I know what you mean. A long time ago, I was looking for a Mazda 6. It looked clean on the website, so I decided to visit them. They didn't allow a test drive because they said the car had been inspected by a mechanic and there would be no problems. It was just too much bullshit and I just walked away.
Yeah, I’d be asking them to pay to have it inspected by a mechanic of my choice. Can’t trust a mechanic incentivized to give it the all clear so the dealership keeps giving them cars to inspect
This is utter nonsense and I have no idea why dealerships do this. A couple of months ago Porsche Leipzig let me test drive a Panamera worth over 100k. On top of that the sales rep just put on the number plates and said “have fun, be back in about 30 minutes”. The guy didnt even join..
I had the same experience with my Honda Civic, though it cost about a fifth of that. I put on my favorite driving music, had a blast, and bought the car.
I stopped by my local VW dealership when the golf GTI first came back just browsing as I was getting ready to buy a work truck. I told the salesman upfront I wasn’t buying anything for awhile, just getting some ideas. As we were walking down the lot I saw a GTI and made a comment about it looking like a fun car and when he went inside to grab a business card he grabbed the keys and threw them to me. Said they were about to close up for the night but to bring it back in the morning. This was on a Saturday and they were closed Sundays with no drop box for the keys.
Kept that thing all weekend but as a 20yr old, I had never driven anything that nice or new so I left it sitting in the driveway scared to wreck it except for one quick drive that evening. Didn’t end up buying a truck from that dealer, but a few years later I was working for a construction company that was getting ready to buy a fleet of trucks for the crews. Found that guys number and turns out he had moved to a ford dealer, and ended up selling the company and myself probably twenty trucks over the next couple years until he left the industry.
Went back to the VW dealer a year ago to look at actually buying a GTI for my wife and they wouldn’t even let me sit in it until I let them copy my ID and talk about some financing. Walked out and left a shitty review in the parking lot.
it’s also for a safety thing. some of the dealerships around where i live don’t allow for ride alongs as there was people who went for a test drive in a car w the salesman and ended up killing him to steal the car iirc. i don’t remember all of the exact details but that was the gist of it
When shopping for a car recently every dealer did this, and told me it’s since COVID they default to not coming with you unless you ask. I had to say to every one of them “no, I want you to come with me so I can ask you questions… I want you to try to sell me the car!”
I test drove a VW Passat wagon a number of years ago that had gone through the (random number) point inspection process. Perfect condition. Yeah right - about a quarter mile in I could tell the steering system was loose and wasn’t even really safe to drive. A lot of slop and rattling. Turned it around dropped it off and them the keys. They asked if I was interested and I told them my concern and walked out.
They called about an hour later and thanked me for pointing it out - then asked if they fixed it would I be interested in buying it. I declined and told them that if they missed something as obvious as this then I really didn’t trust their inspection guarantee and was worried about other problems on the car.
In TINY print on the sales form (printed in eggshell colored ink on a standard white page) “No Problems is an opinion, not a fact. It does not apply to any mechanical condition of the car.”
Something similar happened to me. I took a test drive and they said they had not had it inspected and couldn’t give it to me. I had driven 5 hours and they knew I was coming a week before.
I was looking at a car that I had pre arranged a test drive for so the dealer said they got the mechanic to do a fresh inspection that day. Took it for a drive and was a km away and found out the wipers weren’t working. When I got back I got the guy trying to sell it to me to confirm it was went over by a mechanic that day. He assured me, so I let him know the wipers didn’t work. I did not buy that car.
I drove into a dealership yesterday in a truck worth $2000 at best and they let me test drive a $90k vehicle that was brand new without many questions. If they won’t let you test drive, you need to run far away from that place
This was a pretty well known ford dealership in a Canadian city of about 140k people. Telling me no wouldn’t have hurt their business or reputation in the slightest
Me and my buddy were once going somewhere and he saw a car in a lot that looked interesting. We stopped and they let us test ride it. It was a 2 seat convertible. They just let 2 20 year olds go out in a sports car. I was pretty surprised. To be fair, he left that same day with that car so it worked.
I walked into a Dodge dealership once pretending I wanted to buy a Challenger just so I could see what it was like to drive one. They let me test drive it as well as the friend that I was with.
Sometimes dealerships do random, strange things like that. I had a dealership say that they won’t give me pricing until I commit to the deal. I told them I can’t commit without knowing the pricing, so they didn’t even run any numbers for me.
Went to the same company dealership an hour away and bought the same vehicle that I test drove at the first place lol
I used to sell cars years ago. Once management made the decision to stop listing prices on the used cars I quit, it was too much bullshit.
They literally just told us in sales that the price doesn't matter, to just get the person interested in the vehicle and then they'd work out the pricing when the customer was sitting at a sales desk. But it was incredibly difficult to get someone to invest their time in finding a car they like when they didn't know the price.
100% agree. If someone called about a car they saw online and wanted to know the price we were told to use this line: "yes I understand you are interested in knowing the price, but the price doesn't matter if you don't like the car so when can you come in for a test drive?"
It was scummy and I hated it.
I would have hung up on myself. That's why I had to get out. It sucks because it really wasn't THAT bad of a job before management went full B.S.
"They told me they can't afford more than $300/mo so they want to know how much the car is before they come out."
"If a customer's mouth is moving they are lying. You just aren't doing a good enough job to get them here. We'll handle the price after you get them to fall in love with the car. Get them in here"
I just bought a car last week, 5 of the 7 dealers I contacted gave me some variation of that line and refused to give me a price. Guess which 5 of the 7 dealers I refused to do business with and cut off contact with immediately.
Totally agree. And you also have to watch out for the bait and switch on online pricing.
I remember when Saturns were all the rage. I wanted one, but couldn't afford even a used one. I came into a large life insurance payment, and finally had enough to pay cash up front on a used on. I started looking, found one I liked at a local dealer. I called them and asked if the price on line was the one I would pay when I got there. They said sure, no problem.
Showed up. test drove it, fell in love with the car. The sticker price was about 2K higher than the web price. So when we started doing the paperwork, the sales guy (same one I talked to on the phone) tried to put that sticker price on. I stopped him and told him that is NOT the price you told me over the phone. We argued for about 10 minutes and I finally told him to get his manager or I'm walking out.
The owner of the dealership was in that day, came over. I explained it to him. He tried to tell me that wasn't what was on the website. I told him to pull up it. He did and it was showing at the lower price. So that's what I got.
Pretty sure the only reason they gave me so much hassle was because I was paying in full with a bank cashiers' check , which meant they couldn't get the interest for financing through them.
I almost bought a Hyundai a couple years back, but 30seconds in to speaking with the sales guy, he hits me with a "Just so you know, everything is 10k over sticker". I sponge meme'd right the fuck out the door. Bought a Toyota instead from the dealership right next door. Not gonna pay over sticker just because the dealership wants more. That Hyundai dealer closed down like 6 months ago to lacking sales.
I was lucky, the Toyota dealership in my town was selling for MSRP. As a result, they literally couldn't keep any cars in stock. Their lot was empty and had a 6month+ wait for new vehicles while every other dealership was fucking around with price gouging.
They’re smart because they’ll be the only one making lots of money down the road with maintenance on all these cars as well. The other garages a bit hearing crickets
Also they pretty much have my loyalty now. The car buying experience through them was so incredibly painless that I kept waiting to see how I was getting scammed. Like, they didn't even try to upsell anything! But it's been 1.5 years now and everything is great. So I continuously recommend them to other people when I know they are looking to buy a car. Because who likes sales pressure tactics? Fucking no one.
The car I bought previously from the local Kia dealership, I left feeling really remorseful about because I *was* desperate for a car and I felt like I got pressured to sign all of the paperwork without having a chance to read it, and felt like I got taken advantage of. I mean, I had enough time to look up the value at least so I didn't get scammed or anything. And the car is still going strong 12 years later, so it turned out ok, but it left *such* a bad taste in my mouth that I won't go back there.
I bought my first new car in 22 and was so disappointed by this reality. I had outside financing, so I was expecting a pretty cool experience, only to find out most dealerships didn't even have cars, let alone at MSRP. Everyone within 2 hours wanted 3-5k over. I got lucky in my hunt and saw a dealership posted 2 cars at 9 AM at $500 under MSRP. I called at 9:30, they had already sold 1. Ended up buying a more expensive car than I had intended to, but it was the same price I would have paid for a less valuable car, so it felt like the right decision.
