Buying from main dealer. Is this right?

[Anastie]

I'm buying a £30k car from a VW main dealer. When I arrived as planned I was told I could only test drive it along the road at the back of the dealer as "it was not taxed". I did that then thought hang on isn't this what trade plates are for. I went back and said I'm not spending this money without a longer test drive. To which I was told ok. I'm not supposed to come out with you but I have to for insurance purposes "Don't tell anyone"

I did the drive and everything was fine. Negotiated a couple of things and agreed to collect the car in two weeks. Nothing signed and deposit paid over the phone a few days before I did the test drive.

Now something doesn't feel right about this process to me. I have bought from the dealer before and gone out unaccompanied on a test drive for as long as I wanted to. Or is this the norm in the present climate when buying a car? Literally contactless!

Just wondering...

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

Sounds weird on every level to me.

PS top lurking

[HTP99]

Sounds odd as we are doing unaccompanied test drives only, usually we don't offer them but during the current climate we have to, as we aren't allowed in the car with a customer.

It all sounds a bit arse about face.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

Also, in my experience VW dealers are usually obsessed with paperwork.

[Miserablegit]

Depending on the size of the deposit and what was discussed beforehand it sounds as though the salesman couldn’t be arsed to put any effort in as he’d already “sold” the car to you.


I had really poor service like that many years ago from Mini Finchley so went to Park Lane and spent my money there. A more expensive site means they have to move a lot of cars so are perhaps more motivated...


Can’t remember the last time I had an unaccompanied test drive. The salesman has always been in the passenger seat.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

Miserablegit said:

Can’t remember the last time I had an unaccompanied test drive. The salesman has always been in the passenger seat.

It has been different during Covid though

[Anastie]

2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:

Sounds weird on every level to me.

PS top lurking

Yes, very embarrassing. Long time member and all that...

[Anastie]

Thanks for the responses so far.
I just had a niggle that something didn't feel quite right. I only paid £100 deposit and have a fair deal on my part ex. The salesman did say commission on hold so little incentive when selling. That maybe it but not the best experience so far!

[syl]

I never understand test drives. I’ve been accompanied on short test drives in pretty normal used cars worth £10-20k on one hand and then I’ve been given the keys to new cars worth six figures and told to come back when I’m satisfied. Sometimes at the same dealership.

[Dohnut]

Test driven Disco and XC90 recently. On both occasions (after paperwork completed) just been handed keys and told to go enjoy myself for an hour or two.

[Anastie]

Dohnut said:

Test driven Disco and XC90 recently. On both occasions (after paperwork completed) just been handed keys and told to go enjoy myself for an hour or two.

Yeah thats what I expected to do. Given Ive not signed anything it all feels strange but we are in strange times.

[HTP99]

Anastie said:

Dohnut said:

Test driven Disco and XC90 recently. On both occasions (after paperwork completed) just been handed keys and told to go enjoy myself for an hour or two.

Yeah thats what I expected to do. Given Ive not signed anything it all feels strange but we are in strange times.

If someone places a deposit over the phone, I always without fail e-mail them an order, asking them to confirm by return e-mail that they are happy to proceed, if they are present when leaving a deposit then they get a signed order.

TBH it just sounds as the guy you dealt with was slack and disorganised.

[ChrisH72]

Bought my car from a Ford dealership 2 weeks ago. They gave me the keys and let me go for a half hour drive by myself. There was a simple online insurance thing to sort before and after the drive.

But another two drives were different. A Peugeot dealer let me drive unaccompanied but I had to follow him in his car on a prescribed route which was very short. And Evans Halshaw did what you described, only allowed to drive around their carpark.

[OFORBES]

Buying cars during this weird and wonderful period I have seen a few different approaches....

From being given the keys and told to go and enjoy myself in a 6 figure supercar car (But must admit that this is definitely not the norm, but dependent on your relationship/buying history with the dealer) to the sales guy taking another car out and me following him on the test drive.

[Tall_Blk]

Sounds weird.

When I test drove an E class, the dealer just gave me the keys and I asked for how long?

He basically said we are here until 5pm just bring the car back before then. Ended up going out for lunch, visiting BMW dealers for comparison and driving around roads I know. Now that’s what I call a test drive.

Ended up buying the car.

[RM10]

When choosing my current car last year (VW Tiguan), I went for test drives from main dealers in Mercs, Volvos, VW and Skodas - the VW test drive was BY FAR the most restrictive, but all of them were short and accompanied. This premise of being handed the keys for a few hours is completely alien to me! Not sure if it's because I was 26 and they didn't trust me...

[Sheepshanks]

Wife has a Tiguan and didn’t test drive it at all. “It’s a Tiguan”.

I went with daughter when she test drove a Golf - salesman came too. Reasonable route and distance. Bit pointless really, could say the same as wife did - it’s a Golf.

[NDA]

My friend bought an Audi recently from an Audi dealer.... after some paperwork (copy of licence, copy of utility bill) they put trade plates on it and we went out, unaccompanied, for an hour to see if we liked it.

[Jamescrs]

A friend of mine works for a VW dealer in sales and they are allowing unaccompanied test drives, no idea what the procedure is though

[HTP99]

RM10 said:

When choosing my current car last year (VW Tiguan), I went for test drives from main dealers in Mercs, Volvos, VW and Skodas - the VW test drive was BY FAR the most restrictive, but all of them were short and accompanied. This premise of being handed the keys for a few hours is completely alien to me! Not sure if it's because I was 26 and they didn't trust me...

I've been in the motor trade for circa 20 years, I've never known of a dealer just "chucking the keys" at a customer and telling them to do a few laps of the UK or whatever else sounds good, to try it out.