Extended Test Drives
Discussion
M-SportMatt said:
the_stoat said:
If you do test a Golf R test it with the kids over speed bumps, it is harsh even by M-Sport standards. It is also so fidgity on the motorway it makes my mother and better half feel sick. So as someone who got one without test driving I would recommend an extended test drive as the R may not be the golden goose so many think it is.
Exactly the kind of thing I was going to do. Cheers I guess a lot of the posters on here buy with their dick rather than actually find out what a car is like before they buy it by the sounds of it.
Integroo said:
I'm thinking of buying a house soon. On the back of this, gonna ask Barratts if I can live in it for a week before I buy. Just to see if I like it. Awful lot of money to spend without doing so.
Thing is, some car dealers DO offer extended test drives, NO new housebuilder offers a test live in.So really i don't remotely see your point.....
How did you approach the dealer, phone or personal visit.
I'd say 2 hours is fine, but that's been done over.
I'd take a test drive with the dealer, at the end of test drive if you want the car, ask for an extended drive, get them to appraise your car and see what thje package is like.
If it's good for you push for 24hours, as a condition of the sale.
Not sure but Skoda are doing extended drives on some models, as a Skoda owner I'f put you in the direct of a Skoda Dealer
I'd say 2 hours is fine, but that's been done over.
I'd take a test drive with the dealer, at the end of test drive if you want the car, ask for an extended drive, get them to appraise your car and see what thje package is like.
If it's good for you push for 24hours, as a condition of the sale.
Not sure but Skoda are doing extended drives on some models, as a Skoda owner I'f put you in the direct of a Skoda Dealer
M-SportMatt said:
Really, given i have access to a lot more performance than a golf estate I hardly need to waste my time looking for a free joyride.
Both parents struggle to get in and out of my BMW as the seats sit fairly low, the seats in the Golf appear not to be so
And if you think a 320 is a similar sized vehicle to a golf in terms of load then you're hardly worth listening to anyway. Cheers
forgot to add or i didn't see re your parents.Both parents struggle to get in and out of my BMW as the seats sit fairly low, the seats in the Golf appear not to be so
And if you think a 320 is a similar sized vehicle to a golf in terms of load then you're hardly worth listening to anyway. Cheers
My inlaws are both over 75, the FIL is 6' 5 and stocky, he's had 3 strokes and a heart attack, walks with a stick and isn't particularly nimble - he found the standard seats in the R hatch (along with the room) in the rear fine - the front seats were a little buckety for him but he cound still get in and out and found them also comfortable).
not sure on the estate - does it have a more sloping roof line ?
I remember when i was looking at the S3 - i fancied the saloon but concluded that the roof line in the rear would suffer so went for the sportback.
OP - could you take your parents to the showroom and get them in and out while there?
anothernameitist said:
How did you approach the dealer, phone or personal visit.
I'd say 2 hours is fine, but that's been done over.
I'd take a test drive with the dealer, at the end of test drive if you want the car, ask for an extended drive, get them to appraise your car and see what thje package is like.
If it's good for you push for 24hours, as a condition of the sale.
Not sure but Skoda are doing extended drives on some models, as a Skoda owner I'f put you in the direct of a Skoda Dealer
I just called them in the first instance, I know it's probably best if i pay them a visit and take a drive with the dealer, I guess I have leverage once he knows i'm serious and not after a joyride. Thanks for the info, I have thought of a 245 Octy Estate 7 sp DSG, not as dynamically good i guess but worth a look.I'd say 2 hours is fine, but that's been done over.
I'd take a test drive with the dealer, at the end of test drive if you want the car, ask for an extended drive, get them to appraise your car and see what thje package is like.
If it's good for you push for 24hours, as a condition of the sale.
Not sure but Skoda are doing extended drives on some models, as a Skoda owner I'f put you in the direct of a Skoda Dealer
M-SportMatt said:
Exactly the kind of thing I was going to do. Cheers
I guess a lot of the posters on here buy with their dick rather than actually find out what a car is like before they buy it by the sounds of it.
The dealer has a handful of people every week who want a high performance car free for the weekend. I guess a lot of the posters on here buy with their dick rather than actually find out what a car is like before they buy it by the sounds of it.
They want it to go joy-riding. Now, you want the same thing, but you want it for sensible purchase-related reasons.
How is the dealer to tell the difference? If they let everyone who asks borrow a car, then it won't be there for you to have the 2 hours. And it'll probably get pranged every other weekend.
Put yourself in their shoes. How can they win?
SpeckledJim said:
The dealer has a handful of people every week who want a high performance car free for the weekend.
They want it to go joy-riding. Now, you want the same thing, but you want it for sensible purchase-related reasons.
