Test Drives

peterattheboro

peterattheboro

peterattheboro

Soldato
Joined
24 Sep 2005
Posts
20,195
Location
Middlesbrough
When i've gone to a car dealer i've just asked for a test drive and then get 10 minutes in it to see what it's like. (Normally just a hoon up and down a dual carriageway)

If you pre arrange do you get longer and possibly even on your own in the car?

Might try and arrange a few for this weekend and see if anything takes my fancy.
 
Well first car I fancy having a drive of is a Focus ST and/or ST220. So i'll be going to Jennings. Do they have a strict test drive policy or are fairly relaxed?
 
It varys, but I do think some of it depends on A) what you turn up in B) how you dress, act and come across and C) the dealers mood!

When I test drove a Scooby WRX a year or so ago the dealer was brilliant. He came out in the car with me but said 'drive it as if it was yours' - then he directed me through some narrow backroads to this 3 mile long straight and told me to stop then absolutly gun it :D.

I think he was having as much fun as me! even wound down the rear windows to hear the xorst!

When I test drove an A3 1.8...it was 15 mins long...and that was that.
 
My mate used to go on a few and they used to let him take the car and just say come back in half hour or so. We used to go out untill the petrol was nearly run out :p
 
peterattheboro said:
Well first car I fancy having a drive of is a Focus ST and/or ST220. So i'll be going to Jennings. Do they have a strict test drive policy or are fairly relaxed?
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I'm a good customer of Jennings (bought 2 cars from them and have had several test drives, though none unattended :(, AFAIK, Middlesbrough and Stockton jennings do not have any ST220's in, i was looking 3 weeks ago for one, they offered to bring me a Titanium X 155 down from Newcastle (closest to the ST TDCi, but apparently, newer ST220's are rare as rocking horse poo atm for Jennings. I got a test drive of the managers fully loaded mondeo Titanium X (new model) though, it was really nice, had every conceivable option on it lol.

When i bought my last mondeo, i booked my test drive and got a good half hour in it, route was up the A66 to Greystones roundabout, up through Eston and Normanby, then up Flatts lane towards Nunthorpe, along the A172 to Poole hospital then down Marton road back towards the garage.

Also, when i was looking for my new car a couple of weeks ago, i went to Toyota on the fly and tested a Avensis D4-D 180bhp version, got half hour in that too but again with a salesperson, i did not like it for the record, just process of elimination.

When i test drove the car i eventually bough, i only needed 5 minutes, infact, it was sold to me before i even drove it, i sat inside it on the forecourt and knew i would buy it. I then realised how much of a bargain i had got after coming home and researching on the internet and adding up all the extras i had got.
 
how does insurance work with test drives?
do u need to be able to drive other cars or is there a special rule for test drives?
 
Totally depends. I've had everything from a main dealer who shoved a set of trade plates in and threw the keys at me and said don't come back till after lunch to very short accompanied test drive where the dealer hung on for dear life round every corner and roundabout, made haggling simpler as I hinted if it wasn't a good deal i'd have to think about it and go for a longer test drive on a more varied and rural roads.
 
Jennings aren't very strict. I took out a Focus ST while I had my old 1.6 in for repair. All I needed was both parts of my license IIRC.
 
really varies as fox has said, i've had keys given to me in Audi dealers with no questions asked, and then strict 5 min jobs in Ford garages where I can't even warm the engine up.
 
I've always had good test drives - well for my past three purchases.
My Megane back in 2000.
Me and my dad took the car out.
The salesman was in the back but we were out and about for about half an hour.
My 307 in 2004 - Handed over the keys, just me and the then fiancee and were told "see you in about an hour".
My recent purchase, the Octavia vRS - dealer in Lincoln, just me and the wife and we were told to go and get a feel of the car.
We took it out for about 45 minutes and tried it on the motorway and through town.
 
stoofa said:
I've always had good test drives - well for my past three purchases.
My Megane back in 2000.
Me and my dad took the car out.
The salesman was in the back but we were out and about for about half an hour.
My 307 in 2004 - Handed over the keys, just me and the then fiancee and were told "see you in about an hour".
My recent purchase, the Octavia vRS - dealer in Lincoln, just me and the wife and we were told to go and get a feel of the car.
We took it out for about 45 minutes and tried it on the motorway and through town.
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What, every car I have test driven have had literally no petrol in the engine, the fill up light has always been on, you must live in a nice area for them to give away free petrol.
 
pinkaardvark said:
really varies as fox has said, i've had keys given to me in Audi dealers with no questions asked, and then strict 5 min jobs in Ford garages where I can't even warm the engine up.
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That seems to be a recurring theme in my experience. The 'lesser' manufacturers have always been much more strict and less accommodating than the prestige manufacturers. BMW and Audi gave me full length test drives, on occasion more than one and one BMW dealer even threw me the keys and told me to come back before closing which I was shocked at (being 22 at the time).

However, when I have visited the likes of Ford and Vauxhall asking for test drives it has been a complete chore. Nissan downright refused me a test drive in a 350Z because apparently I was much too young (again, 22) and one of the salesmen told me to stop wasting their time. Mazda gave me a couple of test drives but it too ka lot of blagging in order to get this - which was weeird as I was genuinely interested.
 
Scuzi said:
That seems to be a recurring theme in my experience. The 'lesser' manufacturers have always been much more strict and less accommodating than the prestige manufacturers. BMW and Audi gave me full length test drives, on occasion more than one and one BMW dealer even threw me the keys and told me to come back before closing which I was shocked at (being 22 at the time).

However, when I have visited the likes of Ford and Vauxhall asking for test drives it has been a complete chore. Nissan downright refused me a test drive in a 350Z because apparently I was much too young (again, 22) and one of the salesmen told me to stop wasting their time. Mazda gave me a couple of test drives but it too ka lot of blagging in order to get this - which was weeird as I was genuinely interested.
Click to expand...

I agree, I have had a test drive on my own of about 20minutes in an e39 M5 yet a Ford dealer would not let me try out a 6 Month old Mondeo V6! :confused: A local Audi dealer let me self test drive an A8 for an afternoon quite happily, despite me turning up in my current battered Mondeo and wearing my oily work boots! I explained that I was on my way to work and doing a night shift,so they told me to bring it back same time the following day without issue.

Well impressed. :) - The car was nice too! :)

The local truck dealers often have "open days", turn up with your licence and out you go with whatevers on offer. I'll never forget throwing a Volvo tipper truck around the "Parkhouse" roundabout in Newcastle staffs, which was part of the test route, and being impressed with the way it cornered, the salesman looked scared half to death, he had not bothered to tell me the truck was fully loaded!!! He probably thought we were going over..... :eek::D
 
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