Bad Dealer Experience
 

Had to share this with you guys to see what your opinion in the matter may be. So I've been throwing the idea around to get into another sports car. A gently used C7 Z06 is on the short list and hence I contacted a local dealer (MVL Leasing) as they have a 2016 Z06 however it's an auto. Having owned only manual Corvettes, I'm not sure if an auto will fit the bill so I asked the gentleman that reached out to me to see if I could arrange a test drive and get a feel of what the car is like compared to the C6 Z06. I mentioned to him that I have owned Corvettes prior to this. This guy then has the audacity to tell me that once I agree on a price, advise of method of payment and put a deposit down, he would then let me drive it weather permitting. Am I wrong to think this is a very disgusting way to try and do business for a used car to say the least that is not even a rare exotic. I mean who buys a car without test driving first?

I went with my Son when he was looking for a car and experienced the same thing.

Can see both sides of this.

The part about weather I completely understand. I have enough common sense and experience with high horsepower cars to know better than to push them in low temp conditions. But I am shocked that he would expect me to do paper work on a car that I have no clue about in terms of how it feels to my senses etc.

If you did this by phone I can somewhat see his reaction as there are so many people who do this and not show up. If this happened from an in-person visit, then its bad - not a good way to treat a prospective customer.

i would say bad dealer, seems fishy to me.
bought my C6 with a test drive in the pouring rain, the owner of the dealership was with me. was a good experience with the dealer.

:iagree: to a point, good to pre-qualify a potential buyer.....and good to ,lock him into a deal with deposit etc..... from the vendor point of view....I do very similar things to a point for heavy commercial and industrial items....

they treated me the same way when I bought my C8...lol...

Karma ?

I've actually had an opposite but similar experience a week ago, while out past Tronna dealing with a customer I stopped at a dealership to check out Z51 vert in the showroom, they wanted me to test drive it, gave me the Carfax, started moving cars around in the showroom so they could get it out for me etc etc..... then they found out I have no $$…. changed everything! '
Seriously, it was a great dealer, but I was pressed for time... gonna go back tho….

Hi Al,
Was this a GM dealer?

I had the same experience with a used car dealer, but a GM Chevy dealer will have no problem with a test drive.
I went with my wife to the used car (corvette) dealer in Paris, i'm sure some of you know who i am talking about and said i was not able to take the C5 Z06 i was interested in but they had a 30 day warranty if there was any problems. I said thanks but no thanks.

No deposit = no test drive?...I'd say "Have a nice day" and walk away, there are lots of other cars out there.

They are in the car business and the car will have insurance on it. The dealer should relax, be more accommodating and get you in the car, driving it...that is their best chance to win you as a buyer. They need to "filter" the tire kickers from the buyers, that is their job as sales people. To request dollars down before any test drive is ridiculous, imho.

yup

I don't get this with corvettes and GM. Especially with a used car. I had a similar experience on an new C7. Looking at them and not sure if I wanted manual or not. No option to test drive anything, even with deposit. They would have let me test drive a used one if they had one. And I drove onto the lot driving a 100k AMG. The European dealers have no problem letting you test drive 100k+ cars.

So needless to say I don't own a new corvette as no possibility of dropping a 100k without a drive.

I have even heard of people getting European dealerships to deliver the car right to their house and letting them drive it for an entire weekend to give it a proper test drive! Now that's what I call fantastic customer service!

when i bought my C7, from the same dealer as my, test drive in the rain C6, i took out a stick, and an auto, with the sales kid. i appreciated that.
then when i went to another dealer, he said here, take the keys, its over there, so i took it out and put at leat 30 km on it, prob closer to 40. and no one came with me, that is where i bought the car.

Yes, this is what I would of expected. So, I was a bit shocked that I couldn't take one for a spin. Obviously a dealer by dealer thing or maybe even regional. Before I bought my current SL, I test drove F-type, Porsche, MB all without any deposit or even a sales rep in the car. I wanted to put a C7 in that group but couldn't.

When Lexus first came out the dealer on Steeles Ave E let me take an SC400 for the weekend. I was in town and just stopped in on a whim, told the rep I was house hunting for a possible move to the area and he gave me the keys and said try it out. The gas tank was full and he said not to worry about filling it! If I ever buy a Lexus it will be from that dealer!

I went to look at a used 2014 base 3lt in my 2006 c6 vert, test drove it with the sales rep, told him we were too far apart on trade in value, he gave me the keys let me take it home for the night, made a deal the next day getting what I originally wanted o trade value

I was at a MB dealership in Brampton over the summer and decided to check out what the AMG C63s had to offer and I was driving the car within minutes with the sales guy begging me to push the car despite my apprehension of not wanting to abuse the car.

Any how, the hunt continues and the dealership that treats me with the respect a customer should deserve will get my $$