Pointless Test Drives
Discussion
I was with an actor friend who is doing quite well for himself but looks reasonably anonymous in terms of being recognised. We went to a prestige dealership to look at an Italian car usually preferred in red. We were both dressed casually, not scruffy just normal and he was enquiring about La Red car and they wouldn't give him the time of day, basically scoffed at us told us about said vehicle for 2 seconds then went off to pander to a fat businessman and his smarmy mate. He tried again to engage the salesman by asking about a model in front of us in the showroom and the salesman said "I don't think (this brand) is for you sir." Basically implying he thought we were ruffians chancing their arm on our lunch break.
Sufficed to say my friend could have probably bought every single vehicle in the showroom there and then.
Sufficed to say my friend could have probably bought every single vehicle in the showroom there and then.
Speed Badger said:
I was with an actor friend who is doing quite well for himself but looks reasonably anonymous in terms of being recognised. We went to a prestige dealership to look at an Italian car usually preferred in red. We were both dressed casually, not scruffy just normal and he was enquiring about La Red car and they wouldn't give him the time of day, basically scoffed at us told us about said vehicle for 2 seconds then went off to pander to a fat businessman and his smarmy mate. He tried again to engage the salesman by asking about a model in front of us in the showroom and the salesman said "I don't think (this brand) is for you sir." Basically implying he thought we were ruffians chancing their arm on our lunch break.
Sufficed to say my friend could have probably bought every single vehicle in the showroom there and then.
Ferrari are known to be jerks. Not just with customers, mind, but the press too. Sufficed to say my friend could have probably bought every single vehicle in the showroom there and then.
Chris Harris springs to mind.
Hoppum said:
Few of my experiences:
GT86: 'Don't do test drives'.
M4: First attempt; 'Don't do test drives', second attempt when dressed smarter; Accompanied 15 minutes to do as I pleased.
C63 AMG: Endless promises to call back and arrange, never followed up despite chasing. Dealer has a terrible rep locally, apparently kept Sam Smith (the singer) waiting so long in branch he upped and left.
Golf R: Accompanied 45mins to do as I pleased.
F-Type S: Accompanied preplanned route, but good roads and encouraged to push on.
Cayman GTS: Booked to have the car for the day but was cancelled short noticed, free afternoon session at the PEC Silverstone instead.
Now, ain't that strange. I can't remember ever having an accompanied test drive. I do dress super-scruffy, though, but I do phone up/email to book 'emGT86: 'Don't do test drives'.
M4: First attempt; 'Don't do test drives', second attempt when dressed smarter; Accompanied 15 minutes to do as I pleased.
C63 AMG: Endless promises to call back and arrange, never followed up despite chasing. Dealer has a terrible rep locally, apparently kept Sam Smith (the singer) waiting so long in branch he upped and left.
Golf R: Accompanied 45mins to do as I pleased.
F-Type S: Accompanied preplanned route, but good roads and encouraged to push on.
Cayman GTS: Booked to have the car for the day but was cancelled short noticed, free afternoon session at the PEC Silverstone instead.
AM V8V: Told to come back after an hour (bought it)
Jag XFR; Delivered to me for a week (hated it, didn't buy it)
C63: lent to me for the day, with a full tank (I ordered a week or 3 later)
Cayman S: 24hr loan plus a day at Silverstone (bought that one too)
BMW i8: offered to have it for 48hrs (bought)
Ducati 1299: told to bugger off for the day, bring it back just before we close (bought)
Hell, even my wife - who has no interest in cars - was lent a Mini Convertible for a week (she bought that)
I wonder what makes dealers/salespeople treat folks differently?
It's hugely variable even for the same brand.
Volvo Carlsile, just turned up given the keys to a demo once details of licence taken. Off we went with no salesman for a half day if wanted.
Volvo Ayr, booked a week in advance and confirmed the day before arrival. On arrival there was no demo as promised, a grubby used model taken off the forecourt. salesman drove 3m up the dual carraigeway I drove back....crap.
