Did You Test Drive Before Buying??

memustang said:

Yes you're right but I've also seen many owners having tested the car in the US before buying. Wouldn't be too hard to screen a serious looking buyer and go round the block. From the sounds of it, the car should sell itself after a couple of miles!

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It is Dealer to Dealer decision to let people test drive. Some have a strict "no test drive" policy (which I'm sure the salesmen hate). Some are more liberal with the test drive policy. It may have to do with how many allocations the expect to get.

I was seriously looking for a GT500 in 2013 before I left the states. All the dealers I talked to wanted ADM and didn't want to test drive them. The only one a dealer would let me test drive was a leftover 2012 which didn't have the upgraded engine.

Once I got overseas orders I stopped looking, because I knew I could get a Shelby without ADM overseas.

But still no test drive.

Dealer threw me the keys (once they pulled it out of the showroom) and was going to let me take it by myself with no insurance card or license required. I did show up after work, so I had the business casual clothing going for me but I am only 30 so it could've gone either way.

No test drive for me, and it's not the first time I bought a new car without driving one first. Car & Driver did the test drive for me both times - and in both cases, I knew I needed to own the car, and was not disappointed. It didn't even occur to me to test drive a GT first, and the GT350 is the first American car I've ever owned!

Nope. Around me there were no test drives when I bought mine. I would be surprised if you could get one even now around here unless you had a special relationship with the dealer.

The GT350 has a very different feel than the Mustang GT. The hood is significantly lower and the suspension setup is quite a bit stiffer. I came from daily driving a 2015 GT before I bought my GT350 and to me it was night and day the GT350 was a much better car.

No wasnt an option first dealer I asked laughed. Then asked for 20K adm on a used one.

memustang said:

From the sounds of it, the car should sell itself after a couple of miles!

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That would be wrong imo. I think the car was produced with a single buyer type in mind and they are far between. Look at the ridiculous number of GT350's on car gurus with a few hundred miles on them as used. Single owner trade ins. No test drive and it's a 50/50 on this car. You either think it's the second coming or your trading it in at a ridiculous loss. I drove a 100k M4, a Vette and an E63 but Ford dealers won't let me drive a roush or a shelby. Roush has too much power for it's tires and Shelby is buyer specific. They know this.

Sawman70 said:

That would be wrong imo. I think the car was produced with a single buyer type in mind and they are far between. Look at the ridiculous number of GT350's on car gurus with a few hundred miles on them as used. Single owner trade ins. No test drive and it's a 50/50 on this car. You either think it's the second coming or your trading it in at a ridiculous loss. I drove a 100k M4, a Vette and an E63 but Ford dealers won't let me drive a roush or a shelby. Roush has too much power for it's tires and Shelby is buyer specific. They know this.

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I only see 56 with under 1000 miles. Seems normal to me.

I would agree its not everyones car, but im sure some people over extended them selves to get one.

Interesting thread. I have a few stories.

First GT350 I came across was used at a Mom and Pop lot, avalanche grey with 1200 miles on it. Price was good and it was a track pack car, so I inquired before driving an hour to go see it. Talked with a salesman as there is NO WAY I would buy a used GT350 without a test drive, and he said a test drive would be no problem. drove all the way there and the salesman wasn't there like he said he would be. I checked out the car on the showroom floor, started it up, etc., and when I asked for a test drive the owner (a younger female) told me they would not allow me to test drive it without doing all the paperwork first. Granted, I'm not a kid and I pulled up in a $80K car and could afford their vehicle, but they treated me like I was a punk and their used car was gold. I walked off on that one and ended up ordering my new GT350 at a dealer the next day.

While my car was being built, another Ford dealer got a GT350 in exactly the way I specced it out, with the exception that the car at the dealer had leather seats and I was dead set on Recaro's. I spent about an hour at the dealer and even worked out a deal that was better than the car I had ordered ($1K Less), and the dealer even threw me the keys and told me to take it out for a test drive (car was new on showroom floor with 7 miles on it). Funny thing is, it was late and I told them that since I wasn't serious about that particular car (because of the seats) I didn't need to drive it. Dealer was shocked lol. I passed on that one because I knew I'd be unhappy with the seats.

Went back to the dealer that I ordered from when they got a new GT350 in before mine, car unsold, different color, and they wouldn't let me test drive the car. This was months before mine was scheduled to come in.

I ended up passing on the vehicle I ordered for personal reasons. About a month later, I found the exact vehicle at another dealership, and once we started negotiating and they knew I was serious, they got the keys and let me test drive it. I drove it and the deal was so good, I couldn't sign the paperwork fast enough.

So there are my test drive stories.

My money was down before they were in the showrooms. If you are sports car/muscle car guy and know it isn't going to be chuckable like a Lotus Elise than no test drive needed. The car is awesome.

I wouldn't want to daily it as traffic in my area sucks and this car screams to be let loose.

I ordered mine Aug 1, 2015 . . . There was nothing around at that time to test drive. Wasn't really necessary, I knew what I wanted. Now I have 1 of 194 in the US in my color, I feel I made a great decision.

firestarter2 said:

I only see 56 with under 1000 miles. Seems normal to me.

I would agree its not everyones car, but im sure some people over extended them selves to get one.

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I don't see this as anywhere near normal when you factor in they most likely paid ADM and that this is such a have to have it, limited available car.

Sawman70 said:

I don't see this as anywhere near normal when you factor in they most likely paid ADM and that this is such a have to have it, limited available car.

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Ehh all but 11 are listed at over MSRP. Im not sure what that means if anything.

No. I went to look at one, spent probably 3 hours at the dealer talking about the car and had them do a trade estimate on my 2014 Raptor. It was in the showroom, they let me start it. I knew right then I had to have one but not this one. I was set on Recaro's but this had the comfort seats.

While they were checking out my Raptor they asked if I've ever driven a Mustang, I said no, and they let me take a GT out to get the feel for one. After I brought it back they said that if I was 100% serious about buying the GT350 they would let me test drive it. They had a $10k markup on it that they weren't willing to come off of and I said I wasn't serious but thank you for the offer.

I test drove a brand new GT350 and was invited to. I would not purchase without a test drive.

I was fortunate enough to get a feel for it before I signed the papers and handed the check over. Told dealer I was going to pick up the day I bought after few weeks of negotiating. Soon as I arrived at dealer the car was in shop as I had told them splitter was on incorrectly a few days prior. I went to go check with tech and was able to get a drive in it soon as he brought it down from lift. Definitely felt tighter with pedals, shifts and more responsive than a gt I drove about a week prior.