How is the dealer to tell the difference? If they let everyone who asks borrow a car, then it won't be there for you to have the 2 hours. And it'll probably get pranged every other weekend.
Put yourself in their shoes. How can they win?
By developing the skills to separate the wheat from the chaff and sell to genuine customers, they are in Sales after all, if they can be bluffed by joyriding scrotes then i suggest they may not be that good......but to be fair i haven't given them the chance yet as I haven't met them.They want it to go joy-riding. Now, you want the same thing, but you want it for sensible purchase-related reasons.
How is the dealer to tell the difference? If they let everyone who asks borrow a car, then it won't be there for you to have the 2 hours. And it'll probably get pranged every other weekend.
Put yourself in their shoes. How can they win?
Rawwr said:
I think most dealers will be very wary of any requests for extended test drives, especially on performance models, because they do tend to stink of joyrides and/or free hire cars.
Then again, I'm not sure what you're hoping to discover about the car that you couldn't discover in 2 hours with it?
Nail head.Then again, I'm not sure what you're hoping to discover about the car that you couldn't discover in 2 hours with it?
If something interests me, I try to hire one for a few days.
I did thisd before I bought my Boxster 987 back in 2005.
I had to sell up the same year as son No3 was on his way but Porsche kept sending me emails about services and other items. One day I sent a polite reply saying that I loved the car and was very sorry about selling it on.
5 mins later the phone rang and I was offered a new Carrera 997S for 24 hours.
I picked it up on a dark stormy January night and put 500 miles on it. It was brilliant across the countryside but a pain in the traffic and over the speed bumps of London where I lived.
I handed it back and there was no pressure, just a let us know if you are interested.
It nearly worked as I agonised for a month about getting the £70k together so I could have me one
My current car, a 2016 Mustang GT, I put a deposit down after having only seen a bad picture on a crappy Ford leaflet.
BMW motorbikes have always been good for 1 day test rides and you do need to see how the bike is on a ride out as well as the gridlocked commute.
But like I said, I tend to hire the bikes or cars that I am interested in, as then there is no pressure and you can take your time. One bike picked up miles from home had to be ridden back into London just so I could see if it would fit in my tiny front yard.
It's stuff like that which can't be looked at in a 15 minute drive with a salesman, such as I had in a Dacia Duster the other day.
I did thisd before I bought my Boxster 987 back in 2005.
I had to sell up the same year as son No3 was on his way but Porsche kept sending me emails about services and other items. One day I sent a polite reply saying that I loved the car and was very sorry about selling it on.
5 mins later the phone rang and I was offered a new Carrera 997S for 24 hours.
I picked it up on a dark stormy January night and put 500 miles on it. It was brilliant across the countryside but a pain in the traffic and over the speed bumps of London where I lived.
I handed it back and there was no pressure, just a let us know if you are interested.
It nearly worked as I agonised for a month about getting the £70k together so I could have me one
My current car, a 2016 Mustang GT, I put a deposit down after having only seen a bad picture on a crappy Ford leaflet.
BMW motorbikes have always been good for 1 day test rides and you do need to see how the bike is on a ride out as well as the gridlocked commute.
But like I said, I tend to hire the bikes or cars that I am interested in, as then there is no pressure and you can take your time. One bike picked up miles from home had to be ridden back into London just so I could see if it would fit in my tiny front yard.
It's stuff like that which can't be looked at in a 15 minute drive with a salesman, such as I had in a Dacia Duster the other day.
Durzel said:
I struggle to understand how you can't try these simulated things during that 2 hours. Go for a pretend shop (or actually do the shopping), etc. What on Earth does "going and seeing family and friends" prove exactly?
Wondering what your kids / elderly relatives will think of it? Show it to them during the 2 hours, or take them to the dealer forecourt, or show them photos / videos.
What's it like during the commute? What's the difference between any car during the commute besides aircon, what toys it has, seat comfort, stop/start activity (which again you don't need a traffic jam to test), etc?
A lot of what has been said as reasons for needing a day/weekend long test drive sounds awfully contrived to be honest. It's hard to argue that in this day and age of YouTube that you really can't get a sense of things without actually physically needing the car to be parked on your drive overnight.
2 hours unsupervised sounds more than generous to me.
2 hours between where I used to live and said dealer would have given little actual time to try it. Added to this going and seeing my inlaws was important as we do take them out sometimes, my father in law is 72, COPD and numerous other issues,why should our car choice mean taking him to a dealer etc.? Much easier to take it to him, but 2 hours would not have allowed enough time.Wondering what your kids / elderly relatives will think of it? Show it to them during the 2 hours, or take them to the dealer forecourt, or show them photos / videos.
What's it like during the commute? What's the difference between any car during the commute besides aircon, what toys it has, seat comfort, stop/start activity (which again you don't need a traffic jam to test), etc?