Subaru Carlisle, given the keys to a brand new Forester off I went.
Landrover sent me a voucher for their Landrover experience which I did at Dunkeld, was an excellent test.
Ford Dumfries poor.
Ayr and Dumfries Skoda both excellent handed keys to an Octavia Scout and off we went.
One that did surprise me was BMW Carlisle, I turned up unannounced a few days before Christmas, I am unknown to them, had an excellent accompanied drive in a 120 xdrive. None of the stuffyness I expected. I am an average bloke, not particularly trendy or smart.
Audi Carlisle OK ish but they made sure I knew my place not the most comfortable of experiences.
Mazda Peebles, excellent. I phoned up, turned up was given the keys to an MX5 and told to take as long as we wanted which was great as a perfect area and day for an MX5. Couldnt negotiate a sale with them but did go on to buy one from Murray Edinburgh.
In all of the above I was/am a serious prospect.
But take charge of the test drive, tell the salesman what kind of roads you drive on
Volvo Carlsile, just turned up given the keys to a demo once details of licence taken. Off we went with no salesman for a half day if wanted.
Volvo Ayr, booked a week in advance and confirmed the day before arrival. On arrival there was no demo as promised, a grubby used model taken off the forecourt. salesman drove 3m up the dual carraigeway I drove back....crap.
Subaru Carlisle, given the keys to a brand new Forester off I went.
Landrover sent me a voucher for their Landrover experience which I did at Dunkeld, was an excellent test.
Ford Dumfries poor.
Ayr and Dumfries Skoda both excellent handed keys to an Octavia Scout and off we went.
One that did surprise me was BMW Carlisle, I turned up unannounced a few days before Christmas, I am unknown to them, had an excellent accompanied drive in a 120 xdrive. None of the stuffyness I expected. I am an average bloke, not particularly trendy or smart.
Audi Carlisle OK ish but they made sure I knew my place not the most comfortable of experiences.
Mazda Peebles, excellent. I phoned up, turned up was given the keys to an MX5 and told to take as long as we wanted which was great as a perfect area and day for an MX5. Couldnt negotiate a sale with them but did go on to buy one from Murray Edinburgh.
In all of the above I was/am a serious prospect.
But take charge of the test drive, tell the salesman what kind of roads you drive on
I think folks need to res-et their expectations a bit. I get it that sometimes you will be lucky (I was given an hour, unaccompanied in a Golf R, I think I was just lucky because the sales team were understaffed and the sales guy had two guys waiting!) but there are so many test drive pilots out there that a dealership has to compromise a bit.
I had a bad test drive in an M135i, a 5 minute job down a busy dual carriageway, round the roundabout and back which didn't do anything for the car. But if a sales guy gives every test drive pilot an hour to do as they wish, with no real commitment to buying, then they will need loads of demonstrators, as well as writing off quite a lot of asset value in increased mileage/depreciation. Also, I would imagine an average of approx 30 mins of engagement in a dealership with a sales person on the first visit, if a long test drive is included, from a sales person's perspective you could easily halve your leads during a working day.
I think very few people buy a car from a dealership on one visit, so I see no issue in having a quick 10 minute test drive to gauge driving position, interior quality, practicality etc, and then offering a longer unaccompanied/overnight test drive to really get a grip on the car when the prospective customer invests a bit more time into the deal. I am not suggesting this is only offered after purchase, but more on the standard second visit where finance packages, trade-ins etc are discussed in more detail.
I had a bad test drive in an M135i, a 5 minute job down a busy dual carriageway, round the roundabout and back which didn't do anything for the car. But if a sales guy gives every test drive pilot an hour to do as they wish, with no real commitment to buying, then they will need loads of demonstrators, as well as writing off quite a lot of asset value in increased mileage/depreciation. Also, I would imagine an average of approx 30 mins of engagement in a dealership with a sales person on the first visit, if a long test drive is included, from a sales person's perspective you could easily halve your leads during a working day.
