Am I being unreasonable?

lordrobs said:
So potentially 23 test drives before you decide what model you want... an then you will look at which particular one you want to buy.

Not wanting to take the side of the sales man here but his job is to take your cash in exchange for a car, that is what he gets paid for.

Going out on a test drive and not securing a sale is seen as a waste of his time.

While obviously you should be completely happy that you have made the right choice before parting with the cash I think you need to have done a bit of leg work yourself before hand and that list still puts you in the "I haven't got a clue what I want" category in the salesmans mind.

I've only ever test driven cheap cars but they have ranged from "here are the keys, bring it back later" through to "drive to the roundabout and back again" but looking back the ones where I was offered a long test drive were where I had genuinely been interested in that car.

My worst two were when curiosity got the better of us and we took a Proton Satria Neo out as a potential cheap slightly unusual looking car for Jane and when I wanted to get a feel for an Octavia vRS and test drove a slightly tatty one in yellow. The two best... I ended up buying that car.

What I'm trying to say is that you get a good test drive if the salesman thinks there is a good chance of taking you deposit at the end of it.
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Fair shout, seems I haven't done myself any favours posting that list. What I suppose is implied is that I want to take out each one, when what I should have said is that it's a list of cars of interest (I'd had a couple of beers, and that's what I meant by 'things to sit in'...) and given the opportunity, ones that I'd give the time of day to if I could take them out. ie, if someone tossed the keys to a 118d, then thankyou, but no thank you, it's not on the list...

The exotic stuff was a daft inclusion. It was snowball logic. I can't get out of IT if I go and do something that daft...

Perhaps what I should have said is that I think I want either a perfect(ish) spec Z4M or Boxster S, but this price point (or rather depreciation level) includes some serious other metal, and as I have some time to kill, I'd be interested in chatting to someone about the others and seeing if they blow me away. I keep reading such good reviews of M3s and Pork, that I thought I'd take an open-minded approach, and it doesn't look like I conveyed that to the board very well...

It seems I was wrong to think that a salesman might see that approach as an opportunity for him to get me to try his product and see if I liked it? Or do I need to get over myself and realise that while it's a lot of money to me, the rest of the world drops those sort of numbers at the drop of a hat?

Maybe it's just me, but if I was selling cars, and someone like me walked in and was honest, I'd put the effort in... Is that not what selling is?

I get that I'm down the list of priorites if there's someone else wandering round the forecourt with a wedge of cash and a desire to say "I want that one now", but is anyone else a time waster? Surely as I actually want to buy something my business is worth the time of day? It's not I want to buy a 1.6 focus, and drive an M3 for the lulz...

Balls to it, I'm not in a car mood today anyway, too much admin to catch up on... :(
 
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rypt said:
A salesman's job is to convince you that the car you are interested in really is the car you want ... simply selling to someone who already knows they want a particular model is worthless, the real use is to get someone who is unsure of the car/brand to buy.
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This was my reasoning...

lordrobs said:
I agree... but that requires the buyer to have some clue at least about the type of car they are looking to buy.
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I appreciate I confused the issue by including the hatch back stuff, but my more open-minded criteria is:-

Fun
Sporty
Decent interior with lots of toys (Nav/Bluetooth/Electric heated seats/Xenons/Electric folding mirrors, and preferably a sports button or simliar)
Not silver
Ideally not a black leather interior
No practicality constraints (within reason, Caterhams et al are out)
Over 20mpgz combined
 
I know it shouldn't matter, but I always make sure I'm dressed reasonably smart if I'm going to a "premium" brand dealership for a test drive. I don't mean in a suit, just more smart than casual :p

Just otherwise I'm worried they'll think I'm not being serious, which sometimes I'm not, it's just to get an idea, but I don't want them thinking that
 
monkey_boy said:
http://www.afors.com/index.php?page=adview&adid=13819&imid=0

Slightly leftfield option, but would definitly be a laugh.
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:D

slightly left field? :D

Disco Boy said:
I know this is a joke, but the costs of buying an aircraft are almost negligible when compared to the running costs (plus the cost to learn to fly it!).
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Aye, a mate is learning to fly, and he reckons that rotary is more difficult and more expensive than fixed wing (which isn't exactly cheap either), plus there's a lot of studying involved too...
 
Steedie said:
I know it shouldn't matter, but I always make sure I'm dressed reasonably smart if I'm going to a "premium" brand dealership for a test drive. I don't mean in a suit, just more smart than casual :p

Just otherwise I'm worried they'll think I'm not being serious, which sometimes I'm not, it's just to get an idea, but I don't want them thinking that
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I see your point, and thinking, but seriously, just lol at the idea of being vetted by a used car salesman...

