BlueOx

You must insist on it!!
I remember the first time I test drove a beautiful used "GM Certified" Z06. The dealer really didn't want to let me but I insisted. I got in and tried to take off but it wouldn't go. I checked the ebrake and such but no luck. Finally, I revved it up a bit more and let the clutch up quickly and it "broke" loose. I stopped, opened the hood and found that the clutch fluid was basically all gone. The 1/8th inch that was left was black. I pointed this out to the dealer and he took it back to the shop and had it refilled. I did take it out for a drive after really checking stuff out but only to drive a Z06 as there was NO WAY I was going to buy that one!

Bill Dearborn

Sometimes there isn't a car to drive. When I ordered my 97 the dealer was going to get 1 car. As part of the deal I specified a pre-paper work test drive in the sales contract. When the car came in they did the dealer prep work and the salesman called and said the car was ready for the test drive. He asked if he could go with me. I put about 30 miles on the car (minimum for a good test drive) and when he got back I heard him tell the mechanic "He really drives fast." Of course I did check the car's capability to accelerate with full throttle and stop with max braking (full ABS) from speed.

Bill

SanDiegoBert

I test drove a Corvette at Bob Stall Chevy in La Mesa. When my subsequently ordered C6 came in, I noticed 6 miles on the odo. I was mildly concerned, and asked, why 6 miles? They said it was about 5 mile round trip to the gas station they use for new car fill-ups.

Never mind.

boraxman

Thats actually where I bought mine (used- certified) They were more than accommodating on the test drive....even told me to get on it if I wanted to..... but again,thats used.

jackhall99

I haven't read through all the replies, but I have NEVER been refused a test drive. Find a new dealer.

TJay74

Mark Heitz in Norman OK let me test drive a C6 I picked out off of the lot for a test drive. In the end we could not make the number's work and I walked.

Larry/car

I like to purchase cars and make a game of it. I arrived at the dealer with a few years old Buick and didn't look like I had money. I like to keep them guessing, who is this guy. When I ask about acquiring a new Corvette the main salesmen handed me off to the lowest sales person there. Soon it became apparent that I had done my homework, as I readily knew options and prices. After a short time I ask about a test drive, without any delay they had me in their demonstrator, just me and my thirty year old son. After a brief drive, talked price and I ordered a Victory Red LT3 Cp. That was the first Corvette that salesperson sold, to the surprise of the head salesmen. The owner of the dealership called later to make sure I was happy, I replied how great his salesperson was. One month later I picked up my car off the showroom floor.

DASHZNT

I drove my 2012 GS CE off the showroom floor with 3 miles on the odometer before I bought it 15 miles later... I don't buy anything I can't play with first!

Huey

I agree. There are plenty of dealers interested in selling a 50k+ vehicle if they think you can afford it. I test drove several new ones trying to see what I wanted before I bought mine. Hendrick Chevy in NC, great place to buy. They had like 72 Vettes to pick from. It gives you a different perspective when you see Vettes lined up on the lot and not just one or two in the showroom with velvet ropes around them. You look around and see 60+k Suburbans and 80k Escalades in rows on the lot and suddenly its not such a big deal to drive one. There may be some hesitation on a ZR1, I didnt try. If I were ever serious about one though I'd sure try.

Gering

Did not test drive mine either, bought my 07 with 2 miles on OD, now it have over 130,000 miles on it.

phileaglesfan

My local dealer was real fair. We did all the haggling before I took the test drive. Generally unless I found a big fault with the car on the test drive then I was going to buy it then. I already had an 08 C6 coupe at the time so I just wanted to see the differences with an 11 GS Vert.

I don't see why they would care much about a used Vette.

When I went looking for my 08 I also was able to test drive a new Vette (two of them) at another dealership. I didn't negotiate the price before hand although I told them what price I can get on the internet from out of state dealers. They wanted $3-5k more for their cars and sticker if I special ordered so I walked. Their cars had 20-50 miles on them already anyway.

235265283...

This must be true.

When shopping for a 2012 base coupe a few months ago, I searched inventories on dealers' web sites, and went to the dealer that had the color and equipment (or lack thereof, actually) I wanted. I saw the car on the lot, walked into the showroom, and asked an "advisor" (dealers try like hell to avoid the S word these days) if I could drive a new Corvette. He asked, "Which one?". I said, "That one" (pointing to the one I wanted), he asked for nothing other than my driver's license, and we went for a drive. I went home, did a little $ research, made an offer two days later, and bought the car.

Another type of dealer to avoid, IMHO: The ones that have incomplete details regarding their vehicles on their website inventory. They are either lazy or trying to hide something.

Garibaldi

When I bought my 2011 GS, I drove two cars. The dealership had no difficulty when I asked. Also, they traded a car for the GS and I was able to drive before I bought it.

Corvette ED

So it looks like most of you would not buy unless you can test drive. So my next question is would you buy the car you just test drove if it has 60 miles on it.

I see so many on here get excited if the car has more than 6 miles on it. For me test driving a new Vette was just a waste of time. I would make a deal do the paperwork and drive off.

Big Lebowski

Never had a problem test driving when I was older and could afford it, but Resonably I understand why they wouldn't give a test drive to any NASCAR fan that walked in the door. Because of what it is, people want to test drive it just to drive one.

BlueOx

I find it difficult to understand people who can't handle a few miles on a car.

I feel the same about folks who insist a car hasn't seen any rain. I just don't believe them and I really wouldn't care if it was the truth. I would ask if they saw the car from the moment it left the factory, during the transportation of that car, and from the moment it hit the dealer's lot. Some have, I guess but who really cares?

Tide Will Roll!

When I bought my car from original owner who ordered the car, he explained the car had never been driven in rain and had never even "slept outside"

It was a 1000 mile drive home, several rain showers.

I drive it in the rain

Bert

Roll Tide!

red2012

i test drove my 12 coupe before i bought it in dec and it had 7miles on it with all the plastic on the seats etc. etc. 3 weeks later i went back to buy it and it had 14miles on it, obviously it was the car they used for test drives but i didn't care it was still brand new to me, window sticker on, plastic still on the seats, so i bought it and picked it up the next day. big question though; how many test drive miles would a new car have to have before you can bitch about the mileage to get a real cheap price?

Scott Simpson

That's not typical. I think most people want very low miles on a car when they drive it. I do. Probably some deep psychological thing that doesn't make sense but that is the reptilian brain response.

I've bought most of my new cars and motorcycles without a test drive and never had a problem. I did test drive an electric motorcycle and it was crap so I never bought it (but that was a different beast). I KNEW I'd like the vette. Nothing was going to stop me from buying it. No regrets.

phileaglesfan

Yes, if I put on a majority of the miles. When I test drove my GS the driver's door panel creaked like crazy. One of the conditions of the purchase was that the dealer fix it to my satisfaction (no creaks). Yes you can get it fixed after you drive it off the lot but it is a lot harder at times. That is why a lot of the so called "normal" issues don't happen when the car is brand new. If it did a lot of buyers would walk.

Heck I even test drove my daughter's Sonic before I signed on the line. Dealer was fantastic with that sale, they held it for around 6 weeks until her birthday party came up (it was her HS grad gift also). They even dropped it off at my house during her birthday party and faked her out with an HHR also.