Annoyned by dealership refusing a test drive

[TheSnowmanMafia]

They made the right call, and I say that having been a dealer before.

Meanwhile I can walk in to my BMW dealer and test drive whatever I want without an appointment and they just tell me to have fun.

Sounds like a terrible dealer OP has.

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[friedmud]

It's a 2015 used car and they won't let you test drive it?

How dumb.

This is what I'm thinking: if the car is already used there is less to lose from letting someone drive it and a bunch to gain. If I were a salesperson there I would do it... and try to sell you the car that has the 3.55 gears already in it!

Sure - it has a low probability of getting the sale, but you walking out the door has a 0% chance of getting a sale.

 

[Chadillac]

The factory gears which are 3.31 I think.

Yeah, to be honest you won’t really feel any difference worth the price going from 3:31s to 3:55s. You’d have to jump to 3:73 and up if you’re wanting to feel a noticeable difference. (FWIW I have 3:55s w/10speed in mine)

 

[friedmud]

Yeah, to be honest you won’t really feel any difference worth the price going from 3:31s to 3:55s. You’d have to jump to 3:73 and up if you’re wanting to feel a noticeable difference. For street driving I wouldn’t go over 3:73 with the 10 speed, It really does a tremendous job on its own. (FWIW I have 3:55s in mine)

I'm interested in (eventually) going over 3.73 for the street with my M-6 because I think first/second/third are simply too tall (even on my 3.55 PP1). I hate that 3rd gear tops out at an illegal speed. It means that you only get a couple of fun shifts before you gotta shut it down.

 

[Chadillac]

I'm interested in (eventually) going over 3.73 for the street with my M-6 because I think first/second/third are simply too tall (even on my 3.55 PP1). I hate that 3rd gear tops out at an illegal speed. It means that you only get a couple of fun shifts before you gotta shut it down.

Yeah the 6-speed could definitely handle more teeth in the rear. 3:73s are perfect there imo. I’ve got 4:10s in my 4.6L but it drinks gas. Even still, I’ve got buddies with 2015s running 4:10s behind a 6speed. Most of them rarely use first gear much tho. (I totally forgot OP was talking 6speeds. Edited out my 10speed comment)

 

[vanquishvzla]

a bunch of karens in here lol

1. you, wanting to test drive a car without the intention of buying, it cost the sales person the opportunity to take care of another customer that may be actually interested in buying another car. Specially if the dealership has a rotation program.

2. being an old car doesn't mean shit... i have cars here, 12-13 y/o that cost more than a brand new mustang gt fully loaded

3. If one of my guys let some random customer, test drive a car that it is already sold, that's a huge no no and he may go home earlier... not fired, but a warning... if something happens, that's a huge liability.... specially if that "sold" car already have insurance from the other customer, paperwork is signed, etc etc

trust me, from this side of the story, i will ALWAYS agree with refusing some test drives if they make no sense. I always tell my guys not to profile the customer, just talk to them, after so many years in this business you can identify serious customers from tire kickers... time is money. you being a possible future customer makes no difference whatsoever... now, when you already bought 9 cars from me, different story... i have that customer lol...

 

[Jmtoast]

Oh good Lord I've never had anyone deny me a test drive... That's ridiculous. Just find another dealership and another car.

 

[friedmud]

a bunch of karens in here lol

1. you, wanting to test drive a car without the intention of buying, it cost the sales person the opportunity to take care of another customer that may be actually interested in buying another car. Specially if the dealership has a rotation program.

2. being an old car doesn't mean shit... i have cars here, 12-13 y/o that cost more than a brand new mustang gt fully loaded

3. If one of my guys let some random customer, test drive a car that it is already sold, that's a huge no no and he may go home earlier... not fired, but a warning... if something happens, that's a huge liability.... specially if that "sold" car already have insurance from the other customer, paperwork is signed, etc etc

trust me, from this side of the story, i will ALWAYS agree with refusing some test drives if they make no sense. I always tell my guys not to profile the customer, just talk to them, after so many years in this business you can identify serious customers from tire kickers... time is money. you being a possible future customer makes no difference whatsoever... now, when you already bought 9 cars from me, different story... i have that customer lol...

I hear you on the time wasting... but it seems to me that people only buy a new car every ~5 years or so (some longer and some people way shorter) so there is a limited set of customers... getting good piece of mind with people in your area seems like it would be worth _something_.

People can be fickle about these things - this guy might _never_ go back to that dealership (even once he is ready to buy). If a salesperson was extremely dismissive to a simple request of mine - I would absolutely think twice about handing them $60k for my next car.

Also: I don't think this car was sold. It was used and on the lot for sale (they had sold a previous one).

Anyway: definitely not trying to start an argument, just saying that from the customer's side, getting blown off may cause the loss of my business.

I guess I'll add that I am one of those that test-drives for a whole year before I buy a car. You don't want to lose that eventual sale because you thought I wasn't serious enough a few months before...

 

[hemistar1]

My 2 cents. Just find another dealer to test drive a similar car. Don’t ruin your relationship with the service department by internalizing the experience you had with the one salesperson. Some salespeople like myself will walk you through the process just for practice even though they know you have a low probability to buy. Others will dismiss you quickly to get to the next sales opportunity.

Also build a better relationship with the sales department the next time you are in the market to buy a car. IMHO the salesperson will bend over backwards if they know you could be a repeat sales.