I think very few people buy a car from a dealership on one visit, so I see no issue in having a quick 10 minute test drive to gauge driving position, interior quality, practicality etc, and then offering a longer unaccompanied/overnight test drive to really get a grip on the car when the prospective customer invests a bit more time into the deal. I am not suggesting this is only offered after purchase, but more on the standard second visit where finance packages, trade-ins etc are discussed in more detail.
unrepentant said:
I bet that was a long time ago. Their former sister store was persuaded to lend someone a Tuscan for an unaccompanied TD about 15 years ago and the idiot started racing on the A59 and caused a serious accident with injuries. They didn't do unaccompanied drives after that.
Not so long ago, just over two years ago in fact, drove a Griffith 500 and a Speed 6 Cerb.I had actually gone in to drive the Griff but the saleman (Tony) had to move the Cerb to get the Griff out, and it looked/sounded great so I asked if I could drive it too.
As an aside I had a mate with me and he came along for the test drives, he had expected to stand around while I went away with the salesman, so that was nice
problemchild1976 said:
Q - what are people aiming to get from a test drive?
A feel for how the car drives and if you think you want to live with it for 2/3/4 years or however long you plan on keeping the car.Last year Mrs CT was looking to buy a new car, to downsize from the RR Sport, she had pretty much decided to get a new Discovery Sport, but I though she should try a couple of different cars.
We narrowed it down to Disco Sport, Jag F Pace and Merc GLC and arranged to drive them all back to back in one day. She went from her initial thoughts on just getting a Disco Sport to that being at the bottom of the selection, she went for the Merc in the end.
On topic though that was the only one of the three we had to take a person from the dealership with us, he wasn't a salesman though, some technical chappie, or so he said.
So yes test drives can help people decide on what car to buy.
crofty1984 said:
I'm OK with salesmen vetting test drivers. I assume they've calculated that the couple of lost sales they misjudge are made up for by the time they're not wasting on jokers.
But if you're going to give a test drive, make it a good one.
I've only really worked in the prestige end, both new and used and the amount of Walts you deal with on a daily basis is unparalleled, I can only imagine what they deal with in the bread & butter sector. But if you're going to give a test drive, make it a good one.
This varies wildly from dealer to dealer in my experience. I took a Honda FK2 out last year and, whilst the drive was accompanied, the chap in question clearly liked his cars (he had a lovely MK1 Focus RS in the carpark, you could have eaten your lunch off of the engine cover) so he was no fool and knew exactly why someone would buy such a car, so the route, which was about thirty minutes in length, was thought out with that in mind and we went out into the country side - it was a great drive, he said if I were a pensioner after a Jazz it'd have been something less adventurous, t'was a good experience, he clearly knew his stuff.
It varies. The first V8 I ever drove was a Chimaera 400. I turned up at the dealership, was tossed the keys and told where I could find a nice B-road. I was about 22.
On the other hand, a few years ago I considered a Focus ST170 when I was looking for a new daily driver. The salesman was quite reluctant to part with the keys and asked if I'd ever "driven anything of this performance" before. I didn't bother telling him I'd worked at Ford while they were developing its successor, nor that I had a 5-litre TVR in the garage at home.
On the other hand, a few years ago I considered a Focus ST170 when I was looking for a new daily driver. The salesman was quite reluctant to part with the keys and asked if I'd ever "driven anything of this performance" before. I didn't bother telling him I'd worked at Ford while they were developing its successor, nor that I had a 5-litre TVR in the garage at home.
I'm yet to have an unaccompanied test drive. That's probably because i've only just turned 25 but still look about half that 
I've had a few pointless ones. KIA Pro Cee'd GT was daft. Basically just a 10 minute loop back to the dealership. I had 1 opportunity to boot it on a main road but then had to immediately slow down for a speed camera. Actually, the first thing he did was turn it on, rev it from cold and proceeded (ignore the pun) to say; "It sounds good doesn't it?". No, it really didn't. He had to drive it off the car park and switched seats outside a housing estate down the road. No motorway drive at all.
