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test drives





just been to try n get a test drive on a CTR and guess what??????? they say i cant cos i have to be over 25, takes the piss seeings as im 24 eh? what does it take to actually test drive a car b4 u buy nowadays - bribery???

so far im doin well tho, cant test drive the focus rs cos it aint on the market, even when it is they say u wont be able to, cant test drive the ctr cos im too young.......just gota get knocked back on the 172 now and im 3 for 3

anyone had any better luck test drivin em?

Ray
 

GR7

  Shiny red R32


I bet they would let you drive it if you had the cash in your hand to buy it! Is this not age discrimination? Surely, if you have a full driving licence, there is no reason why you cant test drive a car which you may be thinking of buying.
 


When I took one for a test drive they said that I was covered on their insurance as I was only just 25. However they said that if I was under 25 I would have to arrange cover from my own insurers and take them a cover note for the test period. This should be enough for them to allow a test drive.
 
  7.6cc :D


My friend with a red 172 (copied me grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr ) was refused point blank regarding test driving a 172.

The salesman said she could test drive her own when it arrived?????
 


yeah exactly, i mean who in there right mind is gona buy a car they aint driven, takes the royal piss if u ask me.

he said it was to do with there insurance only covering 10ks worth of something or other and age is a big thing - even when i explained my current car is faster and higher insurance group than the ctr he still had none of it.

grrrrr im gettin increasingly more pissed off by the minute.

hehe one ford dealer i was in today was so rude - the bird in there gave me such a hard time about any info on the car whatsoever - couldnt even tell me what clutch was in the dam thing - even tho i knew. cmon now, im sat there waiting to put the deposit down for a 20k car that i aint driven and she can be so rude - i got up n walked out in the end while she was giving me some lecture about ford dealership properties and discrimination acts - who cares, im tryin to buy a car

shhesshh

Ray
 


I was chatting to a salesman at Ren London West and he said that if you wanted to test drive the V6 you had to put £1,000 on the table to show you were serious. Not had problems driving anything else tho.
 
  Corsa 1.3 CDTI


Tony,

Saying that I was told you couldnt test drive a v6 cause they where built to order.... yerr my ar5e they are thats why the car supermarkets have about 2 or 3 of them... !
 


Its all about how you look. My friend and I used to skip days at college, get dressed up in our best suits and go and test drive cars. One of the best ones was when we were given a new Corrado VR6 for the day! Ragged the arse off it!! It was superb!!!
 


anybody can test drive our cars, but its really up to us to say yes or no....i know i wont let a 21yrold test a clio 172 if he has been drving a micra all his life.

and the bad thing for us/ good thin for you is even if you write it off...you walk away (hopefully) paying an excess of 700 quid!!!!! geez.....

we have had 4 (172s) written off so far and one V6.....one of the incidents was where a clio went into the back of a V6!!!! DOH!!!

So, its up to the salesman, i sure as hell wouldnt let me test a car..im a nutter!
 


I didnt have any probs getting a test drive on a 172, CTR and Cooper S.
Took the 172 out when I was 20 and the others at 21. Just turned up in a nice pair of jeans and a Prada top. No probs.
 

GR7

  Shiny red R32


Jilly, car salesman trust us girls more than the guys when it comes to taking out their cars. I was given the keys and told to go out and have some fun (on my own) in the 172 demo car in Edinburgh - so I did! The sales guy even said there was plenty of petrol in the car which only encouraged me to stay out for ages in it!

Regarding your friend copying you Jilly, at least she got an ordinary red one and not the very special gorgeous BLACK car.
 

GR7

  Shiny red R32


Yes but Ben, can someone tell just by LOOKING at YOU that you are a nutter? Or is it the way you drive?
 


