Test drive idea

Author
Discussion

Emperor Blue

Original Poster:

26 posts

142 months

Thursday 16th August 2012
quotequote all
Hi

I'm just looking to canvas opinions on an idea that I've had to work out how feasible it is:

The premise is that car owners (who and whose vehicles meet a set criteria) use their own vehicles to offer test drives, typically in evenings when dealerships are closed.

The consumer gets picked up at their home / work by the car owner to test drive the vehicle at a convenient time, and have an honest discussion with an existing owner of the car. My feeling is that as a consumer, I would trust the opinion of an existing car owner a lot more than a dealer sales person. The car owner would be paid and would also get to talk about their car which I assume a lot of car enthusiasts like to do.

Let's assume that insurance has been taken care of (that's a separate issue here)

So my questions are:

Car owner
Would you be willing to use your car for test drive purposes?
How much would you expect to be paid per 30 minute test drive?
What else would you look for / what other concerns would you have?

Consumer (looking for a new car)
Would you want this type of service? (I have had to take the afternoon off work today for a test drive as I am away over the next 2 weekends so evenings would be perfect)
How much would you be willing to pay for this?
Any other points?

Really appreciate people taking the time to respond and I will value all feedback I get

Thanks


em177

3,136 posts

166 months

Thursday 16th August 2012
quotequote all
Insurance?

Emperor Blue

Original Poster:

26 posts

142 months

Thursday 16th August 2012
quotequote all
Assume that insurance has been taken care of for now (however that may be)

Roo

11,503 posts

209 months

Thursday 16th August 2012
quotequote all
Emperor Blue said:
Car owner
Would you be willing to use your car for test drive purposes?
Nope.





Emperor Blue said:
Hi

What else would you look for / what other concerns would you have?
I wouldn't let some random person drive my car.

Who would qualify the customers? Who would manage the appointments and payments?

80quattro

1,728 posts

197 months

Thursday 16th August 2012
quotequote all
no shows?

Dave Hedgehog

14,587 posts

206 months

Thursday 16th August 2012
quotequote all
id like to test drive a 458
i would pay £400
can you do it in the dover area
is it ok if 2 big mates dressed in black come along
does a 458 fit in a standard sea container?

Emperor Blue

Original Poster:

26 posts

142 months

Thursday 16th August 2012
quotequote all
Customers would be qualified through a website.

They would pay a deposit to secure the test drive so a no show would lose the deposit

Only a small % of this would be kept - this is how much the consumer would pay for the test drive

Hope that helps

Emperor Blue

Original Poster:

26 posts

142 months

Thursday 16th August 2012
quotequote all
doogz said:
I got this far and had the same answer.
This seems to be the biggest hurdle. What would be the main concerns you have? Don't need the money / not enough time / don't want a stranger in my car?

Hoping that there are some people out there who want to earn some extra money and talk about their car.

Maybe not though!

Roo

11,503 posts

209 months

Thursday 16th August 2012
quotequote all
Still wouldn't want some random person driving any of my cars.

There is also a slight flaw in your plan.

This would really only be of any relevance to people who are looking at current/very recent models. Most of these will be company cars so no chance of them allowing this to happen. Those that are privately owned will still be in the "new car" frame of mind - so probably still got no chance.

TJenkos

99 posts

210 months

Thursday 16th August 2012
quotequote all
Mareswell just get a free test drive where the car in question is for sale, and do a bit of research on the net like people have been doing for the last 10 years.

Just because one person assumes the car is fantastic might not be the case, in which nothing is highlighted with the specific car you're actually interested in.

marsred

1,042 posts

227 months

Thursday 16th August 2012
quotequote all
Dave Hedgehog said:
id like to test drive a 458
i would pay £400
can you do it in the dover area
is it ok if 2 big mates dressed in black come along
does a 458 fit in a standard sea container?
I own a 458 and i've just remembered that as an incredibly rich company director i don't need an extra £400.

Insurance is too big a point to leave aside for now too, how many car owners have "hire and reward" included in their policies?

hornetrider

63,161 posts

207 months

Thursday 16th August 2012
quotequote all
I wouldn't let random punters drive my car.

I wouldn't pay for a test drive.

Next.

Emperor Blue

Original Poster:

26 posts

142 months

Thursday 16th August 2012
quotequote all
Roo said:
Still wouldn't want some random person driving any of my cars.

There is also a slight flaw in your plan.

This would really only be of any relevance to people who are looking at current/very recent models. Most of these will be company cars so no chance of them allowing this to happen. Those that are privately owned will still be in the "new car" frame of mind - so probably still got no chance.
?
Ok so you mean the car 'owner' would likely be driving a company car and they wouldn't be allowed to hire it out? (sub letting!) Thanks for the feedback, it all helps!

Emperor Blue

Original Poster:

26 posts

142 months

Thursday 16th August 2012
quotequote all
TJenkos said:
Mareswell just get a free test drive where the car in question is for sale, and do a bit of research on the net like people have been doing for the last 10 years.

Just because one person assumes the car is fantastic might not be the case, in which nothing is highlighted with the specific car you're actually interested in.
But you can't generally get a test drive in evenings?

You'd read reviews as standard but also get to drive the car with an owner next to you for any questions you have?

Emperor Blue

Original Poster:

26 posts

142 months

Thursday 16th August 2012
quotequote all
marsred said:
I own a 458 and i've just remembered that as an incredibly rich company director i don't need an extra £400.

Insurance is too big a point to leave aside for now too, how many car owners have "hire and reward" included in their policies?
There would be an insurance policy that over writes the existing policy for the duration of the test drive to cover the 3rd party to drive the car.

Roo

11,503 posts

209 months

Thursday 16th August 2012
quotequote all
Emperor Blue said:
?
Ok so you mean the car 'owner' would likely be driving a company car and they wouldn't be allowed to hire it out? (sub letting!) Thanks for the feedback, it all helps!
Correct.



Emperor Blue said:
But you can't generally get a test drive in evenings?
Unfortunately you'd have to make the effort to sort soemthing else out.

Emperor Blue

Original Poster:

26 posts

142 months

Thursday 16th August 2012
quotequote all
Roo said:
Emperor Blue said:
?
Ok so you mean the car 'owner' would likely be driving a company car and they wouldn't be allowed to hire it out? (sub letting!) Thanks for the feedback, it all helps!
Correct.



Emperor Blue said:
But you can't generally get a test drive in evenings?
Unfortunately you'd have to make the effort to sort soemthing else out.
Ok thanks. But you wouldn't be willing to pay anything at all to have somebody turn up at your house after work with a car you want to test drive?



toxgobbler

2,903 posts

193 months

Thursday 16th August 2012
quotequote all
How could you be sure that the person whose car you are driving is not a shill? I'm not sure I could trust this if it was a system, word of mouth from someone you know is different from someone who potentially has something to gain.

hairykrishna

13,193 posts

205 months

Thursday 16th August 2012
quotequote all
Sorry but that's the daftest idea I've heard today. Potential customers won't want to pay for test drives, owners won't (or can't) let random people test drive their cars and dealers won't want a potential customers perception of a car/brand be dictated by some random offering test drives.

Emperor Blue

Original Poster:

26 posts

142 months

Thursday 16th August 2012
quotequote all
toxgobbler said:
How could you be sure that the person whose car you are driving is not a shill? I'm not sure I could trust this if it was a system, word of mouth from someone you know is different from someone who potentially has something to gain.
That's useful thanks. There would be no reward in it for the car owner other than the fixed fee of the test drive so they wouldn't be rewarded for any future sales.

There would be reviews of the people giving test drives on the website but realise that initially it may be a barrier