Clio 200 EDC was another. The guy didn't even know what model i was testing when i turned up, despite previously filling out an online form which asks exactly that. I also had to wait around 10-15 mins for him to drive it off the stand at the front. It then ended up being up being the same as the above. When we swapped seats he then says; "Usually we don't allow test drives for people under 25". There was also no test of the launch-control. Again, no motorway work and wasn't allowed to drive it straight away from the dealership.
Fiesta ST was a bit better. Probably a bit longer duration-wise but not by much. Was quieter on the roads so more chance to give it the beans and the guy i was with was pretty sound in all fairness. Ended up having a traffic-light Grand Prix with a Golf GTD which was interesting. He at least let me drive it straight away from the dealership but no quick motorway blast took place.
Mini Cooper S was a bit better than that but only fractionally. Probably the same duration as the Fiesta. The saleswoman was nice, both on the eye and in general. She specifically asked if i wanted to go anywhere specific which was decent and i was allowed to drive straight from the dealers. I did manage a quick blast on the motorway. I was waiting around for quite a while for the test drive. While waiting around, another lady in the dealership asked what car i drove, i replied a VW Scirocco. Her reply was; "Why would you want a Mini if you've got one of them?".
I had a test booked for a GT86 but i ended up cancelling as i really couldn't be arsed and felt it was going to be another waste of time.
I've had a few pointless ones. KIA Pro Cee'd GT was daft. Basically just a 10 minute loop back to the dealership. I had 1 opportunity to boot it on a main road but then had to immediately slow down for a speed camera. Actually, the first thing he did was turn it on, rev it from cold and proceeded (ignore the pun) to say; "It sounds good doesn't it?". No, it really didn't. He had to drive it off the car park and switched seats outside a housing estate down the road. No motorway drive at all.
Clio 200 EDC was another. The guy didn't even know what model i was testing when i turned up, despite previously filling out an online form which asks exactly that. I also had to wait around 10-15 mins for him to drive it off the stand at the front. It then ended up being up being the same as the above. When we swapped seats he then says; "Usually we don't allow test drives for people under 25". There was also no test of the launch-control. Again, no motorway work and wasn't allowed to drive it straight away from the dealership.
Fiesta ST was a bit better. Probably a bit longer duration-wise but not by much. Was quieter on the roads so more chance to give it the beans and the guy i was with was pretty sound in all fairness. Ended up having a traffic-light Grand Prix with a Golf GTD which was interesting. He at least let me drive it straight away from the dealership but no quick motorway blast took place.
Mini Cooper S was a bit better than that but only fractionally. Probably the same duration as the Fiesta. The saleswoman was nice, both on the eye and in general. She specifically asked if i wanted to go anywhere specific which was decent and i was allowed to drive straight from the dealers. I did manage a quick blast on the motorway. I was waiting around for quite a while for the test drive. While waiting around, another lady in the dealership asked what car i drove, i replied a VW Scirocco. Her reply was; "Why would you want a Mini if you've got one of them?".
I had a test booked for a GT86 but i ended up cancelling as i really couldn't be arsed and felt it was going to be another waste of time.
culpz said:
I'm yet to have an unaccompanied test drive. That's probably because i've only just turned 25 but still look about half that
I've had a few pointless ones. KIA Pro Cee'd GT was daft. Basically just a 10 minute loop back to the dealership. I had 1 opportunity to boot it on a main road but then had to immediately slow down for a speed camera. Actually, the first thing he did was turn it on, rev it from cold and proceeded (ignore the pun) to say; "It sounds good doesn't it?". No, it really didn't. He had to drive it off the car park and switched seats outside a housing estate down the road. No motorway drive at all.