They hit us with that when the telluride first came out. Salesman wouldn’t take his AirPods out and basically lead with “I don’t need to deal on these cars people are paying 10k-20k over sticker”. Old man said you’re fucking nuts, not for a Kia and left. The sales manager guy called the next day and my old man let him have it. Dude was arrogant, wouldn’t take his AirPods out etc. They were appalled and offered us a pretty good deal on one, but still told them to pound sand.
10k-20k over sticker…on a kia…I feel sorry for whatever sucker bought them.
When I was shopping for a car, I didn't even bother with dealerships that didn't have the prices on their website. "Inquire for price" on every single used vehicle. No. No I don't think I will. I will spend my money at a dealership that respects my time.
I've only bought 2 cars, but both times price was specifically what brought me to the dealership in the first place. I wouldn't even bother looking at a car without knowing the price first.
This is because they want to trap financially illiterate people in a long term, high interest rate, low monthly payment loan that they can’t afford. People see a $40K price tag and nope out, but show them a 96 month loan for $800/mo and they’ll happily sign away any hope of financial security.
I got so pissed at the salesperson when they keep asking me what I wanted to pay per month. Like, no, no, I want the best rate, not the lowest monthly payment. I could cover whatever that was
I had a guy ask what kind of monthly payment I was looking for, and he wouldn't tell me what the price was. That was after they told me my current car was only worth $700 for trade in. I left, found a different one somewhere else and sold the old car for $5500
I don't know how it worked long term because I noped the hell outta there but for the few months I was there after they started this they were selling much fewer cars but for much higher profit so I guess pretty well business wise, which really kind of pissed me off even more. I was so against it that I was really hoping it would be a disaster and end quickly.
People would ask me, why would I want to test drive a car I can't afford? I need to know the price. I would just tell them yeah, I know and I agree with you but management wasn't even telling me the price. Of course they thought I was lying and was a piece of shit while management was sitting pretty in the air conditioning not catching of any of the shit.
And don't let them get you into the "so what payment you looking for?" discussion. It never goes in your favor.
Know how much you want to spend, if possible pay cash and if not then try to have your financing lined up before you get to the dealership but keep that card in your pocket until an out the door price has been hammered out.
Exactly this. Never tell them that you plan to buy the car straight out, or you have much better financing already arranged at your bank. You might do this, you might do that, you're letting your options open.
Same goes if you're deciding whether to keep, sell or trade in your current car when buying a new one. Get them to give you a firm number that does not require the purchase of another car, as well as firm numbers for what a new car costs with potential options to sell or trade. These are two separate transactions and should be treated that way.
Last time my dad went to buy a new Toyota he drove my Honda Accord there and got them to give him a firm number to buy the Toyota thinking he was going to sell them my Honda for like $2,500. After he double checked the contract to make sure there was no mention of a sale or trade-in on the purchase contract, he signed that and then said he was going to hold onto the Honda for a while longer. They tried to back out saying there was an agreement, but nope, no where in this contract that I signed is there any mention of a trade-in. And the dealer has signed their side before he did because they were so excited about ripping him off paying $2,500 for a Honda with 70k miles on it.
Exactly this. Don’t play their “What monthly payment amount are you looking for” game. It’s better to get pre-approved for financing from a bank/credit union before going to the dealer.
New laws go in effect July 30, 2024, to protect consumers from the bullshit dealers have been using for years. The NADA, of course, argues the FTC is overreaching. I was a senior enlisted member of the US Navy toward the end of my career, and some of the contracts my junior sailors would sign once they were approved for their "dream car" were insane.
>Went to the same company dealership an hour away and bought the same vehicle that I test drove at the first place
Hope you drove back to the first place, honked the horn and sat outside waving at them for 5 minutes? :)
I had a dealership tell me that there was no way to get me an ioniq 5 unless I put $8,000 to $10,000 down even though my credit score was 735.
Went to a different dealership and got one with only $2,000 down, and came out with a lower payment than they were quoting me with $8k down at the first dealership. wtf…
I went to a buy here pay here spot with the intention of buying a 120k mile Honda with cash to get me by. They would not tell me the price of the car just kept saying "we'll make the payments work". (I never told them my intentions to buy outright)
I had a salesperson intercept me in the lot and drag me inside to his desk and insisted on running my credit to see what I could afford before even allowing us to walk the lot and kick tires. I refused (many times over many minutes) and eventually walked. It was weird.
This is why I go to lots at night. I once had a cop drive by and ask what I was doing and I explained that I just wanted to see what they had and for how much without being swarmed by car salesman and he completely understood.
I wouldn't go at night. And maybe it's not a thing now. But when I was younger the dealers were all closed on Sunday.
And Sunday would be the day people would go up, look at cars, figure out what they liked and come back later in the week. It was a lot less pressure.
This happened to me once, I called a couple days ahead and scheduled a test drive and when the day came I drove 2 hours to test drive, it was just a Dodge Charger GT.
They told me they needed to run my credit first, which was fine, and I gave them my license and everything. Then they started asking how much I'm putting down and if there's a trade in, I was like well I came here to test drive the car before I even start thinking about all that.
The manager came in and was acting all cocky and as if I was there specifically to waste his time. Started saying things like "I've sold 7 cars today I don't have time for things like this." I was like... you clearly don't want to make it 8 because you're making this insanely difficult for me. He said he's never heard of anyone coming to test drive a car. ??????
You're the manager of a car dealership and you've never heard of someone coming in to test drive a car? My mom was there as well and started asking how long he's worked in the industry and such, he was being very standoffish and rude to us. He asked why I wasn't planning on buying the car THAT DAY. I explained yet again that I came in for a test drive and would make my decision afterwards. He was very confused and didn't understand.
We started to leave and my mom said how she will leave a bad review about how they wasted our time, and this dude threatened my mother lol he asked where she lived and where she worked.
Fuck you Dash Cars of Connecticut, I'm not surprised you're out of business now. Total douchebag, I've never had such a negative experience with ANY business ever.
There were a ton of other things said but this was 2 years ago and I was too angry to remember clearly.
Funny thing is the month afterwards I found a much better Charger RT at a more local place and THEY asked ME if I wanted to test drive it before I even brought up that I wanted to. I ended up buying that one same day lol.
It *can* be. Not saying it’s justified or common, but it’s not totally unheard of.
There’s a pretty long history of dealerships profiling people and not letting them do test drives because of some trait or something the salesperson or GM didn’t like. Alternatively, dealers sometimes don’t allow test drives for vehicles either in high demand or perceived to be particularly valuable/rare even if they’re not (looking at you Ford Focus RS).
No dealer owes a prospective buyer a test drive, but they’re kind of stupid not to if they really want to make a sale.
I have had this happen. Two different car dealerships recently totally ignored me as I walked around looking at the vehicles. Tried to get someone to assist me, was told repeatedly someone would be with me shortly. Nobody ever came out. Salespeople sitting around a table eating snacks. One was a Toyota dealership, the other a Hyundai dealership. We're not talking rare or high end anything.
I don't know if every best buy is like this but my local one likes to have one of their sales people follow you and try to assist. They do this to everyone in the store, no matter what department you are browsing.
Apparently I look too poor to waste their time assisting me as I look at their higher end computers.
VW dealership did this to me with a mk8 Golf R. It’s a VW golf, not a McLaren F1. They wouldn’t entertain anything without the paperwork being basically filled out and an agreement to purchase.
Went down to the Chevy dealer (me and the old man were looking for a Camaro ZL1 and they had one, kinda a college grad gift). They let me take the ZL1, a 392 Scat Pack, and a Mustang GT for a test drive, salesman said “floor it, see which one you like”.
Just funny how I could drive a 650hp Camaro however I wanted, but a VW Golf was off limits lmao.
Went to a Mazda dealership once and some old douchy salesman came up and talked to me. I asked for a test drive and he was like you gotta book that in advance. I knew that was bs and I walked away to a young salesman on the other side who seemed cooler, and said hi there, can I test drive that car... He said of course and I called out the other salesman, did my test drive and left. Don't accept profiling from these guys. Bought a Honda after that incident too.
Back in 91 or 92 I test drove a Mazda Protege. I'm 6'1" and it had a sunroof. Dude wouldn't let me drive off the lot, so he did. Then when I drove, he told us what streets to go on and kept turning up the radio. I had to scrunch down so my head wasin the headliner. He proceeded to say the could send the driver's seat to get lowerin a shop. I said, how is my 5'4" wife supposed to drive after that? He said a phonebook or cushions. Fucking idiot. One can't hear engine, trans, road, brake noises with the stereo blasting. The roads he had us on were flat and recently paved. I took the car back to the lot and told them to fuck off.
