"Careful sir, this is a very powerful car!"

[Mr SFJ]

I've got a choice of 5 at work and They all say mine was 1340 with 2 heavy occupants and a full tank of petrol.
So the kerb weight of 1155 seems plausible.

[CraigyMc]

StottyEvo said:

I wasn't aware that people paid to use weighbridges! There are three local to me that are all free, one of them is 24hours!

I wasn't aware there were free ones.

Is there one near me? (Southampton)

[ecs0set]

sixspeed said:

My experience was much the same from my (Mole Valley) TVR dealer. Turned up rather freshly faced (at 23 years old) one Saturday morning in an MX-5. Took a Tuscan out for a test drive, and after letting it warm up for the first few miles was positively encouraged to let it rev out and get a feel for it!

Turned up fresh faced at 22yo in a VW Polo 1.4 to test drive a TVR Griffith 500. No problem sir, feed the power in gently in 3rd. Bought the car.

Turned up to test drive a Smart ForTwo at a specialist. Discussed the TVR. Be careful sir, this car is remapped and a bit of a beast. Um, yeah OK.

[omgus]

ecs0set said:

sixspeed said:

My experience was much the same from my (Mole Valley) TVR dealer. Turned up rather freshly faced (at 23 years old) one Saturday morning in an MX-5. Took a Tuscan out for a test drive, and after letting it warm up for the first few miles was positively encouraged to let it rev out and get a feel for it!

Turned up fresh faced at 22yo in a VW Polo 1.4 to test drive a TVR Griffith 500. No problem sir, feed the power in gently in 3rd. Bought the car.

Turned up to test drive a Smart ForTwo at a specialist. Discussed the TVR. Be careful sir, this car is remapped and a bit of a beast. Um, yeah OK.

That is exactly the daftness i was thinking about when i posted.
If you have a Griffith 500 how are they worried about a smart being too much for you?

[MajorProblem]

Total pub talk bks.

[SturdyHSV]

MajorProblem said:

Total pub talk bks.

I was thinking whilst reading this thread, if a friend or acquaintance told me any of these 'go on sir, faster' or 'you there, in the Corsa, take this Tuscan and give it hell' stories, I'd be inclined to think they were a load of BS.

Now I know PH is hallowed turf, packed with driving gods unlike my world, but unfortunately, I can't help but hear the same alarm bells.

Fun stories though

[omgus]

SturdyHSV said:

I was thinking whilst reading this thread, if a friend or acquaintance told me any of these 'go on sir, faster' or 'you there, in the Corsa, take this Tuscan and give it hell' stories, I'd be inclined to think they were a load of BS.

Now I know PH is hallowed turf, packed with driving gods unlike my world, but unfortunately, I can't help but hear the same alarm bells.

Fun stories though

I was specifically interested in the 'you there, in the Tuscan, be very careful with this corsa, it's an SRI" type tales as that type of situation has actually happened to me.

[Fast Bug]

SturdyHSV said:

I was thinking whilst reading this thread, if a friend or acquaintance told me any of these 'go on sir, faster' or 'you there, in the Corsa, take this Tuscan and give it hell' stories, I'd be inclined to think they were a load of BS.

Now I know PH is hallowed turf, packed with driving gods unlike my world, but unfortunately, I can't help but hear the same alarm bells.

Fun stories though

Having done retail sales, and indeed sold new Porsche's. I've never chucked the keys at someone and told them to have a play in the car on their own. I've also never encouraged someone to 'give it hell', nor has anyone I've worked with. But then what would I know?

I have however asked a fair few people to slow down and ended 2 test drives as they couldn't drive for st and I thought we were going to crash.

[TIGA84]

Stopped two test drives in my short motor sales career (both elderly) although both bought. Most memorable was a friend of the DP who wanted to have a go in the Monaro VXR I'd called into the showroom from another sleepy branch, I was racing in Sports 2000 at the time and he turned up in a proper old school Aston Vantage (the proper v600 style big kahuna mental number), we spent about 3hrs with another colleague of mine who was coincidentally racing mini coopers in his spare time giving it a damn good thrashing. He didn't buy it, but we all had a fking good laugh for a few hours on a boring Sunday. I still see him now.

Edited by TIGA84 on Friday 12th September 20:41

[IanMorewood]

The only time I've been warned to 'take it carefully it's a quick car sir', was by the salesman at a Ford dealers in Derby. Car in question was a 1.8 Mondeo, needless to say it was competent but hardly quick.

[br d]

When I was interested in a Porsche Turbo they gave me one for a weekend to see if I liked it, no mileage limits and no advice to take it easy. I bought one.
When I test drove an M3 the very nice sales lady directed me to the A12 and said "Floor it!" I bought one!

[RyanTank]

Went with a mate many moons ago to looks t a Golf TDI he wanted as a daily as a job change meant doing the commute in his Evo would cripple him with fuel bills.
being a pink (he swore it was gold/purple flake) and heavily modified with an exhaust the size of my head and the loudest dump valve I've ever heard it wasn't exactly inconspicuous.

We arrived at the garage and the guy there got chatting about the Evo after seeing him tear it down the road to the garage, and got a fair bit of info on the mods etc.
So it comes time for him to try the Golf out, and the salesman straight and stern faced says to him "mind how you pull off in this, the turbo boost is brutal!"

I stayed behind while they went off to test it. My mate didn't buy it as he said he couldn't get on with the car, or the sales guy, as every time the revs would build during the test he'd say "watch for that boost now".