Clio 200 EDC was another. The guy didn't even know what model i was testing when i turned up, despite previously filling out an online form which asks exactly that. I also had to wait around 10-15 mins for him to drive it off the stand at the front. It then ended up being up being the same as the above. When we swapped seats he then says; "Usually we don't allow test drives for people under 25". There was also no test of the launch-control. Again, no motorway work and wasn't allowed to drive it straight away from the dealership.
Fiesta ST was a bit better. Probably a bit longer duration-wise but not by much. Was quieter on the roads so more chance to give it the beans and the guy i was with was pretty sound in all fairness. Ended up having a traffic-light Grand Prix with a Golf GTD which was interesting. He at least let me drive it straight away from the dealership but no quick motorway blast took place.
Mini Cooper S was a bit better than that but only fractionally. Probably the same duration as the Fiesta. The saleswoman was nice, both on the eye and in general. She specifically asked if i wanted to go anywhere specific which was decent and i was allowed to drive straight from the dealers. I did manage a quick blast on the motorway. I was waiting around for quite a while for the test drive. While waiting around, another lady in the dealership asked what car i drove, i replied a VW Scirocco. Her reply was; "Why would you want a Mini if you've got one of them?".
I had a test booked for a GT86 but i ended up cancelling as i really couldn't be arsed and felt it was going to be another waste of time.
What did you buy?I've had a few pointless ones. KIA Pro Cee'd GT was daft. Basically just a 10 minute loop back to the dealership. I had 1 opportunity to boot it on a main road but then had to immediately slow down for a speed camera. Actually, the first thing he did was turn it on, rev it from cold and proceeded (ignore the pun) to say; "It sounds good doesn't it?". No, it really didn't. He had to drive it off the car park and switched seats outside a housing estate down the road. No motorway drive at all.
Clio 200 EDC was another. The guy didn't even know what model i was testing when i turned up, despite previously filling out an online form which asks exactly that. I also had to wait around 10-15 mins for him to drive it off the stand at the front. It then ended up being up being the same as the above. When we swapped seats he then says; "Usually we don't allow test drives for people under 25". There was also no test of the launch-control. Again, no motorway work and wasn't allowed to drive it straight away from the dealership.
Fiesta ST was a bit better. Probably a bit longer duration-wise but not by much. Was quieter on the roads so more chance to give it the beans and the guy i was with was pretty sound in all fairness. Ended up having a traffic-light Grand Prix with a Golf GTD which was interesting. He at least let me drive it straight away from the dealership but no quick motorway blast took place.
Mini Cooper S was a bit better than that but only fractionally. Probably the same duration as the Fiesta. The saleswoman was nice, both on the eye and in general. She specifically asked if i wanted to go anywhere specific which was decent and i was allowed to drive straight from the dealers. I did manage a quick blast on the motorway. I was waiting around for quite a while for the test drive. While waiting around, another lady in the dealership asked what car i drove, i replied a VW Scirocco. Her reply was; "Why would you want a Mini if you've got one of them?".
I had a test booked for a GT86 but i ended up cancelling as i really couldn't be arsed and felt it was going to be another waste of time.
Speed Badger said:
I was with an actor friend who is doing quite well for himself but looks reasonably anonymous in terms of being recognised. We went to a prestige dealership to look at an Italian car usually preferred in red. We were both dressed casually, not scruffy just normal and he was enquiring about La Red car and they wouldn't give him the time of day, basically scoffed at us told us about said vehicle for 2 seconds then went off to pander to a fat businessman and his smarmy mate. He tried again to engage the salesman by asking about a model in front of us in the showroom and the salesman said "I don't think (this brand) is for you sir." Basically implying he thought we were ruffians chancing their arm on our lunch break.
Sufficed to say my friend could have probably bought every single vehicle in the showroom there and then.