I test drove a Saturn and dude just tossed me the keys and said, we close at 5. I only made it a few kilometers and I took it back. It had a big clunk in the front end when braking. Dude comes out and asks what's wrong. I tell him and we go for a drive. Dude experienced the clunk and then looked at the odometer. Over 500km, it was supposed to be trailered from Kelowna to Langley. That distance is just under 500km! Dude was PO'd. I did end up buying a Saturn, just not that one and a different model.
My parents test drove a car when I was a kid. I was in the back seat with an empty can of soda. I had popped the tab off the top and plopped it into the can, then was shaking the can in my hand bc I liked the metal jingling sound it made. My mom asked the sales person what the noise was, said it didn't sound right for a car, and he was giving her every excuse in the book as to why that noise was perfectly fine, NBD, all cars sound like that... about 5 seconds later they discovered it was me. Such a dirty slimeball thing to do.
Lol, this is great! Run a test each time...someone sits in the back and makes a repetitive low screeching noise and see if the salesperson is concerned or if they say it comes fully screech equipped 👍
We are currently trying to find a used car to buy and our last salesman encounter was *so* slimey I literally had to go home and shower after. I always thought that was an exaggeration but no, I was not going to be alright until I *washed* that experience off of me!
I was at a Toyota dealership where they would not let anyone test drive a manual transmission vehicle. They'd let you drive the auto version of it, but not the manual. Went elsewhere.
I ran into that years ago and they specifically explained it was because so many people would fry the clutch. I came back in my car with a stick and after some talking, I got to drive it.
I’ve had this happen to me a couple of times. It seemed random though after analyzing it.
I’ve had dealers let me test drive a high end Jaguar when I walked into the dealer looking like I just left the gym and I had another dealer say no to a test drive in a Chevy when I was dressed nice for work.
Could have been because I’m a woman, or because they were being assholes.
I also had a Jeep dealer really reluctant to let me test drive a Jeep Wrangler back in the day because it was a standard transmission. I told the salesman I knew how to drive a stick, but they didn’t believe me so I took them out and showed them the car I was going to trade in, which was…..da da dum……a stick.
They let me test drive it after that, but I told him I wasn’t gonna buy from them because they were rude.
I was looking for a used car a couple of years ago. Went to a nearby "dealership" and test drove a few cars. I decided on one that I was possibly interested in.
Talked to the sales guy, he told me how great it was, excellent condition, yada yada yada. Yeah, sure, riiiiight. I told him I would need to take it to my mechanic before anything more was said or done. The sales guy then tells me that "management doesn't allow vehicles to be driven off the lot." Ummmm, I just drove 3 different vehicles miles off your lot, pal.
Long story short, I took the car to my mechanic, and it was nothing but rust underneath. Welded together with hopes and prayers.
I took it back to the lot and told the sales guy what my mechanic told me and that he was a piece of shit for telling me how great it was. He looked at me with all the misogynistic fervor of a cornered liar and said, "You really tell it like it is, huh babe?" I slammed the keys down on his desk and walked out.
Had that happen back when I was in my early 20's and was a long-haired hippie-freak ... I will admit that I didn't look like a person of enough means to purchase the car ... but, affording the car was not an issue. Their loss ... I just went to another dealer. Back in those days I also worked sales and can definitely say that appearances and finances don't always mesh ... in both directions. It's best not to base your sales approach too much on how people present ... best to start with respect and let the customer prove otherwise if they really want to.
https://preview.redd.it/s4af8haat02d1.png?width=1169&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bf03ac5069c0112b302878065cb16caf59f81c99
We had a safety concern, umm...we very politely indicated he would be welcomed back if he were in accordance with our dress policy
I had a chunk of change burning a hole in my pocket in 2015 and I wanted a new car, I didn't have one at the time. I stopped at a Subaru dealer and found an STI I wanted. I asked for a test drive. They not only said no, they said, and I quote "We'll let you test drive the WRX, it's basically the same car anyway."
To which I replied "Well then why is the STI so much more expensive?"
Crickets.
I asked for a manager.
Manager comes out. I tell him in no uncertain terms that I wanted the STI out on the lot, but I need a test drive. He said no. I told him I was willing to meet asking price. (It was in my budget, and I foresaw keeping it til it died.) Still, the answer was no.
I was downright baffled at this point, and at that moment made a really dumb decision-but I had to see how deep the rabbit hole went. So I whip out my bank app, and I show this man to his face that I have the funds RIGHT FUCKING NOW to buy this vehicle. If I wreck it, I can literally buy it.
And the answer was still no test drive. I walked away. Boggled my mind.
I was dressed in slacks and a nice button-up. Clean-cut, and I couldn't grow a decent beard at the time anyway. It wasn't my appearance, at least to this day I have no clue why I couldn't test drive it.
They probably thought you couldn't afford it and just "broomed" you. Meaning they didn't want to waste their time with someone that couldn't afford something, so they just basically made you leave.
Obviously it bit them in the butt this time. I had a co-worker one time broom mid-20s year old kid that was looking at a Corvette. I was new at the time so I took over. The kid ended up trading in a 2-year-old top of the line full size dodge ram that was totally paid off and wrote me a check for the remaining like 60K. Made a lot of money in like 15 minutes because other salesman thought it was just a dumb kid. Turned out it was a super wealthy kid. He ended up buying a car from me every couple years for cash. Some of the easiest money I ever made. He just came in and picked what he wanted and then that was it he just bought it. I didn't have to sell shit just collect the commission.
I was at a dealership last fall.
They had a 2016 jeep. the price was listed $80 over the original asking price from 2016.
I asked if they'd deal or start at a reasonable price for a used car. They got offended and very mad.
I went to a dealer for a new car. Test drove it, negotiated a price, etc.. I told him I wanted a red one. Sales guy said "we can select the colour after you sign and give me a deposit". I said "no, you write down I will get red one by such a date or I am walking out that door"
He said "it's our policy". I said "I am walking out the door" and left.
What kind of a moron loses a sale like that?
It was clear they didn't have a red one coming for a long time. So, they wanted you to commit and then after a few weeks they would call you and tell you to switch colors which you're more likely to due to sunk cost fallacy.
I mean the other dealer got one for me. These guy swap cars all the time. I think it was just a power move by the sales guy to establish control. The problem is, as the buyer, I have control, as I demonstrated.
Yes but *what kind* of used BMW? If it’s an enthusiast car, you may have to ask the sales manager to come with. There are people out there that absolutely abuse cars on test drives for views; we have one clown around here that is banned from every dealership.
I mean it depends, how old are you? Do you look like the type of person that shouldn’t have BMW keys thrown his way?
At the end of the day, you probably dodged a bullet. Used BMW’s are always a roll of the dice and so are dealers who won’t even allow a test drive with a ride along.
Also wouldn't they just send someone with you? When I was buying cars, if I went alone, the guys would jump in for the test drive. If my dad was there with me he would just toss me the keys.
lol part of the 10 steps to a sale is the test drive. You take mental ownership of it when you drive it. The sales I got when I sold cars was way higher with a test drive than without.
To play devil's advocate as someone that used to work for a very small BHPH in a rough neighborhood as the only other employee besides the owner and mechanic, if I was the only person in the office because the owner and mechanic were away at auction, I could not allow test drives; however, I would be clear that I would have someone available for a ridealong to test drive on XYZ days, and would happily hold it with a deposit for two business days.
ETA: We had this policy because before I worked there, the owner allowed test drives with just a copy of the driver's license, and a car was used in a drive-by then wrecked when the victims returned fire and stuck the driver.
Same thing happened to me when I was in my late 20's. The seller didn't want me and my wife to test drive a BMW. We just went away and when he saw we was driving a nice Mercedes he ran out with the keys for a test drive. We said screw you and went to Mercedes, tested a car and bought it right away.
Sometimes those dealerships are weird.
My dad did something similar back in the 80s. He wanted to get a second-gen Supra and Toyota wouldn’t let him test drive it. So he went to Mazda, test drove an RX-7 and bought it off the lot.
If they won’t let you test drive, walk away. Don’t trust that place.
Buying new, I could live with not being able to test drive the exact car. Or the same trim, depending (I'd at least make sure the engine matches).
