BobRBob

I checked out the GTR a couple of months ago at the local Nissan dealer. Same thing - no test drives. Not sure how they can sell them without a demo unit but there you go.

dbw2

GTR is an interesting car. Don't think there is a Nissan dealer here who sells them. No test rides is plain stupid.
The Porsche store here has been great about solo test rides.
I would like to try a GTR. All wheel drive, studded snow tires, now that could be fun.

geezerman

fact of the matter is,...THEY'RE NOT SELLING THEM!!!, go to the nissan fan-boi site[really shouldn't do that i know,..but really,...most lovers of that car appear to be all of 20 years old if that!]nagtroc, and see the real sales numbers,..they're dismal!,...porsche and corvette outsell the gtr 6 to 1,...and porsche at a higher price point!,..it's a lousy economy yes,...but really?,...no test drive on a 100,000 dollar car?!,...REALLY?!,...believe me,...your car isn't THAT special that people will forgo a test drive,..GET A CLUE NISSAN!,...every porsche dealership i've ever been in wiilingly lets you test drive their cars[even the turbo's!],..'course it helps that i'm not a pimply teenager anymore,...but a geezer with a love of fast cars,...,as stated earlier, if nissan wants to commit business suicide, so be it!,...but incredibly STUPID policy,...whice wife and i VERY strongly pointed out to them upon leaving when they wouldn't let us test drive one either,..just insanely remarkable dumb,...when you have a willing buyer,...IN THESE TUFF TIMES, you're certifiably insane!

dbw2

Most automotive sales reps these days are not Sales Rep but simply order takers. Few sales reps and few sales managers are unable to properly qualify potential real buyers.....and real buyers are in all probability going to be looking at and test driving several cars......they are not the lay down star struck customer the dealerships would like. But once again for myself and I suspect more that a few here- no test drive no sale. For this kind of coin your gonna drive the car.

mike100

Over the last 20 years, I have come to the conclusion that the test drive on higher end models is kind of random depending on the dealer and their inventory level of said model.

People always said the Mitsubishi dealers just hated to let people take out Evo's because nobody would buy one with over 20 miles on them (you know they aren't getting broken in right on test drives- that's a fact), but I was able to drive one, just because I came at the right time when a dealer was going out of business and wanted to dump every car they had.

C6-wise, I got a ride in a coupe without issue, but I'm quite sure getting a run in a Z06 would be like pulling teeth (Not that I need one- I'd buy one without the drive).

also- I have had a quick try of a GS at a GM marketing event earlier this year- it's basically like a coupe, but with the Z06 grippy feel and the better, firmer brake pedal. The newest 2012's also have the newer seats, which I noticed right away...other than that, the GS was slower than my coupe due to the weight I'm sure.

mike100

I might mention the easy test drives all came in '08 when all the manufacturers got caught with their pants down and lots of unsold tin. A Z06 is truly a rare car now.

I'm not sure why Porsche markets the way they do, I guess it's part of the premium experience they want to sell. The last time I sparred with a sales guy (I was at the dealer for some minor service on my C6), I gave him a little time to lay on his spiel, but I finally admitted that my paid for coupe was too good to trade out of once I saw that there was not going to be a test drive offer on the Z.

geezerman

i think porsche wisely figures that if they get their hooks in ya to let you test drive one of their cars,...they probably have ya fer life,...not a bad strategy at all,...as their market share will attest,...even in these crappy times,...their cars actually sell pretty well,...and they've managed to survive the downturn better than most,...the only other manufacturer that i've ever heard has an implicet "no-test drive policy" is ferrari,...that i guess i can understand,...when you get into that rarified, 300,000 dollar territory,...it kind of makes sense,...but nissan's gtr ain't no ferrari[much as nissan wants you to think it is!,...actually though, the gtr does rival or surpass most ferrari's in sheer speed],...ferrari's are a whole other ballgame,...i sort of view this whole thing like a pyramid,..with ferrari on top[along with lambo's and such], then your porsches and the higher end vettes,...nissan gtr's too,...then your bmw m3's,...then your gt cars like jags and mercedes,[not fast, but beautiful to look at and drive],...then your 'stangs, subbie wrx's and lancer evo's and such,...just my weird way of viewing the car performance hierarchy,...porsches and corvettes to me have always been equals,...one no better or worse than the others makes...[i know lots of vette owners will disagree here,..but to me they are both well made, fast, beautiful, and not lastly, sort of "trophy' cars, to make a statement that you're at a place where you can have fun with your cars and show off a little too!,...to me, nuthin' wrong with that at all!!,..we've probably ALL worked very hard to justify that purschase,..and nothing to be ashamed of in flaunting it a little...