To be honest Arjun, I cant remember his name - if you said it I would know - but I did have a nice argument with him after I mentioned the word import
 


haha, no i doubt you could tell im a nutter in a car......

and for your info, i help animals across the road and am kind to old women.

infact, i have started the "help the aged" foundation...haha.

cragy, i got rid of the tat a while ago, it now says "butter"
 


One nice car sales man let me test drive a 1998 4litre V8 TVR Chimera the other week, obviously he sat next to me...but I did whizz it around for 40mins, and boy oh boy was that thing quick....I think sales men will only let you test drive their cars if you are genuinely interested in buying them....ie. not wasting their time....I have been considering a TVR for a while now, oh and I am only 27!!
 


my mate took out an escort cossie when he was 19 by saying he had won the lottery, besat way i did it was too go with my mum, i rinsed a vectra V6 up and down the ring road before i passed my test with my mum and the salesman, he just said said it was OK as long as i had a provisional!

i keep meaning to go out and try and get a blast in something lively
 

GR7

  Shiny red R32


Dan, you would need a good mechanic and a lot of money to keep a TVR on the road! They dont seem to be very mechanically sound, and seem to break down rather a lot! (So a garage mechanic friend and a past owner said)! I think also the same thing has been said by Jeremy Clarkson.
 
  Leon Cupra


Got a test in a 172 no probs from Renault Wolverhampton(age 22 in dirty work jeans and t-shirt). Went to try and get a test in a CTR at my local Honda dealer (smartly drest now 23 and pulling up in a new 172) sales guy didnt want to know me wouldnt even give me a brochure said they didnt have many left, tryed to get a test drive and he said that he was now going on his dinner and there was no one else to bring the car round and walked off with out a thankyou or even a goodbye!!!:mad: Walked outside and got in my car(new 172) which he saw and ran back over to me realising that i probably could actualy aford a CTR saying he would bring the car round now so i replied "some how i dont think ill be buying a Honda" and drove off. Had my window down as i exiting the carpark and he shouted "Renault sh*te" obviously someone was not having a very good dayhttp://www.kenegie.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/1.gif.



Tim.
 

GR7

  Shiny red R32


Tim, you probably had a lucky escape there! Imagine what sort of after sales care you would get from a Honda dealer, and if first impressions are anything to go by........
 
  Leon Cupra


Ohh!! one other thing, my mates sister actualy got called a SCRUBBER!!!!:eek: in an argument with a BMW MINI salesman the argument started when she asked for a test drive and he asked to see "the color of her money" not realising that her boyfriend (Mohamed Camara of Wolverhampton Wanderers FC) was actualy siting in the carpark in his car on the phone. When Camara walks into the dealership wondering what his girlfriend is so pissed off about the salesguy realises that this was Camaras girlfriend who he has just called a "scrubber" was she actualy minted. From what she said this salesman might as well been on his knees he was grovelling so much, I would have payed to see that. Not supprisingly a complante was put in to the BMW MINI dealer and that t**t does not work there any more:D.

Customer service has a lot to be desiered in the UK in the US you are treated like god when your just buying a burger in MaccyDs, and thats how it should be you spending your hard earned cash(dont know about Camara;)) you should be treated like god. The customer is ALWAYS wright even when he is wrong.



Tim.
 


there bullsh*tting u

i went for atest drive twice in a CTR and never ended up buying it. i nagree that is not your age but the way you carry yourself,

172 test drive was even easier as leigh just gave me the keys

but guess what damn citreon would not let me drive a vts till i took them a car i said i was gonna trade in.

wongy
 


lol see thats really my view - if a dealer wont let me test rive the car - i dont want the sh*te - no matter how much i like the car...........the point about after sales service is sooo true - i mean, yeah after they have ur money, what? the true colours come out, get a nice f**k off when u need something doin - cos they might aswell have told me that.

ive not been for the 172 drive yet - but im sure i wont get one even when i pull up in my motor.

sod the new car market, its all hyped up sh*te, second hand motors forever ;) for me, if im buying a car, no matter what it is, i NEED to drive it first - no matter who tels me its the best thing they have ever sat in. If it dont suit me, then why buy it - consipracy methinks ;)

a very pissed off ray
 

GR7

  Shiny red R32


A couple of years ago, I typed out a report of the results of a "Mystery Shopping Exercise" carried out around the dealerships in Edinburgh, by a young trainee Peugeot dealership manager. Each dealer was marked on things like how long were you kept waiting? did the salesperson explain all the workings of the car etc etc? layout of showroom, did you get a cup of coffee? were you offered a test drive? etc etc.