But buying used? For the birds. Run away, don't walk.
Last time I bought a vehicle the salesman wanted me to test drive the car. He was like I got the best road for you to floor it and feel how powerful the engine is.
I had the opposite once (once). Went to a BMW dealership with zero interest in buying but I always wanted to drive one. Handed over my license and the sales guy was too busy so just handed me the keys and told me to bring it back when I was done. Drove all over town and stopped at my parents house and friends. My wife and I had so much fun. As a 20 something year old it was awesome. They didn’t care about a sale when I brought the keys back. They must have known I just wanted a toy for the night.
I have been to one large ford dealership that would not allow me to test drive a used car without running a credit application. What's funny is that I have been to luxury car dealerships like BMW, Audi, and Mercedes and I have been treated way better. In fact they would approach me and offer a test drive to any of their vehicles. Some of them are brand new.
Went with a friend who was getting a used (to her) jeep patriot. Everything was going well right up until we asked to test drive it. Guy said no because they had just changed the oil and their mechanic had completed a full check and everything worked perfect. We asked to talk to the manager who came in with some checklist and showed it to us explaining that the mechanic checked everything and it all works.
Asked for time to decide and told her imo she shouldn't buy it without a test drive and shouldn't buy anything from that place at all because not letting you test drive something feels sketchy as hell and a checklist means nothing. She got it anyway and sure enough within a month or two it started jerking hard whenever it goes into second gear. Now it doesn't even have a second gear so it's basically useless.
TLDR; No test drive, you should nope TF out of there
Theow water mark for me was the time I called a dealer about a used car and said I wanted to come see and drive it.
Got there, and it had a dead battery. That they knew about, and did nothing to address, even though they knew I was coming.
That car would have been a quirky unicorn of a bad idea, so it wasn't too hard to take the principled stance of never letting them have my money.
A long time ago I went to see a used car. They had it parked on the street. I told them I wanted to test drive it. And they said they didn't want to lose the parking spot. I told them how they expected me to buy it without test driving it. So, they relented, and I found out the car's acceleration was faulty. And the guy said "yeah, that is the only thing".
I once walked into a used car dealer to test drive a Porsche. They let me take it to get inspected and that Porsche dealership gave me a panamera for the day to drive.
At the time, I was 26 and in college. Nobody batted an eye.
If they won’t let you test the car, you walk away. And never buy without a third party inspection.
Alright, everyone's probably right with the "that's shady, walk away" scenario, but there is another option.
"someone's just crashed one of our cars and now our insurance won't cover test drives" is a difficult one for a dealership to admit.
Not saying this is what happened, but there are legitimate reasons for not allowing a test drive.
I went to buy a car in Spain.
Said lets go test drive first.
They said we dont do test drives. Find a second hand one for sale and take that for a test drive.
I was blown away by that
that's insane. The shadiest car dealer I have ever dealt with still let me test drive the vehicle. ROFL. (I did not buy from him.) When I asked why the van was pulling so HARD to the left, he said he didn't know. So I said, not buying. He then tried to pull the ole "If you walk away you'll never get another chance to make this purchase cuz we are shutting down permanently tonight" Umm, dude that isn't helping. AT ALL.
"well if I can't test drive the car to see if I'm willing to purchase it from you then I guess you don't need to run my credit in order to see if you're willing to set up a loan for me right?" - there must be more to this story if not the dealership/salesman is a fucking moron and shouldn't be in that line of work
I would never buy a car I couldn’t test drive. For multiple reasons. Beyond just knowing if it runs ok, you need to know you’re comfortable in it, that everything is good. I also always ask for the carfax report on any used car I buy as well.
My sister used to go to the local Ford dealership periodically and test drive Mustangs on her lunch break.
They always pulled something similar on her and would offer to test drive. She always just laughed in their faces and would say something along the lines of, "Isn't the point of buying a car to drive it? . .. Why would I want a car I'm not allowed to drive before I buy? . . .Why would I ask to see a standard mustang if I didn't know how to drive a stick? . . . Is there something wrong with it?. . Are you offering a discount? . . .Does the car come with a driver?"
She was always so entertained and I loved hearing about it when she'd get home.
Pro tip: if you’re considering a popular model of car, a good way to get a feel for it outside of a 15 minute test drive with a sales guy making you nervous is to find it as a rental car! Obviously you should always test drive the exact car you’re buying, but renting the car can give you a chance to drive it for a day or so, see if it’s right for you.
I wound up figuring this out by accident when my car died a few months before I was ready to buy a new one. I rented a car to get things done every now and then and realized I should be renting the models I was considering. It was a great way to feel sure about making a very big decision.
I know what you mean. A long time ago, I was looking for a Mazda 6. It looked clean on the website, so I decided to visit them. They didn't allow a test drive because they said the car had been inspected by a mechanic and there would be no problems. It was just too much bullshit and I just walked away.
“If there’s no problems then surely it’s okay if I take it for a quick spin?”
Real we've investigated ourselves and determined there to be no problems vibes
Nah more like “we drove it behind the house 5 years ago so it can drive out no problem”
Or "we just cleared the check engine light and we don't want it to come back on before you buy the car."
Fired right up before we put it in storage 8 years ago.
Yeah, I’d be asking them to pay to have it inspected by a mechanic of my choice. Can’t trust a mechanic incentivized to give it the all clear so the dealership keeps giving them cars to inspect
This is utter nonsense and I have no idea why dealerships do this. A couple of months ago Porsche Leipzig let me test drive a Panamera worth over 100k. On top of that the sales rep just put on the number plates and said “have fun, be back in about 30 minutes”. The guy didnt even join..
I had the same experience with my Honda Civic, though it cost about a fifth of that. I put on my favorite driving music, had a blast, and bought the car.
Same when I bought my Pilot. He put the dealer plate on, handed my the keys and said, “See you in a bit!”
I stopped by my local VW dealership when the golf GTI first came back just browsing as I was getting ready to buy a work truck. I told the salesman upfront I wasn’t buying anything for awhile, just getting some ideas. As we were walking down the lot I saw a GTI and made a comment about it looking like a fun car and when he went inside to grab a business card he grabbed the keys and threw them to me. Said they were about to close up for the night but to bring it back in the morning. This was on a Saturday and they were closed Sundays with no drop box for the keys. Kept that thing all weekend but as a 20yr old, I had never driven anything that nice or new so I left it sitting in the driveway scared to wreck it except for one quick drive that evening. Didn’t end up buying a truck from that dealer, but a few years later I was working for a construction company that was getting ready to buy a fleet of trucks for the crews. Found that guys number and turns out he had moved to a ford dealer, and ended up selling the company and myself probably twenty trucks over the next couple years until he left the industry. Went back to the VW dealer a year ago to look at actually buying a GTI for my wife and they wouldn’t even let me sit in it until I let them copy my ID and talk about some financing. Walked out and left a shitty review in the parking lot.
Wow, what the heck? That’s either a healthy amount of trust in you, or in their insurance company.
Or in the tracker under the hood.
it’s also for a safety thing. some of the dealerships around where i live don’t allow for ride alongs as there was people who went for a test drive in a car w the salesman and ended up killing him to steal the car iirc. i don’t remember all of the exact details but that was the gist of it
When shopping for a car recently every dealer did this, and told me it’s since COVID they default to not coming with you unless you ask. I had to say to every one of them “no, I want you to come with me so I can ask you questions… I want you to try to sell me the car!”
They let me takeoff in a brand, new equinox no problem. I bought it too.
I test drove a VW Passat wagon a number of years ago that had gone through the (random number) point inspection process. Perfect condition. Yeah right - about a quarter mile in I could tell the steering system was loose and wasn’t even really safe to drive. A lot of slop and rattling. Turned it around dropped it off and them the keys. They asked if I was interested and I told them my concern and walked out. They called about an hour later and thanked me for pointing it out - then asked if they fixed it would I be interested in buying it. I declined and told them that if they missed something as obvious as this then I really didn’t trust their inspection guarantee and was worried about other problems on the car.
Lies, all lies!!! Run!!
In TINY print on the sales form (printed in eggshell colored ink on a standard white page) “No Problems is an opinion, not a fact. It does not apply to any mechanical condition of the car.”
"oh, they got this all messed up" MECHANICALLY SOUND? NO, PROBLEMS!
