Calling into a Dealership just to pass the time....

[Blown2CV]

if you make it clear that's why you are there, and don't force the salesman to sit down with you (or allow them to get you to sit down with them) and work out figures etc then its all fine. Otherwise you are a timewaster, and it isn't really fair, as they do have to earn a living.

[R500POP]

We had a casual poke around the showroom when the family wagon was in for some warranty work 8 weeks back. Yesterday we collected the new car we bought "on impulse"

[Roo]

A lot of our business is either done over the phone or the internet so most people who come in just want to look around.

As long as they're up front about it it's not a problem. As others have said, you never know when they may be in a position to come back and buy something.

[Davie]

Works in most cases where a business has a product or a service to sell, by all means feel free to browse just don't take up a representative's time simply for the sheer hell of it. I used to have one chap who'd pop in, help himself to coffee and want to have an hours chat. Great if you're quiet and have the time to spare, but when phone's are ringing and customers are waiting... it's a pain in the arse! That said, he did return a few weeks later and made a sizable purchase so again, always best to treat everybody as a potential customer but common courtesy should extended on both sides.

I've done it a few times, randomly had a wander round a few garages as yes I do have a genuine interest in cars and there have been a few models I'd be interested in seeing up close and personal. Ok so I'm perhaps not there to spend considerable cash there and then, but if I'm treated courteously and left to browse then I'd be happy to go back and spend at a later date. My old man did this once, popped in just for a browse and drove away two days later in a new car. A friends father also walked into a Porsche dealer a few years back, he arrived in a battered Impreza wearing his gardening clothes and reported he was just in for a look. He said he was ignored and almost asked to leave right up until he mentioned he'd just sold property in Edinburgh city centre... cash signs appeared in the salesman's eyes, coffee started flowing and he was invited to have a seat.

Oh if only...