A lot of what has been said as reasons for needing a day/weekend long test drive sounds awfully contrived to be honest. It's hard to argue that in this day and age of YouTube that you really can't get a sense of things without actually physically needing the car to be parked on your drive overnight.
2 hours unsupervised sounds more than generous to me.
Like some others said I wanted make sure it was the right car as I was buying it outright not leasing. Furthermore, I had already established a relationship with said sales guy and dealer to make it a possibility. Having spent months coming down to between 2/3 cars, it was difficult went to one dealer hated the car never went any further, the BMW question won because we had a "proper" opportunity to try it and made sure it fitted our lives, which it has.
End result of having said car is we bought that car and spent a little more than the original plan. So an extra day and a few hours turned out well for the sales guy!
I do not deny there are issues, but if you have a highly interested customer, but they are not 100% decided it can be the thing that tips the balance.
egomeister said:
Richard-390a0 said:
egomeister said:
If a lack of commitment is the issue then why isn't there an option to have a longer test drive for a fee? As mentioned in a previous post, I'd happily stump up some money to make sure the car is right for me but I've never seen this offered..
Enterprise, Avis, Hertz etc etc...the_stoat said:
If you do test a Golf R test it with the kids over speed bumps, it is harsh even by M-Sport standards. It is also so fidgity on the motorway it makes my mother and better half feel sick. So as someone who got one without test driving I would recommend an extended test drive as the R may not be the golden goose so many think it is.
I had a diesel 55 plate Bora once, my wife couldn't ride in the back of it as within two minutes she felt sick and to a lesser extent the same in the front. 4 different cars 3 makes since then (Fiat, JEEP and Mercedes) and no issues.Moonpie21 said:
the_stoat said:
If you do test a Golf R test it with the kids over speed bumps, it is harsh even by M-Sport standards. It is also so fidgity on the motorway it makes my mother and better half feel sick. So as someone who got one without test driving I would recommend an extended test drive as the R may not be the golden goose so many think it is.
I had a diesel 55 plate Bora once, my wife couldn't ride in the back of it as within two minutes she felt sick and to a lesser extent the same in the front. 4 different cars 3 makes since then (Fiat, JEEP and Mercedes) and no issues.Kuji said:
I even know of one person, who blagged a large estate, simply to collect some family from the airport.
I borrowed a Honda FR-V for a weekend when I need to get six of us to a distant restaurant. But we have a couple of Hondas in the family and there was a very remote chance I might have bought it. It was horrible, but did the job.It used to be a regular comment on the Mercedes forums that "their" dealer had lent them an R Class for a wedding.
I'm out of date by 10 years with this, but company car drivers used to get treated very differently. When I worked at the head office a reasonable size company with around 100 company cars, we used to get left cars for anyone to try by manufacturer corporate sales departments all the time. Even when based at home after that, I could call our fleet supplier and they'd get a car delivered for usually 2-3 days. Mercedes didn't have a model I wanted so registered one and drove it 200 miles to me.
Sheepshanks said:
Kuji said:
I even know of one person, who blagged a large estate, simply to collect some family from the airport.
I borrowed a Honda FR-V for a weekend when I need to get six of us to a distant restaurant. But we have a couple of Hondas in the family and there was a very remote chance I might have bought it. It was horrible, but did the job.It used to be a regular comment on the Mercedes forums that "their" dealer had lent them an R Class for a wedding.
I'm out of date by 10 years with this, but company car drivers used to get treated very differently. When I worked at the head office a reasonable size company with around 100 company cars, we used to get left cars for anyone to try by manufacturer corporate sales departments all the time. Even when based at home after that, I could call our fleet supplier and they'd get a car delivered for usually 2-3 days. Mercedes didn't have a model I wanted so registered one and drove it 200 miles to me.
Toyota were the only brand to fall for it - They delivered me a brand new top of the range avensis diesel to trial for my 'fleet' of sales rep cars (me, i was the only sales rep..)
Had it for 7 days - i got a call a few days later asking me what i thought of it 'a bit sluggish' i commented... 2 days later a petrol one arrives for another 7 days
HTP99 said:
What possible information about the way the Golf R drives can you not gain in a 2hr unaccompanied test drive as opposed to say a 12 or 24hr test drive?
Quite a lot in many ways. For example it might give you chance to do the daily commute. As well as have a drive in it. Really evaluate how it drives under different conditions. As well as giving you chance to see how it drives at night. Are the lights any good. Does the dash illuminate well for you.
And you'll have enough time to play with all the features and toys and flick through the owners manual.
To support this view. Just think how many threads there are on here with people saying hey don't actually like the car they have bought. Maybe if people spent a little more time deciding, there would be more satisfied owners. Rather than people wanting to change and swap vehicles after only a handful of months.
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