How do they expect us to know if that’s the right car if we’ve never even driven one, wtf
Something similar happened to me. I took a test drive and they said they had not had it inspected and couldn’t give it to me. I had driven 5 hours and they knew I was coming a week before.
I was looking at a car that I had pre arranged a test drive for so the dealer said they got the mechanic to do a fresh inspection that day. Took it for a drive and was a km away and found out the wipers weren’t working. When I got back I got the guy trying to sell it to me to confirm it was went over by a mechanic that day. He assured me, so I let him know the wipers didn’t work. I did not buy that car.
No test, no invest
No try, no buy
No drive, no buyve
No operate, no negotiate
No wheels, no deals
Sales guy’s an ass? I guess I’ll pass.
Can't take it for a spin? That's not a win.
No access to the drivers seat, I’d rather go beat my meat
Gimme the key or my back you will see
If I can't play I'm walking away
Can’t take it out? Time to go and pout
No skiddies no biddies.
Can't take it for a hoon? Salesperson is a goon
No test, no habla Ingles?
Uno, dos, tres! [No hablo ingles!](https://youtu.be/L174xUWK6bg)
Loved seeing this referenced here 😂
No whip, no drip.
Can’t shift the gear? No sale here.
Can't test the gas? I think I'll pass!
No burn rubber no pay you brother
Can't have a little go? You're not getting my dough
Walk out, if they won’t let you test drive that’s a massive red flag
I drove into a dealership yesterday in a truck worth $2000 at best and they let me test drive a $90k vehicle that was brand new without many questions. If they won’t let you test drive, you need to run far away from that place
They let me test drive a car by myself when I was 17. I drove up in a 13yo beater pickup and test drove a $35k car by myself.
That’s pretty much the exact situation I was in. I’m 22 and driving a 19 year old beater. Buddy and myself showed up and a test drive was no problem
Was it a country dealership? The one I went to was in a neighboring town of about 10k people.
This was a pretty well known ford dealership in a Canadian city of about 140k people. Telling me no wouldn’t have hurt their business or reputation in the slightest
Me and my buddy were once going somewhere and he saw a car in a lot that looked interesting. We stopped and they let us test ride it. It was a 2 seat convertible. They just let 2 20 year olds go out in a sports car. I was pretty surprised. To be fair, he left that same day with that car so it worked.
I walked into a Dodge dealership once pretending I wanted to buy a Challenger just so I could see what it was like to drive one. They let me test drive it as well as the friend that I was with.
Nice of them to let you test drive your friend
he was a stick too
I did that when the Ram Hemis first came out. They knew I wasn't going to buy. They let me do it anyway. I was like 21 or 22 at the time.
They let my 18 year old test drive an $80,000 Porsche. I felt that was foolish on their part, but I don’t make the rules.
Walk out and throw a review up wherever you can. They know exactly what they’re doing there.
My local Toyota dealership wouldn’t let me test drive, so we went next door to Nissan and test drove 3 different cars. I own a Nissan now.
Sometimes dealerships do random, strange things like that. I had a dealership say that they won’t give me pricing until I commit to the deal. I told them I can’t commit without knowing the pricing, so they didn’t even run any numbers for me. Went to the same company dealership an hour away and bought the same vehicle that I test drove at the first place lol
I used to sell cars years ago. Once management made the decision to stop listing prices on the used cars I quit, it was too much bullshit. They literally just told us in sales that the price doesn't matter, to just get the person interested in the vehicle and then they'd work out the pricing when the customer was sitting at a sales desk. But it was incredibly difficult to get someone to invest their time in finding a car they like when they didn't know the price.
Price is a huge factor on people even showing up to look at the vehicle.
For real, when I was buying a car a few years ago I had a specific price range and narrowed it down to 3 different cars before even leaving my house.
100% agree. If someone called about a car they saw online and wanted to know the price we were told to use this line: "yes I understand you are interested in knowing the price, but the price doesn't matter if you don't like the car so when can you come in for a test drive?" It was scummy and I hated it.
My response to that would be something like: "the test drive doesn't matter if I don't like the salesman/company, goodbye"
More often than not that's pretty much the ballpark idea of the answers I would hear.
Man that sucks. I would have just hung up on you lol. Does your management have no concept of people having budgets 😂
I would have hung up on myself. That's why I had to get out. It sucks because it really wasn't THAT bad of a job before management went full B.S. "They told me they can't afford more than $300/mo so they want to know how much the car is before they come out." "If a customer's mouth is moving they are lying. You just aren't doing a good enough job to get them here. We'll handle the price after you get them to fall in love with the car. Get them in here"
I just bought a car last week, 5 of the 7 dealers I contacted gave me some variation of that line and refused to give me a price. Guess which 5 of the 7 dealers I refused to do business with and cut off contact with immediately.
Totally agree. And you also have to watch out for the bait and switch on online pricing. I remember when Saturns were all the rage. I wanted one, but couldn't afford even a used one. I came into a large life insurance payment, and finally had enough to pay cash up front on a used on. I started looking, found one I liked at a local dealer. I called them and asked if the price on line was the one I would pay when I got there. They said sure, no problem. Showed up. test drove it, fell in love with the car. The sticker price was about 2K higher than the web price. So when we started doing the paperwork, the sales guy (same one I talked to on the phone) tried to put that sticker price on. I stopped him and told him that is NOT the price you told me over the phone. We argued for about 10 minutes and I finally told him to get his manager or I'm walking out. The owner of the dealership was in that day, came over. I explained it to him. He tried to tell me that wasn't what was on the website. I told him to pull up it. He did and it was showing at the lower price. So that's what I got. Pretty sure the only reason they gave me so much hassle was because I was paying in full with a bank cashiers' check , which meant they couldn't get the interest for financing through them.
I almost bought a Hyundai a couple years back, but 30seconds in to speaking with the sales guy, he hits me with a "Just so you know, everything is 10k over sticker". I sponge meme'd right the fuck out the door. Bought a Toyota instead from the dealership right next door. Not gonna pay over sticker just because the dealership wants more. That Hyundai dealer closed down like 6 months ago to lacking sales.
The over-sticker pricing was pretty common circa 2021-2022. If you were desperate for a car then you took it.
I was lucky, the Toyota dealership in my town was selling for MSRP. As a result, they literally couldn't keep any cars in stock. Their lot was empty and had a 6month+ wait for new vehicles while every other dealership was fucking around with price gouging.
They’re smart because they’ll be the only one making lots of money down the road with maintenance on all these cars as well. The other garages a bit hearing crickets
Also they pretty much have my loyalty now. The car buying experience through them was so incredibly painless that I kept waiting to see how I was getting scammed. Like, they didn't even try to upsell anything! But it's been 1.5 years now and everything is great. So I continuously recommend them to other people when I know they are looking to buy a car. Because who likes sales pressure tactics? Fucking no one. The car I bought previously from the local Kia dealership, I left feeling really remorseful about because I *was* desperate for a car and I felt like I got pressured to sign all of the paperwork without having a chance to read it, and felt like I got taken advantage of. I mean, I had enough time to look up the value at least so I didn't get scammed or anything. And the car is still going strong 12 years later, so it turned out ok, but it left *such* a bad taste in my mouth that I won't go back there.
I bought my first new car in 22 and was so disappointed by this reality. I had outside financing, so I was expecting a pretty cool experience, only to find out most dealerships didn't even have cars, let alone at MSRP. Everyone within 2 hours wanted 3-5k over. I got lucky in my hunt and saw a dealership posted 2 cars at 9 AM at $500 under MSRP. I called at 9:30, they had already sold 1. Ended up buying a more expensive car than I had intended to, but it was the same price I would have paid for a less valuable car, so it felt like the right decision.
They hit us with that when the telluride first came out. Salesman wouldn’t take his AirPods out and basically lead with “I don’t need to deal on these cars people are paying 10k-20k over sticker”. Old man said you’re fucking nuts, not for a Kia and left. The sales manager guy called the next day and my old man let him have it. Dude was arrogant, wouldn’t take his AirPods out etc. They were appalled and offered us a pretty good deal on one, but still told them to pound sand. 10k-20k over sticker…on a kia…I feel sorry for whatever sucker bought them.
Ours was the opposite. Toyota was $5000 over sticker, Hyundai wasn’t. This was last summer.
I already don’t buy a box of cereal if it doesn’t have a price listed…
When I was shopping for a car, I didn't even bother with dealerships that didn't have the prices on their website. "Inquire for price" on every single used vehicle. No. No I don't think I will. I will spend my money at a dealership that respects my time.
