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Test Drives & Dealership Promotions

144 messages,  Last post on Mar 10, 2006 at 9:02 AM

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#7 of 144 Re: $7000 minimum for your trade in any condition [mikefm58] by kirstie_h HOST Sep 16, 2004 (10:43 am)
Replying to: mikefm58 (Sep 16, 2004 10:32 am) What you're talking about sounds more like a "trick" than what we're dealing with in this topic. We're talking about legitimate promotions to attract customers to the shop, like, $25 gift certificate to Bob's Bistro for taking a test drive - no bait-n-switch in here.   If you're a shopper - what promotions sway you? For me, a clock radio wouldn't do it, but a gift certificate? If I'm shopping for a car anyway, it might bring me to your store first instead of a competitor's.   kirstie_h Roving Host & Future Vehicles Host
#8 of 144 by stickguy Sep 16, 2004 (11:35 am)
Recently, the promotions I've gotten (mostly via email) have been for gift cards of one kind or another. It seems like the days of junky radios, $2.00 watches, and cheap umbrellas are behind us.   I have had a couple of $25 ones from Mazda, same from Subaru, and the big daddy, $75 from Lincoln in the last year. ANd being a good consumer (and a member of CCBA) I dutifully use them all.   And Isell, there is no car that I have "no intention" of buying, just cars that I haven't considered yet.   Manufacturers send these out for a reason, and it is to generate showroom traffic, in the hopes of getting someone to put their car on the "hmmm, maybe" list when it wasn't there before. An occasional impulse buy doesn't hurt either.
#9 of 144 The only one of these we've used by jaserb Sep 16, 2004 (12:35 pm)
was from Hyundai, for a $25 gift card. We went in to the dealer we bought our Santa Fe from and they were happy to sign it for us without a test drive. No attitude either. While we went another direction on our new car that dealership is still on our "places we'd do business again" list.   -Jason
#10 of 144 They were probably delighted... by isellhondas Sep 16, 2004 (2:44 pm)
That you only wanted your card signed if they knew you weren't in the market!
#11 of 144 ride along bowke & drift by peterdh2000 Sep 16, 2004 (3:24 pm)
from the other board...   bowke, sorry to hear about your dealership's loss. i guess it depends on the dealer's insurer just exactly who gets to drive/ride in the car. i can understand a shop that doesn't want to get stung again. i don't expect to be let out the door without a salesman, but it is certainly a pleasant surprise to be trusted.   drift, i haven't had any bad experiences actually, but yes, some bad cologne. i don't mind a salesman riding along at all, most are nice, especially the ones that are car nuts like me. in fact, i helped set up a good friend on a date with the Acura sales guy when we were TL shopping for her. I never asked if they "closed the deal" though...   I respect you guys and enjoy your posts. thanks for responding.
#12 of 144 Re: Different situations... [tornado25] by murray53 Sep 16, 2004 (7:11 pm)
I don't see anything that bad about the salesperson driving first. The sales person should be more qualified to show the car's capabilities since he should already be familiar with it. It's not wrong either for the prospective buyer to experience the car from the passenger's viewpoint before he gets to drive it. I think it can be a pretty scary thing for a salesperson to ride in a car with someone who he doesn't know and has never driven the car he is testing. When I test drove the Accord I wound up buying I'm pretty sure the dealer ran a check on my license with the DMV to see what my record was. I don't see in this day and age how any dealer could let a prospective buyer drive a car without a dealership employee present.
#13 of 144 by stickguy Sep 17, 2004 (7:18 am)
What bugs me is salespeople that don't respect the merhandise. I've been with some that insist on taking a green, (LT4 mile) cold car, and redlining it in first and second gear coming out of th eparking lot. Not sure if they are dopes, or just trying to imress me with the power/speed of the car, but I actually felt sorry for the car (and the schmo that ended up buying it).   First time this happened was in th emid-80s when I was with a friend looking at GOlfs. The salesdude pegged this thing so hard, he was doing about 70 by the time he left the lot, squealing tires, etc. My friend bought one, but thankfully a different unit.
#14 of 144 I agree, sticky by bobst Sep 17, 2004 (7:40 am)
I don't mind if the dealer is sleazy and treats me badly, but I would not want to buy a car from a dealer that does not respect the merchandise they are selling.   When we were looking for a new car last October, I saw one exactly like I wanted at one dealer. However, the car was filthy inside. I knew right away that I did not want to buy a car from a dealer who treats a new car like that.   I would not mind having the salesman initially drive the car on a test drive, but if he mistreated the car than the test drive would be over. I would not buy a car from that dealer. Replies to this message: bowke28 (Sep 17, 2004 8:44 am)
#15 of 144 Re: I agree, sticky [bobst] by bowke28 Sep 17, 2004 (8:44 am)
Replying to: bobst (Sep 17, 2004 7:40 am) when i drive first (always), i either give it a solid punch (75% of redline) or a smooth easy acceleration, depending on what my customer is interested in.   if im driving a base taurus or a base sentra, im not likely to gun it...but an altima 3.5 or a sentra spec V will get a little kick in the rear.
#16 of 144 test, test - one - two - Isell by harlequin1971 Sep 22, 2004 (1:52 pm)
yeah, I don't understand why people want to go and look at houses before they "know" that they are gonna buy one - what a waste of time!   To defend - a good test drive goes a long way for me. I like cars, lots of different cars and find it interesting to drive different ones and see what is different, what is the same.   I haven't done many test drives in AZ, but I used to drive 6-10 cars a year, just to stay on top of what's in the market. But I always had some reason to drive them, aka - I was actually interested and possibly thinking about buying one.   How would you feel if someone just walked into a Suzuki dealership and bought a Verona without wasting your time to come and drive a Honda Accord before they pulled the trigger? How unhappy might they be if three or four weeks later they find out that they could have bought a better car for around the same money?   I am a test driver. I don't abuse the product, I try to establish relationships that I will use over and over again for myself and friends who want to buy.   BTW - I advise everyone I know to test drive at least four other cars before they go and test drive the car they "think" they want to buy. If done right, they will either be left with no doubts...or they will go back and buy a different car - maybe yours.   I did that for several friends...they love their cars. Meanwhile, I made several new contacts for future potential shopping trips. I get asked to play third base alot...and it helps to have some knowledge of the salesman before walking in the door.   Of course, I am normally 100% honest about intent and don't walk in on Saturday morning with a list of six cars I want to drive when the lot is full of fish shopping for cars. If they are busy, I come back later. If they are rude, I never come back...and I never bring any of my friends there either.

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