Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It is very hard to figure a car out during a 10-15 minute test drive. My last car I test drove 3 different times very hard and after I bought it problems still started to pop up. Usually it takes about 1 week in all different conditions to figure if a car had problems or if anything was being hidden. I test drove a 12 Impala LT and thought it drove nice then rented a 13 Impala LT and hated the car with a passion, but it was after 300 miles of all different road conditions that I could figure out the car and what I like or what is wrong with it.
So should dealers get upset when you want to test drive a car and tell the dealer you will come back again and test drive it since they usually have a 10-20 minute test drive policy?
Never. I've been dealing with the same dealer who also happens to be the owner of the dealership for 40 years. I have never even seen the cars and trucks I get from him. I call him up, tell him what I want, he tells me what he has and I buy it over the phone. Closing the deal from the time I drive in the dealership to driving off with a new vehicle is about 30 minutes. I doubt I could buy from some dealers that expect the sale process to take hours.
I've had dealers just give me the keys and say "just make sure it has some gas when you bring it back". Took a new Sonata Turbo for a nice ~50 mile test drive, really liked it, but decided not to spend $25K on it. Drove my Vibe GT for a good 30 miles before committing to it, since it had 36K miles on it and I wanted to make sure it was in good condition. Usually you know pretty quick if a car is not for you, but with used it takes a bit more to make sure.
Once and in about 15 minutes of both city and freeway I know if I want it. Prior to driving it, I spend another 15 minutes checking it out for signs of accidents/repairs, dents, listening to the engine with the hood up.
But make no mistake, I know exactly what I want (model, year, price) since I spend lots of time doing my homework before going to see it.
If I could have it for 24 hrs, that would be ideal. Not many people let you do this though unless they trust you.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