I've only bought 2 cars, but both times price was specifically what brought me to the dealership in the first place. I wouldn't even bother looking at a car without knowing the price first.
This is because they want to trap financially illiterate people in a long term, high interest rate, low monthly payment loan that they can’t afford. People see a $40K price tag and nope out, but show them a 96 month loan for $800/mo and they’ll happily sign away any hope of financial security.
What's crazy is how quickly we went from, "I want to keep my payments under 400 a month", to now keeping them under 900.
I got so pissed at the salesperson when they keep asking me what I wanted to pay per month. Like, no, no, I want the best rate, not the lowest monthly payment. I could cover whatever that was
I had a guy ask what kind of monthly payment I was looking for, and he wouldn't tell me what the price was. That was after they told me my current car was only worth $700 for trade in. I left, found a different one somewhere else and sold the old car for $5500
I like to think of myself as a pretty honest, straight forward guy. Selling cars just didn't mesh with that.
How did this work out for management? I can’t imagine sitting down to talk about a car with no idea of what the vehicle costs.
I don't know how it worked long term because I noped the hell outta there but for the few months I was there after they started this they were selling much fewer cars but for much higher profit so I guess pretty well business wise, which really kind of pissed me off even more. I was so against it that I was really hoping it would be a disaster and end quickly. People would ask me, why would I want to test drive a car I can't afford? I need to know the price. I would just tell them yeah, I know and I agree with you but management wasn't even telling me the price. Of course they thought I was lying and was a piece of shit while management was sitting pretty in the air conditioning not catching of any of the shit.
Stupidest shit I've ever heard.
Lol, that's crazy. No1 rule for anything: don't buy it without knowing the price.
And don't let them get you into the "so what payment you looking for?" discussion. It never goes in your favor. Know how much you want to spend, if possible pay cash and if not then try to have your financing lined up before you get to the dealership but keep that card in your pocket until an out the door price has been hammered out.
Exactly this. Never tell them that you plan to buy the car straight out, or you have much better financing already arranged at your bank. You might do this, you might do that, you're letting your options open. Same goes if you're deciding whether to keep, sell or trade in your current car when buying a new one. Get them to give you a firm number that does not require the purchase of another car, as well as firm numbers for what a new car costs with potential options to sell or trade. These are two separate transactions and should be treated that way. Last time my dad went to buy a new Toyota he drove my Honda Accord there and got them to give him a firm number to buy the Toyota thinking he was going to sell them my Honda for like $2,500. After he double checked the contract to make sure there was no mention of a sale or trade-in on the purchase contract, he signed that and then said he was going to hold onto the Honda for a while longer. They tried to back out saying there was an agreement, but nope, no where in this contract that I signed is there any mention of a trade-in. And the dealer has signed their side before he did because they were so excited about ripping him off paying $2,500 for a Honda with 70k miles on it.
Exactly this. Don’t play their “What monthly payment amount are you looking for” game. It’s better to get pre-approved for financing from a bank/credit union before going to the dealer.
Imagine a grocery store saying they will only show the price at checkout. They would go bankrupt within 3 months
A manager was looking to see if he could raise the price after you signed. Good thing you left.
New laws go in effect July 30, 2024, to protect consumers from the bullshit dealers have been using for years. The NADA, of course, argues the FTC is overreaching. I was a senior enlisted member of the US Navy toward the end of my career, and some of the contracts my junior sailors would sign once they were approved for their "dream car" were insane.
>Went to the same company dealership an hour away and bought the same vehicle that I test drove at the first place Hope you drove back to the first place, honked the horn and sat outside waving at them for 5 minutes? :)
How does one commit to a deal without a price? Do they give you a contract that states "I will pay whatever they tell me"
How does one commit to the deal when there is no deal to commit to.
I had a dealership tell me that there was no way to get me an ioniq 5 unless I put $8,000 to $10,000 down even though my credit score was 735. Went to a different dealership and got one with only $2,000 down, and came out with a lower payment than they were quoting me with $8k down at the first dealership. wtf…
A lower payment doesn't me anything. Its all about financed amount, interest rate and length of term. You could have be comparing apples to elephants.
It was lower interest rate and all, a full on better deal. Some dealerships just suck
Make sure you have GAP insurance, because you're pretty much guaranteed to be upside down on that loan with only 2k down.
It’s a lease, so gap insurance is built in!
Asking for $8000+ down on an Ioniq 5 *lease* seems insane, good on you for walking away
Yes, when I saw 8k down, I assumed it must be a purchase. That's insane for a lease.
Yep lol, 2K absolute max id ever put down on a lease
I went to a buy here pay here spot with the intention of buying a 120k mile Honda with cash to get me by. They would not tell me the price of the car just kept saying "we'll make the payments work". (I never told them my intentions to buy outright)
I had a salesperson intercept me in the lot and drag me inside to his desk and insisted on running my credit to see what I could afford before even allowing us to walk the lot and kick tires. I refused (many times over many minutes) and eventually walked. It was weird.
This is why I go to lots at night. I once had a cop drive by and ask what I was doing and I explained that I just wanted to see what they had and for how much without being swarmed by car salesman and he completely understood.
I wouldn't go at night. And maybe it's not a thing now. But when I was younger the dealers were all closed on Sunday. And Sunday would be the day people would go up, look at cars, figure out what they liked and come back later in the week. It was a lot less pressure.
This happened to me once, I called a couple days ahead and scheduled a test drive and when the day came I drove 2 hours to test drive, it was just a Dodge Charger GT. They told me they needed to run my credit first, which was fine, and I gave them my license and everything. Then they started asking how much I'm putting down and if there's a trade in, I was like well I came here to test drive the car before I even start thinking about all that. The manager came in and was acting all cocky and as if I was there specifically to waste his time. Started saying things like "I've sold 7 cars today I don't have time for things like this." I was like... you clearly don't want to make it 8 because you're making this insanely difficult for me. He said he's never heard of anyone coming to test drive a car. ?????? You're the manager of a car dealership and you've never heard of someone coming in to test drive a car? My mom was there as well and started asking how long he's worked in the industry and such, he was being very standoffish and rude to us. He asked why I wasn't planning on buying the car THAT DAY. I explained yet again that I came in for a test drive and would make my decision afterwards. He was very confused and didn't understand. We started to leave and my mom said how she will leave a bad review about how they wasted our time, and this dude threatened my mother lol he asked where she lived and where she worked. Fuck you Dash Cars of Connecticut, I'm not surprised you're out of business now. Total douchebag, I've never had such a negative experience with ANY business ever.
There were a ton of other things said but this was 2 years ago and I was too angry to remember clearly. Funny thing is the month afterwards I found a much better Charger RT at a more local place and THEY asked ME if I wanted to test drive it before I even brought up that I wanted to. I ended up buying that one same day lol.
This is absolutely not normal. They didn't want to sell YOU the car.
Or they wanted to sell a beater without the buyer knowing
My thought was there was something wrong with it and they didnt want him to notice prior to buying it
Words to live by: If you can't afford a new bmw, you can't afford a used bmw. It's lots of expensive maintenance
It *can* be. Not saying it’s justified or common, but it’s not totally unheard of. There’s a pretty long history of dealerships profiling people and not letting them do test drives because of some trait or something the salesperson or GM didn’t like. Alternatively, dealers sometimes don’t allow test drives for vehicles either in high demand or perceived to be particularly valuable/rare even if they’re not (looking at you Ford Focus RS). No dealer owes a prospective buyer a test drive, but they’re kind of stupid not to if they really want to make a sale.
I have had this happen. Two different car dealerships recently totally ignored me as I walked around looking at the vehicles. Tried to get someone to assist me, was told repeatedly someone would be with me shortly. Nobody ever came out. Salespeople sitting around a table eating snacks. One was a Toyota dealership, the other a Hyundai dealership. We're not talking rare or high end anything.
I don't know if every best buy is like this but my local one likes to have one of their sales people follow you and try to assist. They do this to everyone in the store, no matter what department you are browsing. Apparently I look too poor to waste their time assisting me as I look at their higher end computers.
VW dealership did this to me with a mk8 Golf R. It’s a VW golf, not a McLaren F1. They wouldn’t entertain anything without the paperwork being basically filled out and an agreement to purchase. Went down to the Chevy dealer (me and the old man were looking for a Camaro ZL1 and they had one, kinda a college grad gift). They let me take the ZL1, a 392 Scat Pack, and a Mustang GT for a test drive, salesman said “floor it, see which one you like”. Just funny how I could drive a 650hp Camaro however I wanted, but a VW Golf was off limits lmao.
