish during your visit. If you want an extended test drive, say so, and if that particular salesman is not willing to let you do that, grab another one. I did that once before and got rid of a salesman that I found particularly annoying. Didn't know answers to my questions and was basically bs'ing his knowledge of the car, and even gave incorrect info. Didn't want to let me get on the highway for the test drive, so we went back to the dealer, and I asked the manager for a new salesperson, and ended up buying the car from the new sales guy. I'm sure it really pissed off the first guy, but that's not my problem.
I learned a LOOOONNNGGGG time ago never judge a book by its cover. I usually rent the model vehicle I'm looking to get. But in some cases there is no rental available so I have spoken to the sales manager and told him I want to drive the vehicle for a extended period. Usually all it takes is my insurance card and copy of DL.
Dealers have a preset route they must take. Don't take it personally it's not up to them. I had one dealer hand me the keys to a 50k work truck and never batted a eye.
The car I want to buy I can get anywhere. There are too many dealers to buy from a bad one.
They have a specific route they follow. They aren't rushing you...
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