Test drive idea
Discussion
Almost all car manufacturers go to great lengths to train their sales staff to be knowledgeable on their product & how they'd like it branded, with just a few exceptions & the idea generally works.
Punters: Laughably few are knowledgeable enough on the product to then "sell" it someone else.
However I can see this working potentially well for women...
Punters: Laughably few are knowledgeable enough on the product to then "sell" it someone else.
However I can see this working potentially well for women...
I think the problem is that serious buyers can usually get test drives free of charge with sellers.
I wouldn't feel entirely happy letting some random punter take my TVR out for a spin - potentially literally - even if the insurance had been sorted. However, if it was someone I vaguely new, who I trusted to be sensible with the car and pay for it if they broke it, I'd probably let them drive it for free.
I wouldn't feel entirely happy letting some random punter take my TVR out for a spin - potentially literally - even if the insurance had been sorted. However, if it was someone I vaguely new, who I trusted to be sensible with the car and pay for it if they broke it, I'd probably let them drive it for free.
Shaw Tarse said:
I'm 18 passed my test last week, am thinking of buyin a mclaren could you get sumone to bring me one round to test drive? Quite happy to pay £30
Promise I won't crash it!
I mentioned earlier that - there would be a holding deposit set to stop jokers going for a jolly like this. It's a definite concern thoughPromise I won't crash it!
cptsideways said:
Almost all car manufacturers go to great lengths to train their sales staff to be knowledgeable on their product & how they'd like it branded, with just a few exceptions & the idea generally works.
Punters: Laughably few are knowledgeable enough on the product to then "sell" it someone else.
However I can see this working potentially well for women...
Yes but this is an independent test drive. Similar to driving your mates car to see what you think. This website would just facilitate that.Punters: Laughably few are knowledgeable enough on the product to then "sell" it someone else.
However I can see this working potentially well for women...
The owner doesn't need to be that knowledgeable. The consumer would likely still speak with the dealer for the real nuts and bolts information but this would allow them to speak to an owner and not be sold to for the entire time.
cptsideways said:
Almost all car manufacturers go to great lengths to train their sales staff to be knowledgeable on their product & how they'd like it branded, with just a few exceptions & the idea generally works.
Punters: Laughably few are knowledgeable enough on the product to then "sell" it someone else.
Punters: Laughably few are knowledgeable enough on the product to then "sell" it someone else.
There is a difference between just sitting alongside someone whilst they drive and giving a proper sales demo.Chris71 said:
I think the problem is that serious buyers can usually get test drives free of charge with sellers.
And we spend our days weeding out the dreamers and timewasters that this scheme would encourage.Test drives are a question of risk and reward. The risk is obvious, I'm having physiotherapy for a neck injury caused by a customer who lost control of a car and destroyed it on test drive. In addition I have three friends in the trade who were robbed of their cars during demos. The reward is the profit we make when we sell a car. If you were only going to get £30 or so would you put yourself at risk for that?
I'm afraid in my professional opinion you've got better chance of platting piss than getting this off the ground.
hairykrishna said:
How would that work?
Something like some hotels do where they take a holding deposit of say £500 which is only taken if there are problems.If there are no problems then it would all be returned less the charge (£10, £20 or whatever that may be)
I think this should stop idiots requesting test drives just for a laugh
How does that sound?
markmullen said:
cptsideways said:
Almost all car manufacturers go to great lengths to train their sales staff to be knowledgeable on their product & how they'd like it branded, with just a few exceptions & the idea generally works.
Punters: Laughably few are knowledgeable enough on the product to then "sell" it someone else.
Punters: Laughably few are knowledgeable enough on the product to then "sell" it someone else.
There is a difference between just sitting alongside someone whilst they drive and giving a proper sales demo.Chris71 said:
I think the problem is that serious buyers can usually get test drives free of charge with sellers.
And we spend our days weeding out the dreamers and timewasters that this scheme would encourage.Test drives are a question of risk and reward. The risk is obvious, I'm having physiotherapy for a neck injury caused by a customer who lost control of a car and destroyed it on test drive. In addition I have three friends in the trade who were robbed of their cars during demos. The reward is the profit we make when we sell a car. If you were only going to get £30 or so would you put yourself at risk for that?
I'm afraid in my professional opinion you've got better chance of platting piss than getting this off the ground.
Is the concept of a home delivery, out of office test drive good though or is that something that is widely offered already?
Shaw Tarse said:
How do you intend to check someones licence?
I'm 50 now, no points & 60 years NCB!
Not sure it will matter as there are no cars to test drive at the moment!I'm 50 now, no points & 60 years NCB!
Would have certain terms that they would need to agree to and in that would be the fact that they confirm that their licence meets certain criteria.
Emperor Blue said:
Good to get some feedback from someone in the trade, thanks. Sounds like a rethink it needed and I love the platting piss analogy!
Is the concept of a home delivery, out of office test drive good though or is that something that is widely offered already?
It is for the punter. Look at it from a different angle though. For a company home evening drives is one channel and it will drive next to no revenue for them. That is why they concentrate their efforts elsewhere. Is the concept of a home delivery, out of office test drive good though or is that something that is widely offered already?
Emperor Blue said:
Shaw Tarse said:
How do you intend to check someones licence?