Reminds me of a similar experience, albeit at a rather different end of the market. Back when I had a proper job I was by no means rich but I had a decent income for someone in their early twenties. I went to Exeter kit car show with the specific intention of finding something to replace my Quantum 2+2 and I fancied a GTM K3. Sufficed to say my friend could have probably bought every single vehicle in the showroom there and then.
A company called Talon Sportscars had just bought the K3 design (IIRC) and they had factory built the last one to a very high spec. I went to their stand, literally with my cheque book in my pocket, and the guy I spoke to insisted on answering all my questions to my father who'd come along for the ride. Presumably he was used to kit cars only being bought by middle aged blokes in sheds and didn't think I fitted the bill. It was the single most patronising thing I think I've ever experienced.
Although not as bad as a couple of friends of mine who bought a nice house in London in their early 30s. They both looked quite young for their age and when the haughty neighbours came round with a bottle of champagne to welcome the new residents they asked "are your parents in?"
Never been refused the option of a test drive before.
Similarly, I turned up at a dealer once to look at a car, he "chucked me the keys" so to speak, and told me to come back when I was ready. 5 minutes later after having a poke about the car, but 5 minutes later, I gave him the keys back and thanked him for his time, but the car just wasn't for me. Was a used Mercedes at a non-Mercedes dealer, but I couldn't get comfortable in the seat so decided this on its own was enough reason to strike it off my list of possible car choices.
Similarly, I turned up at a dealer once to look at a car, he "chucked me the keys" so to speak, and told me to come back when I was ready. 5 minutes later after having a poke about the car, but 5 minutes later, I gave him the keys back and thanked him for his time, but the car just wasn't for me. Was a used Mercedes at a non-Mercedes dealer, but I couldn't get comfortable in the seat so decided this on its own was enough reason to strike it off my list of possible car choices.
Fiat Grande Punto T-Jet, independent dealer. Chucked the keys, and told to come back in half an hour. Bought the car.
Megane RS 275 Trophy. Taken around the local industrial estate, for 5 minutes, told to give it some from cold, which I ignored. Didn't get above 40mph. Got asked not to floor it through a tunnel in sport mode. (Bearing in mind it had a 2k Akra exhaust on it) Car was nice, salesman was an arse. Walked away.
Megane RS265 - 5 minute test drive, straight onto 70mph DC. Asked to let the car idle for 5 minutes to warm up whilst I walked around. Did that, all happy. Bought the car.
Fiesta ST (1st one) - handed the keys and told to bring it back in an hour, great roads are that way. Nearly bought it, but got beaten to it.
2nd Fiesta ST, accompanied test drive, off of the forecourt, drove it to a layby 1/2 mile from dealer, swapped and told to drive it how you would normally, so I did, bit of granny work, and did a bit of floor action. Bought the car.
Bear in mind, I'm only 22 and I've never had an issue with test drives, I don't mind them being accompanied, but I always say that I will floor the car. Most don't mind. But guess which one got the hump and said not to?
Megane RS 275 Trophy. Taken around the local industrial estate, for 5 minutes, told to give it some from cold, which I ignored. Didn't get above 40mph. Got asked not to floor it through a tunnel in sport mode. (Bearing in mind it had a 2k Akra exhaust on it) Car was nice, salesman was an arse. Walked away.
Megane RS265 - 5 minute test drive, straight onto 70mph DC. Asked to let the car idle for 5 minutes to warm up whilst I walked around. Did that, all happy. Bought the car.
Fiesta ST (1st one) - handed the keys and told to bring it back in an hour, great roads are that way. Nearly bought it, but got beaten to it.
2nd Fiesta ST, accompanied test drive, off of the forecourt, drove it to a layby 1/2 mile from dealer, swapped and told to drive it how you would normally, so I did, bit of granny work, and did a bit of floor action. Bought the car.
Bear in mind, I'm only 22 and I've never had an issue with test drives, I don't mind them being accompanied, but I always say that I will floor the car. Most don't mind. But guess which one got the hump and said not to?
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