K9KUZ

I bought my new 05, somewhat locally. It was from a dealer 10 miles away, not the one in my town. Why?
When I looked at it, the first thing out of the salesman's mouth was "do you want to take it for a test drive?" I didn't have time, but returned 2 days later. He removed it from the showroom, threw me the fob, and said "take it all day".
Then when I returned, in just a few minutes, he explained all the discounts available at the time. No pressure whatsoever. I had him appraise my 99 as the trade-in. He gave me KBB highest retail plus $500. He discounted the 05 by about $9000, threw in other goodies.
I bought it.

dbw2

K9KUS - Now that's dealer you can work with. The porsche guy was the same way but I took it for an hour - solo. For the first 15 minutes i was wondering what the big deal about a porsche was. By the end of the hour I had figured it out. After driving a lot of cars a year later I went back and bought one. Some test drives, the car has looked great untill driven then it was crossed off the list. For me it was always the test drive, if a good one, that sold me. If you were lucky enough to get a sales guy who was knowledgable about the car and a "car guy" that was a bonus.

Edmond

At least you guys get some attention at dealers. I'm a 32 year old Asian guy, I look like I'm 18 and it doesn't matter if I drove my Z06 or Scion tC to a dealership, I get ignored, not even a "hi."

The dealer claiming that no one wants to buy a new car with more than 200 demo miles on it kinda makes sense but at the same time, how do they sell the C6 that the owners wife drives around for a month? How do they explain that? Do they try to pass it off as a "new" car since it was never titled?

Dealerships just plain suck, period. I will not buy from a dealership again, doesn't matter what car I'm looking for.

geezerman

wish i could be young again,...[well,..maybe not, now that i remember what a hot mess i was as a young man],...so i could have your problems,..now that i'm a more than middle aged "geezer",...i usually do get attention at car dealerships,[doesn't hurt that i always show up in a 2008 911 turbo,...guess they tend to think you may be "serious" when you arrive in those wheels},...that's why i just fer the life of me was so mystified by the nissan gtr experience,..i've gone to many a chevy dealer to look at and yes,...test drive, corvettes,[i have to whet my appetite till i can get one,..when my pre-teen doesn't need a back seat anymore!],...and vette dealers have ALWAYS to a fault been cordial,...informative,..knowledgable, and itchin' to make a sale,...like any smart dealer would and should be!,..i mean what a notch on a sales belt that is,...a dude who trades in his 911 turbo for a zr1!,...that's what i plan to do one day,...they see that as a throphy buy!, and i wouldn't blame them!,...sucks bein' young sometimes,...but enjoy it while ya can,...cause it sure flys by fast my friend!

Chevy Cust Svc

K9KUZ,
Thanks for taking the time to post. We love to hear these kinda stories.

Chevrolet Customer Service,
Justin

K9KUZ

Justin - Apple Chev. in Covington IN

quick04Z06

All of this points to why Corvette should be its own brand, served only by quality brand dealers who will just toss you the keys (as my Porsche dealer did) and treat you like royalty. Dealers and service depts handling Aveos have no business handling Corvettes. You should be able to walk into ANY "Corvette brand" dealer anywhere and get essentially the same royal treatment--such treatment shouldn't be the exception.

jimmyb

You got $9K off a new 2005?????????????????

