Test Drives

[NGee]

What would be considered to be a reasonable length of time to have a demo car for a test drive.??

Looking to buy a car roughly in the 2 to 3 year old £10,000-£12,000 range and been offered a 20 min drive.

I would like to have it for 2-4 hours to drive motorway/rural/urban have a good look round it, check out the gadgets, etc
Quite happy to drive a demo car as opposed to one I might be buying.

So am I being unreasonable expecting to have it for this long or are the main dealers being unreasonable only allowing me 20 mins (which would hardly get out of town!)

[jwilco]

I think up to 30 mins is pretty standard to be honest. I've never managed to get a 2 or 3 hour time slot with a used car to test out. Of course that's not to say some dealers might be more open to it.

You'd want it to be in the actual car you're buying as at 2 or 3 years old you want to make sure it doesn't have any rattles, squeaks, creaks, knocks that worry you.

[Toyoda]

I think 2 to 4 hours is pie in the sky. 20 mins is at the generous end as it is. Would be nice to have longer but it's just not reality.

[Dohnut]

I got 3 hours in a Discovery this past weekend. Given the current situation around covid it was the dealers suggestion I take it away chuck the family in it and bring it back later.

Was brand new with 20 miles on the clock. Was handed the keys and he simply said go put some miles on it.

[Dolf Stoppard]

I don't think 30 minutes is unreasonable, but at the same time, if you're serious, I'd hope a dealer could accommodate longer. I've actually got longer test drives recently far easier than ever before.

[NGee]

Thanks for all the replies, interesting.
I am serious but it seems impossible to convince the dealer until you buy it! Catch 22!

[andburg]

Tell the salesman you want to take it home and make sure it will fit in your garage

[SSG1000]

Test drove a BMW a week ago, the salesperson asked me how long I wanted..... initially suggesting an hour. Settled for 30 minutes just to get a feel for the car.... glad I did the auto gearbox was dreadful.

[Jamescrs]

I think it's unreasonable to expect a 2-4 hour test drive too to be honest, some dealers will do it on a brand new car but on a pre owned car at that value I think it's unrealistic.

[ChevronB19]

Land Rover just gave me the keys and said ‘see you later today’

[Camelot1971]

If possible, look to rent a similar car for the day. Some dealers offer daily rental or you can get lucky with a mainstream rental place.

I rented a Camaro in the US for a couple of days to check if I liked it - bought one in the UK recently and only needed 15 mins in the car.

[NGee]

Camelot1971 said:

If possible, look to rent a similar car for the day.

I like that idea, I'll have a look around.
Thanks

[colin79666]

I’ve always gone for two drives in something I’ve ended up buying (or another of the same model if new/delivery miles pre registered).

First drive for 15 mins to see if it could be the one and then a second longer drive the next day once I’d thought about it and was serious. You also tend to think it over better after a quick drive and come back with specific things to check. The only time I didn’t follow my method I ended up missing tell tale (bad) accident repair, hated the car on longer drives and got shot of it after only a few months.

[stuart_83]

Had something similar recently - I'm not going to be ready to change my car until September but have started to refine my list. Made this clear to the dealers so I'm not taking up lots of their time, and because of that haven't requested test drives.

At Mini they told me I should be able to have a short drive later in the year on a Clubman JCW as long as the figures match up and we can do a deal. The week previous we ordered a new Cooper through them for the Mrs. Same sales guy.

Honda on the other hand would've let me take a Type R out on my visit but theyre waiting for the facelift demo. As soon as it's in they're happy to give me the keys for a few hours to have play, even if it's before I'm ready to change.

[Dohnut]

Dohnut said:

I got 3 hours in a Discovery this past weekend. Given the current situation around covid it was the dealers suggestion I take it away chuck the family in it and bring it back later.

Was brand new with 20 miles on the clock. Was handed the keys and he simply said go put some miles on it.

I now have an XC90 lined up for this weekend but think I'm only going to get an hour max.

[eybic]

Dohnut said:

Dohnut said:

I got 3 hours in a Discovery this past weekend. Given the current situation around covid it was the dealers suggestion I take it away chuck the family in it and bring it back later.

Was brand new with 20 miles on the clock. Was handed the keys and he simply said go put some miles on it.

I now have an XC90 lined up for this weekend but think I'm only going to get an hour max.

OP is referring to a used car not new so a different ball park.

[Dohnut]

Who's to say I'm not buying a used Disco/XC90?

Granted if I do it would be with a main dealer but I would expect the same.

[ChrisH72]

I had a test drive of a used car at a Peugeot dealer last Tuesday. Due to covid-19 the test drive was unaccompanied but I had to follow the salesman in his car on a prescribed route. All in all I'd say it was 15 mins. To be honest it was enough to know the car wasn't for me. Of course it would be lovely to take cars away for a couple of hours and really test them but I imagine there would be all sorts of insurance issues? It seems rare anyway.