Lastly..check out the other posts here on gear changes/ swaps and the forscan/code issues after changing and the best choice of higher gearing. 3.55 may not be enough if your looking to be quicker or reduce quarter mile/lap-times.

 

[Tang]

When I bought my 15 in 16 it had 15k on it and I scheduled an appointment with the dealer over the phone to check it out. Drove 1:30 to get there so you could imagine my surprise when I asked to test drive it and the salesman told me no they don't do test drives.

Said I came to buy a car but I won't buy a used car without a test drive. 5 minutes later I was taking it down the block

 

[ORRadtech]

When I bought my 15 in 16 it had 15k on it and I scheduled an appointment with the dealer over the phone to check it out. Drove 1:30 to get there so you could imagine my surprise when I asked to test drive it and the salesman told me no they don't do test drives.

Said I came to buy a car but I won't buy a used car without a test drive. 5 minutes later I was taking it down the block

Yes, but you came an hour and a half and stated your intention to buy the car. That is a huge difference than saying the salesman is wasting their time because you want to try something to see if you want to mod your car.
You, I'd let test drive in a heartbeat. The other circumstance, well, I don't find fault in them saying no.

 

[CJJon]

a bunch of karens in here lol

1. you, wanting to test drive a car without the intention of buying, it cost the sales person the opportunity to take care of another customer that may be actually interested in buying another car. Specially if the dealership has a rotation program.

2. being an old car doesn't mean shit... i have cars here, 12-13 y/o that cost more than a brand new mustang gt fully loaded

3. If one of my guys let some random customer, test drive a car that it is already sold, that's a huge no no and he may go home earlier... not fired, but a warning... if something happens, that's a huge liability.... specially if that "sold" car already have insurance from the other customer, paperwork is signed, etc etc

trust me, from this side of the story, i will ALWAYS agree with refusing some test drives if they make no sense. I always tell my guys not to profile the customer, just talk to them, after so many years in this business you can identify serious customers from tire kickers... time is money. you being a possible future customer makes no difference whatsoever... now, when you already bought 9 cars from me, different story... i have that customer lol...

Typical car salesman, can spot them for miles.

*Gross*

 

[young at heart]

I can see both sides of the issue.

This is why it pays (if you can) to have a good relationship with a salesperson. They don't sweat the small stuff, because they know they'll get a sale out of you eventually. This is the case with my BMW guy, but then, typically the BMW stores don't have the employee turnover that domestics (and Japanese) manufacturers do.

I

I'm interested in (eventually) going over 3.73 for the street with my M-6 because I think first/second/third are simply too tall (even on my 3.55 PP1). I hate that 3rd gear tops out at an illegal speed. It means that you only get a couple of fun shifts before you gotta shut it down.

Typical car salesman, can spot them for miles.

*Gross*

Please don’t call this a test drive. It was in no sense going to be a test drive; it was a pure and simple joyride. A test drive comes only after you have determined that the car in question would work well for you and if it drives OK then you’ll see if you can negotiate a fair price. Not wanting to be a time waster, I personally negotiate the deal before the test drive. Why drive the car unless the price is acceptable? If it doesn’t drive as expected you haven’t signed anything nor made a firm commitment.

Guys, when a car salesman comes to work every day his only capital asset is his time. That’s it. Do you really think it’s fair to ask him to waste his time on a dead end? His family eats this week based on what he actually sold and delivered, not future goodwill.

I get the impression that many of you have never worked in a full commission only job. These guys are not salaried. I’m sorry but I don’t think the OP had reasonable expectations.

 

[S550 HPP]

I fully admit I was buying a new car and did not do this on a Saturday morning, but right before the pandemic I hit a lot of the SLC Ford dealers to drive a variety of Mustangs. A10 and MT-82 GTs, A10 and MT-82 EBs, HPPs, PP1s. I had to go to a few dealerships since no one had all the varieties I wanted to test.

I had never spent any time in a S550 and I didn't know what I wanted. I wanted to spend time seeing how the variations drove. All the dealers were extremely accommodating.

It may have been they allowed it since I was a serious buyer. Don't know.

 

[vanquishvzla]

Typical car salesman, can spot them for miles.

*Gross*

boo hoo hoo karen, I'm the F&I manager, i need my sales guys not wasting time with people that are not buying

we had a guy with a $20k loan from his bank, he asked to drive a $70k tesla, we said no, we showed to him, let him play with the features, but no test drives for obvious reasons. He understood, no drama, he bought a cheaper car, was happy about it.

Had a customer buying a $75k bentley, asked to drive another $75k Tesla, we said yes no problem.

Had a couple kids (17-19 y/o), asked to drive a couple Maserati without asking price or anything. we said no. Had another couple kids asking to check a couple cheap trade-ins looking for something cash, we said, no problem.

Even if they have an intention to buy, and do an application and everything, and when you pull their credit, they are on the 400s, you know some cars are out of the picture no matter what... I'm just explaining everything from this side of the fence...

i deal with thousands and thousands of car transactions a year, buying and selling, financing, etc... sometimes, it just doesn't make sense to go on test drive, or even dealing with "cash customers".... hey, i offer you $25k cash for your $47k corvette... lmao

If you had a bad sales rep, let us know, if he was actually disrespectful, lazy, etc we'll take care of it... turn overs are a daily thing... sometimes you don't click with a sales person, then we will send the cute girl with the big butt and see if that works... lol

but if the customer makes no sense, have a nice day, next! it is tax season + stimulus checks time... wasting time its a no no...

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