I'm 50 now, no points & 60 years NCB!
Not sure it will matter as there are no cars to test drive at the moment!I'm 50 now, no points & 60 years NCB!
Would have certain terms that they would need to agree to and in that would be the fact that they confirm that their licence meets certain criteria.
Shaw Tarse said:
Emperor Blue said:
Shaw Tarse said:
How do you intend to check someones licence?
I'm 50 now, no points & 60 years NCB!
Not sure it will matter as there are no cars to test drive at the moment!I'm 50 now, no points & 60 years NCB!
Would have certain terms that they would need to agree to and in that would be the fact that they confirm that their licence meets certain criteria.
(Cue pictures of the other dragons saying "I'm out"!)
Emperor Blue said:
Good to get some feedback from someone in the trade, thanks. Sounds like a rethink it needed and I love the platting piss analogy!
Is the concept of a home delivery, out of office test drive good though or is that something that is widely offered already?
The trouble with spending a lot of time out of the office, plus fuel, on a demo is that you'll miss business back in the showroom. As a guide most mainstream main dealers work on a 10/8/4 ratio for salesmen, per week they should do 10 appraisals (proper sit down discussions with customers), 8 of those should get a demo. Of those 8 demos 4 should result in deals. Taking a car to a customer invariably takes much longer than doing a demo at the showroom.Is the concept of a home delivery, out of office test drive good though or is that something that is widely offered already?
More importantly doing a demo at the customer's home takes control away from the dealer. In the showroom whilst the salesman is out on demo the sales manager is usually stacking the deal up based on the appraisal of the part exchange the salesman has done before going out for a drive. On return from the demo the salesman sees the sales manager who gives him figures to present to the customer. Once haggling is started the salesman is the go-between from the customer to the sales manager. If required the sales manager can come out and "second face" the customer to try and close the deal, similarly the Business Manager can be involved to sell finance and products. All this is done in a structured way to maximise sales. No doubt at this point I'll get loads of people saying they would never buy a car like this, ignoring the fact that members of a car forum are far from your average buyer at a mainstream main dealer. Your scheme would miss out all this structure and mean the dealer loses control of the whole process.
Sorry but I really don't think it is a winner.
Emperor Blue said:
That's definitely a possibility! No such thing as bad feedback but my counter argument would be:
Car owner can earn some extra money
Consumer gets a test drive at a convenient time with a real owner, not trying to sell to them
Manufacturer knows that the best referrals are word of mouth - nobody could sell their cars better than a happy owner? (and you wouldn't really agree to this if you weren't happy with the car)
Thoughts?
But if you are looking for a completely objective view, a "happy owner" is hardly the best starting point.... How many owners, realistically, are going to turn up and say "the car's a POS, I wish I'd never bought it... " Car owner can earn some extra money
Consumer gets a test drive at a convenient time with a real owner, not trying to sell to them
Manufacturer knows that the best referrals are word of mouth - nobody could sell their cars better than a happy owner? (and you wouldn't really agree to this if you weren't happy with the car)
Thoughts?
No less biased than a salesman on commission.
The evenings thing is an issue, however that is why car dealerships are busiest on the weekend!
To be honest, I'd not consider it as a car owner as it sounds like a lot of hassle for limited return plus I have to let a random drive my car, which isn't something I'm keen on.
As a buyer, I'll use the net to gauge the opinion of current owners and maybe speak to people who've got my car or a variant of it. I wouldn't pay for a test drive, end off.
If it's something new then I'll go to a dealership and look over it and test drive if I want. If it's something old enough to be out of the dealership network then driving the actual example is important.
Sorry, just can't see an idea where people have to pay to test drive taking off.
To be honest, I'd not consider it as a car owner as it sounds like a lot of hassle for limited return plus I have to let a random drive my car, which isn't something I'm keen on.
As a buyer, I'll use the net to gauge the opinion of current owners and maybe speak to people who've got my car or a variant of it. I wouldn't pay for a test drive, end off.
If it's something new then I'll go to a dealership and look over it and test drive if I want. If it's something old enough to be out of the dealership network then driving the actual example is important.
Sorry, just can't see an idea where people have to pay to test drive taking off.
I've suggested to many a dealership to offer evening/overnight test drives, obviously qualified or existing returning customers of course. There seems to be a stumbling block when it comes to mainstream dealerships though. To be honest it's no different to dealerships handing over a new model when people come in for servicing & how many sales does that result in??
Handing over a car to someone on the verge of buying, puts the keys in their hand, they get the same sensation they'd have when picking it up for themselves. So in my eyes an easily done deal surely not. There is also the factor of it's all done out of hours & the dealership have given away little time. The demo will otherwise be sat there idle unless the DP has nicked it.
Interested to hear on people thoughts, I do plenty of in dealer training for several brands so happy to discuss a relevant issue/idea.
Handing over a car to someone on the verge of buying, puts the keys in their hand, they get the same sensation they'd have when picking it up for themselves. So in my eyes an easily done deal surely not. There is also the factor of it's all done out of hours & the dealership have given away little time. The demo will otherwise be sat there idle unless the DP has nicked it.
Interested to hear on people thoughts, I do plenty of in dealer training for several brands so happy to discuss a relevant issue/idea.
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