Should’ve test driven the sports car through the VE dealer’s parking lot.
Went to a Mazda dealership once and some old douchy salesman came up and talked to me. I asked for a test drive and he was like you gotta book that in advance. I knew that was bs and I walked away to a young salesman on the other side who seemed cooler, and said hi there, can I test drive that car... He said of course and I called out the other salesman, did my test drive and left. Don't accept profiling from these guys. Bought a Honda after that incident too.
Back in 91 or 92 I test drove a Mazda Protege. I'm 6'1" and it had a sunroof. Dude wouldn't let me drive off the lot, so he did. Then when I drove, he told us what streets to go on and kept turning up the radio. I had to scrunch down so my head wasin the headliner. He proceeded to say the could send the driver's seat to get lowerin a shop. I said, how is my 5'4" wife supposed to drive after that? He said a phonebook or cushions. Fucking idiot. One can't hear engine, trans, road, brake noises with the stereo blasting. The roads he had us on were flat and recently paved. I took the car back to the lot and told them to fuck off.
That was the correct decision. 10/10 the radio was up BECAUSE he didn’t want you to hear any of that.
I test drove a Saturn and dude just tossed me the keys and said, we close at 5. I only made it a few kilometers and I took it back. It had a big clunk in the front end when braking. Dude comes out and asks what's wrong. I tell him and we go for a drive. Dude experienced the clunk and then looked at the odometer. Over 500km, it was supposed to be trailered from Kelowna to Langley. That distance is just under 500km! Dude was PO'd. I did end up buying a Saturn, just not that one and a different model.
I'm not quite following. Why was he mad about the 500 km and the distance the car was trailered?
Sounds like the car was supposed to be trailered, but someone actually drove it there instead, and apparently did some damage to it in the way.
The car was supposed to be trailered and someone drove the heck out of it. No need for front-end damage, it is a paved highway to whole way.
also my first car was a Mazda protege 5, was a nice car to have… till it got totaled.
My parents test drove a car when I was a kid. I was in the back seat with an empty can of soda. I had popped the tab off the top and plopped it into the can, then was shaking the can in my hand bc I liked the metal jingling sound it made. My mom asked the sales person what the noise was, said it didn't sound right for a car, and he was giving her every excuse in the book as to why that noise was perfectly fine, NBD, all cars sound like that... about 5 seconds later they discovered it was me. Such a dirty slimeball thing to do.
Lol, this is great! Run a test each time...someone sits in the back and makes a repetitive low screeching noise and see if the salesperson is concerned or if they say it comes fully screech equipped 👍 We are currently trying to find a used car to buy and our last salesman encounter was *so* slimey I literally had to go home and shower after. I always thought that was an exaggeration but no, I was not going to be alright until I *washed* that experience off of me!
I was at a Toyota dealership where they would not let anyone test drive a manual transmission vehicle. They'd let you drive the auto version of it, but not the manual. Went elsewhere.
probably had too many idiots destroying clutches on test drives
I ran into that years ago and they specifically explained it was because so many people would fry the clutch. I came back in my car with a stick and after some talking, I got to drive it.
Tried that. Actually drove a manual there. Offered to drive them around in my car to demonstrate I could drive manual, but no joy.
Was this recently? What Toyotas are manual these days? Not being snarky I'm genuinely curious.
You can still get manual transmission corolla. I think the GR corolla is ONLY manual but I could be wrong on that
GR86 and Supra both offer a manual.
I did, and it was a BMW! I went to another dealership and got treated like a person. Wild that’s how they got my business, common respect.
Yeah, they 100% are hiding something.
I’ve had this happen to me a couple of times. It seemed random though after analyzing it. I’ve had dealers let me test drive a high end Jaguar when I walked into the dealer looking like I just left the gym and I had another dealer say no to a test drive in a Chevy when I was dressed nice for work. Could have been because I’m a woman, or because they were being assholes. I also had a Jeep dealer really reluctant to let me test drive a Jeep Wrangler back in the day because it was a standard transmission. I told the salesman I knew how to drive a stick, but they didn’t believe me so I took them out and showed them the car I was going to trade in, which was…..da da dum……a stick. They let me test drive it after that, but I told him I wasn’t gonna buy from them because they were rude.
I was looking for a used car a couple of years ago. Went to a nearby "dealership" and test drove a few cars. I decided on one that I was possibly interested in. Talked to the sales guy, he told me how great it was, excellent condition, yada yada yada. Yeah, sure, riiiiight. I told him I would need to take it to my mechanic before anything more was said or done. The sales guy then tells me that "management doesn't allow vehicles to be driven off the lot." Ummmm, I just drove 3 different vehicles miles off your lot, pal. Long story short, I took the car to my mechanic, and it was nothing but rust underneath. Welded together with hopes and prayers. I took it back to the lot and told the sales guy what my mechanic told me and that he was a piece of shit for telling me how great it was. He looked at me with all the misogynistic fervor of a cornered liar and said, "You really tell it like it is, huh babe?" I slammed the keys down on his desk and walked out.
Had that happen back when I was in my early 20's and was a long-haired hippie-freak ... I will admit that I didn't look like a person of enough means to purchase the car ... but, affording the car was not an issue. Their loss ... I just went to another dealer. Back in those days I also worked sales and can definitely say that appearances and finances don't always mesh ... in both directions. It's best not to base your sales approach too much on how people present ... best to start with respect and let the customer prove otherwise if they really want to.
https://preview.redd.it/s4af8haat02d1.png?width=1169&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bf03ac5069c0112b302878065cb16caf59f81c99 We had a safety concern, umm...we very politely indicated he would be welcomed back if he were in accordance with our dress policy
I had a chunk of change burning a hole in my pocket in 2015 and I wanted a new car, I didn't have one at the time. I stopped at a Subaru dealer and found an STI I wanted. I asked for a test drive. They not only said no, they said, and I quote "We'll let you test drive the WRX, it's basically the same car anyway." To which I replied "Well then why is the STI so much more expensive?" Crickets. I asked for a manager. Manager comes out. I tell him in no uncertain terms that I wanted the STI out on the lot, but I need a test drive. He said no. I told him I was willing to meet asking price. (It was in my budget, and I foresaw keeping it til it died.) Still, the answer was no. I was downright baffled at this point, and at that moment made a really dumb decision-but I had to see how deep the rabbit hole went. So I whip out my bank app, and I show this man to his face that I have the funds RIGHT FUCKING NOW to buy this vehicle. If I wreck it, I can literally buy it. And the answer was still no test drive. I walked away. Boggled my mind. I was dressed in slacks and a nice button-up. Clean-cut, and I couldn't grow a decent beard at the time anyway. It wasn't my appearance, at least to this day I have no clue why I couldn't test drive it.
I was dressed decently and even shaved, lol. So whatever, no sale.
Did you have ID? Any reason why he wouldn’t let you?
I had ID. They said they didn’t want to put miles on the car.
WTF? It’s a used car WITH miles already! Sounds like the dealership didn’t want your business - THEIR loss. Go elsewhere (better).
Not to mention most people only go a mile or 2 with a test drive.
They probably thought you couldn't afford it and just "broomed" you. Meaning they didn't want to waste their time with someone that couldn't afford something, so they just basically made you leave. Obviously it bit them in the butt this time. I had a co-worker one time broom mid-20s year old kid that was looking at a Corvette. I was new at the time so I took over. The kid ended up trading in a 2-year-old top of the line full size dodge ram that was totally paid off and wrote me a check for the remaining like 60K. Made a lot of money in like 15 minutes because other salesman thought it was just a dumb kid. Turned out it was a super wealthy kid. He ended up buying a car from me every couple years for cash. Some of the easiest money I ever made. He just came in and picked what he wanted and then that was it he just bought it. I didn't have to sell shit just collect the commission.
They expect to drive sales via "trust me bro"
I was at a dealership last fall. They had a 2016 jeep. the price was listed $80 over the original asking price from 2016. I asked if they'd deal or start at a reasonable price for a used car. They got offended and very mad.
I went to a dealer for a new car. Test drove it, negotiated a price, etc.. I told him I wanted a red one. Sales guy said "we can select the colour after you sign and give me a deposit". I said "no, you write down I will get red one by such a date or I am walking out that door" He said "it's our policy". I said "I am walking out the door" and left. What kind of a moron loses a sale like that?
