I personally won't buy a car without a test drive - it is just too expensive if a purchase to go in blindly only to find out something about the car is just not what you can live with. However I do understand dealers not wanting to give test drives unless there is a really good chance that the person is serious about buying the car and not just someone looking to go on a joyride. As mentioned earlier, a little tact when explaining the reason for a restrictive test drive policy could go a long way towards still keeping a buyer interested.

 

 

Ross Downing in Hammond allowed us to drive the Z06 and we ordered one TPW 1/19 Triple Blak Vert.

 

As one who sells Corvettes for a living, I fully understand both sides. I'm the Internet Sales Manager and Corvette Specialist at a Chevy dealership that does relatively low Corvette volume. Most of our new Corvettes are pre-sold orders; as such, we usually don't have one on the floor. Even when we do, though, we're pretty skittish about allowing test drives for the very reasons that others here have already mentioned. The truth is, our Corvette clientele expects their new Corvettes to be delivered without test drive miles on them. In addition, it can be tough to tell the difference between someone who's a legitimate buyer vs. someone who has no intention of buying but just wants to experience the drive. Our position is that if they want a Corvette, we'll do the deal and if they don't like the car upon taking their first drive after delivery we'll take the car back and refund their money.

On the flip side, I can understand that most buyers want a test drive. What's less clear to me, quite frankly, is why. What can one learn during a test drive unless the car is driven in a way that would be inappropriate during a test drive? A test drive isn't the time to test the car's limits. Is the test driver concerned that the car won't have enough power? That it won't corner well? What exactly are they checking for? It's easy to test comfort and fit without driving the car. I guess the only things I can come up with are checking for road noise and ride quality. FWIW, I ordered my '15 without a test drive.

 

Very well stated.

 

depends on the dealerships...

I'm in my early 30s and had no issues getting two dealerships to give me the keys to a C7. I guess it's how you present yourself. Only dealership to ever give me a hard time with test driving (and never got the keys) was a Nissan GT-R. They wanted to run a credit check before giving me the keys. I told them give me a break and walked out.

 

Most new Corvette dealers will not allow you to drive A new Vette if it has the 5-11 miles on the odometer.If they are large like Kerbeck then they have one just for test drives.But A local dealer that has only A couple in their showroom,none on their lot you can forget it.
A person purchasing A new Vette he wants to see single numbers on the odometer.
And if you won't buy it they are ok with it.I bought mine sight unseen.Had never driven A Corvette much less A C7. Best car I've ever owned.Way to go GM.

 

For someone my size (6'4") I had real doubts that I could even drive the car comfortably. I sat in a couple and wasn't convinced it would work. My dealer let me test drive and I found it would work, albeit tight. Bought the car on the spot. Without the short (10 mile <45 mph) drive I would probably have looked some more, until I was sure.

 

No problems at all. When I pulled in the lot with my '04, as soon as the salesman saw me walking around the Vette I liked, out he came with the key fob in hand.

 

When I purchased the C7 it was early in the production run. Had a difficult time to see the car let alone drive one. My first C7 drive was after I purchased it. I did have a C6, thought similar car should be OK. Boy was I wrong! C7 is amazing, couldn't be happier.

 

It depends in how many cars they have on the lot I suppose and how many allocations they have. For a dealer with only a few cars they are not going to want to rack up miles on a new car , because remember, you are not the only one wanting a test drive. So I can understand. It's harder to sell a "new" car with hundreds of miles on it. And for every serious buyer out there, there are probably 3 non buyers just looking just to get a test drive.

Some dealers ordered a car strictly for demo drives, once cars became more readily available.

 

You were doing OK until you typed that a out.

It's just another sign of what the American car companies do not get that foreign car companies do get.

Why can I walk into ANY Porsche dealer and get in a 150K 911 Turbo and take it for a drive but can't get in a 50k mass produced car and take it for a drive?

I think this qualifies as one of the dumbest things I have ever seen posted on the forum.

Comfort, Ergonomics, quietness, etc...etc...

It also makes it plainly obvious you don't have a lot of experience in other cars because there are a million things you determine on a test drive. When we were shopping for the wife's new car we test drove a Audi SQ5. I have an S4 and we've owned a lot of other Audi's so we knew what to expect.

What we did not expect is the overly harsh ride an ridiculous amount of road noise.

We ended up ordering her a Porsche Macan Turbo, you know why? Because we drove it and loved it. When we were thinking about a Cayenne they even offered us an overnight so we could see what it would be like to live with for a day.

You compare on paper a 90K Macan and a 65K SQ5 and they may not seem all that different, it was the drive that convinced us to spend the extra 25K on the car.

You want to put people into a car to drive it when its an impressive product so you must not have much faith in your product offering.

We walk about of dealers if the sales person wants to go with us, or we are forced into a pre-determined route. The Porsche dealer gave us the keys and said they closed at 5pm, have fun. I took that as a good indication of how they do business and how they treat their customers after the sale.

A dealer like you are just interested in shoving a product at them, nothing more.

 

I agree. When I bought my C7 this summer, they asked me if I want to test drive it, and I said "not necessary". I could tell by looking at it, it's what I wanted. It's a new Vette! I know it has 460HP and has sticky tires, with an aluminum frame, all new suspension, etc. I wrote the check, pulled out of the parking lot, and proceeded with my 2hr drive home, and it was not only what I expected, but WAY more!!

 

This is very true!

Can you imagine how many dealers get people who just want to take the car for a spin? Imagine if 5 people got their turn at test driving your car before you bought it...I am sure that many would not like that one bit.

If you were talking numbers, agreed on numbers, and prior to signing the paperwork they usually will allow you to drive it.

 

All I could negotiate was sitting in the showroom model.

No regrets though.

 

My salesman said no test drive. So I spoke with the sales manager who said no test drive. So then I spoke with the general manager. I carefully explained that no test drive = no sale. I scored the test drive but I felt like I was being screened the whole time. I also explained how the local porsche dealers will give me a car for the weekend and I was headed there next. This is my first vette after multiple porsches and I wasn't buying without a drive. I wasn't trying to be an a hole but I may have come across that way.

 

Of 3 dealers here in West Michigan I checked:

Berger--THE chevy performance people-- a demo car on site.
DeNooyer-- The owners personal car is available for the weekend--massive write off?
Preferred--long time customer--not a problem.

Another no test drive no purchase here.

 

Ditto NH Mark. I never even sat in my a C7, however I did sell my 1995 993 to buy my C7. You will not be disappointed. As a 911 driver of over 30 yrs I feel I gave up nothing in handling and gained huge 0-90mph grin factor. Every person I take for a ride wants to buy one! Hey I see a business opportunity here. Tell dealers you will take someone for rides at $100 a pop ; - )

 

And there you go!
Congrats for joining the Club

 

I would never spend 65,000 dollars on a car and have the dealer tell me that I could not test drive it. I would laugh in his face, and come back with the car I actually bought from a competent dealer, and do my best to rub it in the salesman's face, and the dealership owners face

Dealers are pretty savvy and good readers of body language. I've bought 23 New cars in my life and was never turned down for a test drive.

What I usually say is, IM ready to go on a good deal today but not committed to buying today, unless of course you give me a deal I can not refuse.