I hope you have bought ALL of your cars from that dealer. Even the BIG Corvette dealers (Kerbeck, etc) weren't dealing like that on the first year of the C6.

Jimmy

texvette2

Back when looked for a C5. The salesman a big BS'er. Said lets take it for a ride.
The was a car with 10 miles on it. He was driving at first. Pulled out on the
frontage road, floored it, shot up on the interstate, hit a hundred, hit the brakes
and off the interstate. Then took off down a a back road over a 120, across a RR
track, than slammed on the brakes. Said now you can drive it. Man you could
smell the brakes and the newness burning off that motor. So heck i ran it up
there, than I told him, would like to drive it through town. Just see what daily
driving would feel like on the streets I use. His reply was why, lets rip it
up and down the back roads.

So when I did order my C5, not from that dealer. I made it clear did not want
the car driven except off the truck. Have wondered who brought that tester at
the other dealership.

gregm999

No offense, but if I owned a dealership, I wouldn't want salespeople just tossing the keys of a 450 HP car to people to drive for an hour, unsupervised, without documentation. I understand wanting to drive a car before buying, but that's pushing it and bordering on reckless on the part of the dealer. They have no way of knowing for sure if you're the serious buyer type or the type who drives around town wanting to test drive as many cars as possible. Even if you are a serious buyer, they don't know for sure how you'll drive it or even if you're capable of handling a car of that magnitude. Never mind all the miles you'd accumulate by letting customers test drive alone for an hour.

As for Dealers having stock on hand and not letting serious people test drive them at all, that is also a bad policy.

2K3Z06

I went to the FOrd dealer to test drive a Cobra vert. The salesman said test drives were for serious buyers, I told him wouldn't buy it without driving it 1st. So no test drive.

I was 35 years old at the time, not an 18 year old dreamer.

Long story short, we left the ford dealer. I was a little pissed at the guys "show me the money" attitude. Went straight to the chevy dealer, told him what happened. He said "Have you ever driven a Z06?" No, Let me get the keys, you can drive it, but I have to go with you.

I bought when we got back to the dealer, after the test drive. Wasn't planning on buying that day, but after driving it. I HAD TO HAVE IT.


My girlfriend said "go by the ford dealer". I didn't even waste my time, I just laughed when I drove by in my new Z06.

CarBoy

Had a similar experience, but only it was 2 chevy dealers. And I did take the car I bought back to the other dealer, to let the salesman know to thank his manager for screwing him out of a commission. 2 days earlier they were not willing to agree to a $1k difference in price and my trade. The sales manager asked if I was wasting his time
When I drove back with my newer year ride for less $....they had dropped the advertised price on their car by $1,500

geezerman

i can personally vouch for every porsche dealership we have ever gone into,..they don't"just throw ya the keys"and say have fun fer an hour!,...if you really want to test drive a 911 or above,...they make you give them your license and they do some i would presume some serious internet inquiries about you and your financial wherewithall while you cool your jets in their plush offices,...THEN, AND ONLY THEN, after you have passed muster, do you get to take out a 911 or turbo,...you don't just walk in and have the keys tossed to you,...but here's the rub,..AT LEAST PORSCHE WILL LET YOU TEST DRIVE THE CARS IF YOU PASS MUSTER!!!,...i still say it's just certifiably insane for nissan to NOT let anyone take out it's gtr for a test drive,...people simply are NOT going to spend 100k on a car and NOT get behind the wheel first,..that is surely a VERY large part in that cars dismal[and yes, despite what the gtr fan-bois would have you believe, it's sales are DISMAL!,...i call it as "what if they built a super-car, and nobody came?!,..they sell if they are lucky, 100 a month NATIoNWIDE!!!, that's just plain pathetic!]sales numbers,...i'm sure that if you are a serious looking buyer, and you walk into ANY chevy dealer selling the z06 or zr1, and want to test drive it first,...they will do what porsche does, and sort of "pre-qualify you first",...that's how it's done on ALL HIGH END CARS,...but you do get to get behind the wheel!