You walk into a showroom and give a salesman an opportunity to bid for your business. I'm damn sure not going to grant that priviledge to anyone that thinks I need to earn his time.
 
Im 23 but look 18 and drove a Z4M coupe recentley at a BMW dealership ... I drove it like i stole it for the whole test drive and the salesman didnt complain once :D

Thats the whole point of a test drive ... Id book at another dealership

Sam
 
Maz said:
How can any E60 be worth £2k? Unless it's a cat C done 250k miles and is a total dog?
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Mine had at the time 101k with full BMW service history. If I sold the navigation system and the leather seats on ebay, I could have made more than they offered.
 
Sam said:
Im 23 but look 18 and drove a Z4M coupe recentley at a BMW dealership ... I drove it like i stole it for the whole test drive and the salesman didnt complain once :D

Thats the whole point of a test drive ... Id book at another dealership

Sam
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See now I've never understood why people write off a whole franchise (or brand in some cases) based on dealing with one or two people. This conveinience and location is why I wanted to give someone else a chance...

I just noticed that I'd got a voicemail, it turns out to have been left yesterday by Greg Smith, Sales Manager at Sytner Leicester. Wasn't expecting that, but maybe now I might get somewhere...

Again I expressed fustration at a 10-15 minute test drive, when I only got out of traffic once. I explained I didn't feel that this was the way to test a 340bhp or in the case of the M3, 420bhp. Given that the step down is a 265bhp Z4 3.0Si, and a 305bhp 335i, I want to experience the difference for the extra purchase price/running costs. Having mentioned 420bhp, he went on the defensive and said that he wouldn't put his staff at risk like that. But that if I wanted, I could have another 10-15 minute test drive tomorrow, or have an M3 for the weekend, at a cost of £400, offset against the purchase of a car from Sytner. No compromise, 15 minutes in traffic, or hire one for a weekend for £400.

Testing the accelleration of an M3 is automatically dangerous? How on earth do these people sell sports cars with this attitude? Is it any wonder that so many "Ultimate Driving Machines" are 4 pot diesels?

/me googles Rybrook Warwick
 
mejinks said:
Mine had at the time 101k with full BMW service history. If I sold the navigation system and the leather seats on ebay, I could have made more than they offered.
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See now I wouldn't be offended at having such a poor deal offered (beyond wasting my time), but I'm genuinely suprised that 3 out 3 sales people, including the sales manager think that 15 minutes in traffic is an acceptable test drive in an M3/Z4M, and dumb-founded at the suggestion that driving above 4k on a warm engine is putting staff at risk?

C'est la vie...
 
Kingy said:
See now I've never understood why people write off a whole franchise (or brand in some cases) based on dealing with one or two people. This conveinience and location is why I wanted to give someone else a chance...
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Because those people act as a representative of the company/brand - and brand who are interested in their image with the public would ensure that any staff that represent them are of sufficient quality
 
rypt said:
Because those people act as a representative of the company/brand - and brand who are interested in their image with the public would ensure that any staff that represent them are of sufficient quality
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That's fine, and while I agree, I'd rather not inconveinence myself in the name of idealism...

It's the product I'm after, the sales service is a cross to bear...
 
Kingy said:
It's the product I'm after, the sales service is a cross to bear...
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Unless you are going to get it serviced at an indy then the sales service is a good indicator of how good/bad the service is in general from that dealer
 
Its nothing the OP has done, its just poor work from the salesman, if I go and see a guy who "just wants to see the products and discuss prices against other suppliers" I do my best to steer him to the conclusion that the prices I give him are fantastic, and there simply isnt any point in contacting other suppliers full stop as all he will get from them is bad AIDS.

That salesman should have at least got you to the point where he presented some figures to you about the car, problem is with car salesmen, is that they are, for the main part ******* greedy target based gays, who have to play the percentage game with prospects to maximise their chance of a sale.
The problem is, the percentage game means things like looking at how a guy dresses and seeing if that matches their idea of how someone with cash dresses.

Based on my experience the two richest people I know (both having personal fortunes in the multi millions) dress like tramps TBQFH.

I've yet to meet a seriously loaded person who dresses in Armani suits and luis vitton shoes, the first person I met who I knew was loaded was the guy who used to own the company I worked for, he turned up off the cuff to visit our depot, just in a pair of slacks with a shirt, some quite ordinary shoes, driving a Mclaren F1.
 
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Why are Boxter's classed as Gay/Girls cars...? If looking to purchase a Boxter how would one avoid the gayness of it? ie what would it need to have on it, engine, colour, mods etc
 
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