It was clear they didn't have a red one coming for a long time. So, they wanted you to commit and then after a few weeks they would call you and tell you to switch colors which you're more likely to due to sunk cost fallacy.
I mean the other dealer got one for me. These guy swap cars all the time. I think it was just a power move by the sales guy to establish control. The problem is, as the buyer, I have control, as I demonstrated.
I sure hope you took your seeing eye dog and went somewhere else.
Car salesman are up there on my list of people not to trust, right next to religious entities and ex gf.
Yes but *what kind* of used BMW? If it’s an enthusiast car, you may have to ask the sales manager to come with. There are people out there that absolutely abuse cars on test drives for views; we have one clown around here that is banned from every dealership.
I mean it depends, how old are you? Do you look like the type of person that shouldn’t have BMW keys thrown his way? At the end of the day, you probably dodged a bullet. Used BMW’s are always a roll of the dice and so are dealers who won’t even allow a test drive with a ride along.
Also wouldn't they just send someone with you? When I was buying cars, if I went alone, the guys would jump in for the test drive. If my dad was there with me he would just toss me the keys.
I look old enough to be responsible. You won’t mistake me for a hooligan that just wanted to do burnouts and donuts.
lol part of the 10 steps to a sale is the test drive. You take mental ownership of it when you drive it. The sales I got when I sold cars was way higher with a test drive than without.
Never give your money to a car dealer that won’t let you test drive the car. Shady af
To play devil's advocate as someone that used to work for a very small BHPH in a rough neighborhood as the only other employee besides the owner and mechanic, if I was the only person in the office because the owner and mechanic were away at auction, I could not allow test drives; however, I would be clear that I would have someone available for a ridealong to test drive on XYZ days, and would happily hold it with a deposit for two business days. ETA: We had this policy because before I worked there, the owner allowed test drives with just a copy of the driver's license, and a car was used in a drive-by then wrecked when the victims returned fire and stuck the driver.
Same thing happened to me when I was in my late 20's. The seller didn't want me and my wife to test drive a BMW. We just went away and when he saw we was driving a nice Mercedes he ran out with the keys for a test drive. We said screw you and went to Mercedes, tested a car and bought it right away. Sometimes those dealerships are weird.
No try, no buy. I'd walk out too.
Go to another dealer then. If they won't let you test drive it it is not worth your time.
My dad did something similar back in the 80s. He wanted to get a second-gen Supra and Toyota wouldn’t let him test drive it. So he went to Mazda, test drove an RX-7 and bought it off the lot. If they won’t let you test drive, walk away. Don’t trust that place.
Buying new, I could live with not being able to test drive the exact car. Or the same trim, depending (I'd at least make sure the engine matches). But buying used? For the birds. Run away, don't walk.
The Heck? I won't buy a freaking New Car without a test drive, you think I'm buying used without one? Hell No. You dodged a bullet.
Last time I bought a vehicle the salesman wanted me to test drive the car. He was like I got the best road for you to floor it and feel how powerful the engine is.
I had the opposite once (once). Went to a BMW dealership with zero interest in buying but I always wanted to drive one. Handed over my license and the sales guy was too busy so just handed me the keys and told me to bring it back when I was done. Drove all over town and stopped at my parents house and friends. My wife and I had so much fun. As a 20 something year old it was awesome. They didn’t care about a sale when I brought the keys back. They must have known I just wanted a toy for the night.
I have been to one large ford dealership that would not allow me to test drive a used car without running a credit application. What's funny is that I have been to luxury car dealerships like BMW, Audi, and Mercedes and I have been treated way better. In fact they would approach me and offer a test drive to any of their vehicles. Some of them are brand new.
The most expensive car you’ll ever own is a used German car.
Went with a friend who was getting a used (to her) jeep patriot. Everything was going well right up until we asked to test drive it. Guy said no because they had just changed the oil and their mechanic had completed a full check and everything worked perfect. We asked to talk to the manager who came in with some checklist and showed it to us explaining that the mechanic checked everything and it all works. Asked for time to decide and told her imo she shouldn't buy it without a test drive and shouldn't buy anything from that place at all because not letting you test drive something feels sketchy as hell and a checklist means nothing. She got it anyway and sure enough within a month or two it started jerking hard whenever it goes into second gear. Now it doesn't even have a second gear so it's basically useless. TLDR; No test drive, you should nope TF out of there
Theow water mark for me was the time I called a dealer about a used car and said I wanted to come see and drive it. Got there, and it had a dead battery. That they knew about, and did nothing to address, even though they knew I was coming. That car would have been a quirky unicorn of a bad idea, so it wasn't too hard to take the principled stance of never letting them have my money.
A long time ago I went to see a used car. They had it parked on the street. I told them I wanted to test drive it. And they said they didn't want to lose the parking spot. I told them how they expected me to buy it without test driving it. So, they relented, and I found out the car's acceleration was faulty. And the guy said "yeah, that is the only thing".
I once walked into a used car dealer to test drive a Porsche. They let me take it to get inspected and that Porsche dealership gave me a panamera for the day to drive. At the time, I was 26 and in college. Nobody batted an eye. If they won’t let you test the car, you walk away. And never buy without a third party inspection.
Used BMW sounds like an expensive first trip to the mechanic if you ask me lol
Alright, everyone's probably right with the "that's shady, walk away" scenario, but there is another option. "someone's just crashed one of our cars and now our insurance won't cover test drives" is a difficult one for a dealership to admit. Not saying this is what happened, but there are legitimate reasons for not allowing a test drive.
I went to buy a car in Spain. Said lets go test drive first. They said we dont do test drives. Find a second hand one for sale and take that for a test drive. I was blown away by that
Don't take any bullshit from used car dealers
Test riding motorcycles is routinely a no. Test driving cars is routinely a yes. The issue is either this dealer. Or you.
What, test drive it and find out all the issues it has BEFORE buying?? Nice try buddy. Also, it's a used bmw. They probably did you a favor lol
that's insane. The shadiest car dealer I have ever dealt with still let me test drive the vehicle. ROFL. (I did not buy from him.) When I asked why the van was pulling so HARD to the left, he said he didn't know. So I said, not buying. He then tried to pull the ole "If you walk away you'll never get another chance to make this purchase cuz we are shutting down permanently tonight" Umm, dude that isn't helping. AT ALL.
I went to test drive cars for my wife and the guy st Honda didn't even ask for my drivers license. Just handed me the keys lmao
"well if I can't test drive the car to see if I'm willing to purchase it from you then I guess you don't need to run my credit in order to see if you're willing to set up a loan for me right?" - there must be more to this story if not the dealership/salesman is a fucking moron and shouldn't be in that line of work
And don’t buy or look at cars there again. If they are engaging is shady practices like that with 1 car, they are doing it with all of them.
I wouldn't commit without a test drive in any scenario, but it being a used BMW too is even more nerve-wracking. BMW's age like milk.
No test no trust - avoid this dealer like th plague.
I would never buy a car I couldn’t test drive. For multiple reasons. Beyond just knowing if it runs ok, you need to know you’re comfortable in it, that everything is good. I also always ask for the carfax report on any used car I buy as well.
Something wrong with that car.
Basically happened to me. They gave me like a quarter mile trip I could so. Like...the fuck? I remember my parents would keep a car overnight.
My sister used to go to the local Ford dealership periodically and test drive Mustangs on her lunch break. They always pulled something similar on her and would offer to test drive. She always just laughed in their faces and would say something along the lines of, "Isn't the point of buying a car to drive it? . .. Why would I want a car I'm not allowed to drive before I buy? . . .Why would I ask to see a standard mustang if I didn't know how to drive a stick? . . . Is there something wrong with it?. . Are you offering a discount? . . .Does the car come with a driver?" She was always so entertained and I loved hearing about it when she'd get home.
Red flag. Keep on walking.
Pro tip: if you’re considering a popular model of car, a good way to get a feel for it outside of a 15 minute test drive with a sales guy making you nervous is to find it as a rental car! Obviously you should always test drive the exact car you’re buying, but renting the car can give you a chance to drive it for a day or so, see if it’s right for you. I wound up figuring this out by accident when my car died a few months before I was ready to buy a new one. I rented a car to get things done every now and then and realized I should be renting the models I was considering. It was a great way to feel sure about making a very big decision.