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Test Drives & Dealership Promotions

157 messages,  Last post on Mar 29, 2012 at 1:13 PM

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Messages Page 13 of 17

#114 of 157 by ateixeira

Sep 29, 2004 (9:18 am)

That Chevy deal was, pardon my French, *stupid*. Pay customers to go drive other cars?
 
A clever Ford dealer actually advertised an extra $250 cash back from Chevrolet!
 
My wife told me Hyundai currently has a test drive offer, if I get details about it I'll share them here.
 
The C&D and R&T event was sponsored by Subaru. Several friends of mine went and had a blast. The closest to me was in Dover, DE, about 2+ hours away, so I passed.
 
-juice

#115 of 157 Test Drives by perna

Sep 29, 2004 (11:31 am)

I get this out of my system by going to auto shows. My old man does too, but looking and sitting in cars isn't enough for him. He actually got a local Dodge dealer to let him test drive a Viper, which horrifies me (he's pushing 60 and routinely does questionable things in traffic). They made his month, though.
This is the same guy who took my brand new Maxima and, with me in the car, got it up to 130 mph before I could even open my mouth to protest. It is generally accepted by the family that the old man will buy it in a spectacular wreck, it's only a matter of when and hopefully another living object is not involved.
 
Maybe we need an Inconsiderate Test Drives forum?
 
My wife and I only test drive when we're seriously considering the vehicle for relatively immediate purchase (a month or less). My local auto show is enough for me to determine whether or not a vehicle is even worth test driving (you guys may like those Kia minivans, but is there anything in there that's NOT held together with hot glue??). For me, the drive is secondary. An auto show gives you all the time you need to pull and prod the interior, sit in the seats for as long as you want, play with the stereo, lock your old man in the trunk, etc...

#116 of 157 by stickguy

Sep 29, 2004 (11:53 am)

problem with the auto show is it only comes once a year. Plus, some of the new or upcoming models don't make the show, so you have to go to the dealer.
 
Anyway, visiting the dealer and sitting in cars i nthe showroom accomplishes the same thing. No need to take a test drive, and it won't really take up any of a salesman's time, unless they just don't want to leave you alone, in shich case it's their problem.

#120 of 157 130 on public roads? by ateixeira

Sep 29, 2004 (2:16 pm)

I hope you stopped accompanying him on test drives. On any drive, actually.
 
We're opposites. To me the drive is key, everything inside is basically just ballast.
 
-juice

#121 of 157 ateixeira...err..juice by perna

Oct 01, 2004 (1:23 pm)

I typed that tongue-twister name before I realized I could have just put in j-u-i-c-e.. haha
 
Anyway, yes, the old man has driven the Maxima only once since then and my mother was with him. I had no choice, since it was at my sister's wedding and I was riding with the wedding party. I bet it killed him, since she will actually scream in his face when he does what she considers unsafe (which is about 5 mph over the speed limit). He wanted to drive my wife's new Explorer, and I let him, but nobody went with. When he was gone we were doing the various stages of "monkey see".

#122 of 157 oops by perna

Oct 01, 2004 (1:29 pm)

About the auto shows, I go over the "time consuming stuff" like seat comfort, playing with the sound system, looking under the hood, etc... on the test drive I can ascertain the following in about 15 minutes: wind noise, body integrity, handling, and amount of GO. I'll never forget the Maxima's test drive, my wife swapped with me on the way back and she turned into a wild woman in that car. She thinks Mazda should be sued for false advertising, because "surely no car they make has the 'zoom' this one does!".
 
The wind noise thing I had to learn the hard way. My last car was an Olds Intrigue, and it was really quiet around town. Got it on the highway for the first time, though, and my heart sank. None of the seals (windshield, doors) were all that great, and one of them even caused a continual whistling noise that drove me nuts. Dealer never did get that car right.

#123 of 157 Lexus Test Drive Event by ateixeira

Oct 04, 2004 (9:22 am)

Yeah, gotta get in a long test drive of the exact car you are buying. That can be hard, though.
 
I somehow got on the list and was invited to this Lexus event:
 
https://www1.travelhq.com/registration/lexustasteofluxury/pretrip- /home.mtc
 
Sounds like fun. Check out the list of cars you can potentially drive:
 
Lexus ES 330, GS 300, LS 430, GS 430, IS 300, SC 430, GX 470, LX470 and RX 330; Acura MDX and TL; BMW 530ia, 745i, 545ia, 330ia, X5 4.4i and X3; Land Rover Range Rover HSE; Mercedes-Benz C320, E320, S430, E500 and ML500; Infiniti G35; Jaguar XK8 Cabriolet; Cadillac XLR and Escalade; Volvo XC90.
 
-juice

Messages Page 13 of 17

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