[anonymous-user]

Never had any dealer mention anything about driving carefully.

I do remember one fairly recent laughable incident: Me and my brother went with my dad to to look at a 2 year old Boxster S as mum wanted one, it was a private sale, and the guy lived near Newcastle in a fairly normal street of Semi-detached houses. Guy probably in his early 50's, immaculate house, very neat and tidy sort of chap in his slippers...

Looked over the car, decided it was ok, started negotiating and then the guy said "Well naturally its on Porsche Finance, so I'll have to speak to the finance company and once you've paid me I'll give you the keys and books, I'll clear the finance, and you can come back for it" or something as convoluted and awkward as that I can't quite remember, which really irritated my dad as he fully expected to pay the guy then and there and drive off in it.

So my Dad says "Ok well I suppose I'll just send the lads back to pick it up next week", at which point the guy suddenly looks absolutely disgusted and goes on a mini-rant about not having 'kids' driving a 'sportscar such as a Porsche' and how it wouldn't be a good idea.

Dad then comments that the pair of us drive all sorts of cars, and that a Boxster wouldn't present a problem... and the guy exclaims "It doesn't matter what they've driven in the past!"

Very, very odd. Left us all very bemused. Couldn't work it out. If we bought it, what the fk does he care if a couple of 'lads' stack it on the way home?

We didn't buy it.

[Pepperami]

I've also had an experience whereby I was pleasantly suprised. Wifey drives a 2011 MX5 sport black roadster coupe. When we were looking at cars for her I spotted her current one and she fell in love with it because of the spirited green it was painted in. It was, however, in JCT600 in bradford and we aren't there. I went into my local JCT600 dealer and they brought the car up for me and we bought it. A year later I return the Mazda for a service and get given a courtesy car for 3 days (due to work I couldn't drop off and collect the car the same day). Imagine my suprise when I was given this to park outside my house

Just as well my local JCT is a Porsche and Bentley dealership and not a Mazda one.

Edited by Pepperami on Saturday 13th September 07:25

[superlightr]

Turned up in my pork 996tt to drive a honda civic R - Sales man said about how fast the civic was and was it comparable to mine ?? told him it was a 3.6 twin turbo and he came back with the civic is a 2.0......... doensnt have 420hp tho does it I said - he had no idea.

[Davie]

zeduffman said:

blearyeyedboy said:

Davie said:

Been on the other side of the (service) desk and twice have been denied a test drive by customers. First a chap who refused to let me drive his then new Vectra 2.2 16v back to base as it was a quick car and I was a young lad. Yes I was but was also more used to a 275bhp Cavalier Turbo. Then latterly had an old chap refuse to let me drive his Volvo S60 D5 due to it's "power" even though we'd just finished discussing the finer points of my 300bhp+ S70R...

Bless em...

Hold up, Davie. That seems a bit weird to me. I'm not saying you're wrong, but I'd find it a bit odd if anyone at a service desk asked to "test drive" my car, regardless of their age (unless it was in the course of their work or they were trying to replicate a fault or something, in which case crack on). Never mind what car, I'd find that odd for a 1.0 Corsa.

Are these "test drives" for your own amusement, or as part of the job?

They are the mysterious 50+ mile drives that are necessary to locate the rattle in the dashboard.

Yes, you're right definitely weird. Though test drives with customers make indentifying those random clunnks and rattles so much easier and also, it's much easier to get a car from the owners address to the garage if you drive it. These Vectra things are damn heavy and tend not to fit in the post.

You're also correct, test driving a 2.2 Vectra and a diesel Volvo is very much part of the 'fun' and I used to waste many many hours of my working day walking past the VX200 Turbo and the Monaro to take that customers 2.2 SRi for a wee toot up the road. It really is the pinicle of motoring.

The mysterious test drives that add 50 miles are where I'd use a customers car to deliver drugs, hookers and KFC's to my junkie mates... unless of course it was an S60 D5 in which case I'd do a bit unlicensed mini-cabbing during my lunch break.

Bearing in mind "on the other side of the service desk" doesn't always mean the smiley receptionist fresh from high school...

Edited by Davie on Saturday 13th September 08:36

[sawman]

When ford pumas first came out my wife wanted to buy one, but you could only get an accompanied test drive, with the "puma specialist salesman" as it was a sports car, unfortunately these specialists seemed to be very thin on the ground and so getting in one was a major struggle. She nearly bought an mgf instead, as the local dealer was much more approachable (also a TVR dealer).

[GALLARDOGUY]

A long while ago an ex girlfriend of mine had her heart set on a Saab Turbo convertible.

So we get there for the arranged test drive and the salesman sternly reminded me, "Please remember that the car is heavily turbocharged and has incredible performance".

Thanks mate.

The car we arrived in?

The 355 spider I had at the time.

[xRIEx]

GALLARDOGUY said:

The car we arrived in?

The 355 spider I had at the time.

Ah yes, but that's not heavily turbocharged!

[Dave Hedgehog]

omgus said:

I was specifically interested in the 'you there, in the Tuscan, be very careful with this corsa, it's an SRI" type tales as that type of situation has actually happened to me.

i actually think this is sales patter BS, most car sales people never listen to a word you say or take a blind bit of interest in you (BMW M dealers certainly do not listen) they think if they say be careful this is a powerful beast of a car it will get people interested, kinda like in the 80s when adds for hot hatches had crap phrases like "pilots license needed"

im sure merc SLS dealers say something along the lines of "and of course sir the length of the bonnet will add 3 inches to the length of your penis"