The results were interesting inasmuch as, just like someone here has remarked, that in certain delerships BMW, and Mercedes particularly, the young trainee went in slightly scruffily dressed to one garage and then suited to the other and was ignored in jeans but approached immediately in a suit. This happened nearly every time.

There were lots of other remarks but I havent got time now. Vauxhall came out best as they didnt seem to bother what he wore. Probably they were pleased to get any custom!!
 
  2005 Audi A3 3.2 Quattro


Maybe its different here. Ive been allowed to take cars out by myself. All the salesman wanted was my license and off I went.

Went back a few days later and asked to drive a different model. He remembered me and off i went again for some more ragging.

I do however think its how you look and dress.

If you drive a crap car, park it down the street and walk in, dress decently, look a bit indifferent but interested in the cars, and its a bad sign if youre drooling on the paintwork ;)
 


I was bored one day so i went to try and test drive a 172, they were all ready to let me, until they found out i was 20 (i had to show them my driving license) and they said that they were not insured to let anyone under 21 drive the 172. He did say if i came back on the friday hed take me down to brooklands (near where i live) and let me try it out on private land.

Conversely when i was looking to buy a punto gt, i went to look at one at a gagrage, i had a look round it and asked him for a test drive, i just gave him my keys and he let me take it out on my own for about 30 minutes. It was probably cos i was wearing my smart clothers for work tho ;)
 


Hi. Put yourself in their shoes peeps, despite the obvious t#%ts, most of us are out to make a living and thats never going to include arranging test drives for people skipping out of college for the day!!

Be friendly and show them that youve done yer homework (ask for a finance quote, if you have the time) and with a little conversation, you should be able to arrange a rag in anything. So far Ive taken out a WRX, a 172 (Considerably better!) and a TVR Chimeara and Im only 21. All three were leant to me and a mate for as long as the petrol lasted! I arrange test drives for clients all the time and I even go along as a friend of the customer just to see what the sales team are like. Last month I did test drives in an X-5, Jeep Grand Cherokee Ltd, Evo VI RS2 and a TVR Tuscan.

Obviously its down to the salesman you talk to and the policies of the dealership etc but it shouldnt be too hard for anyone really.

Cheers,

Myke
 


Im suprised that people have had trouble with test drives. I have only just turned 21, before i bought my 172 Cup I took a CTR for two seperate test drives i also test drove a mini cooper s, Ibiza cupra, ST170 and a normal 172.



The Honda guy did mention something about having to be 25 but after confering with his manager agreed to let me take the car out on my own.
 


Well, I test drove a CTR and (prepare to be shot down in flames) Im glad I have a 172.

I think Honda have done a good job of diguising the Civics MPV-like styling, but things went a little downhill from there.

OK, its stripped out inside, but dont you think theyd have put some thought into what they left? Horrible, shiny plastic. At least I could find a comfortable seating position.

Once out of town the CTR feels like a bigger and heavier car than the 172. It feels more solidly planted, but I was got very little feedback through the steering (i.e. ended up relying on blind faith that we werent going to understeer through a hedge). Brakes - powerful, no dramas.

The engine is a real screamer, but it makes it difficult to make rapid progress. You really do have to keep the thing spinning at 6 - 8,000rpm to make any real progress - let it drop below that and the car suddenly feels a lot heavier and more ponderous. I did a couple of 3rd and 4th gear roll-ons, and my seat-of-the-pants feeling was that the 172 is a far stronger car in this area.

Towards the end of the test drive we headed up a 1-in-8 hill, with two lanes on our side. I was trying hard all the way up, and it was all getting a little intersting through the corners (the salesman went a bit quiet, despite me warning him what I did on the weekends). Towards the top he said quick, isnt it?. At that moment a 206 GTi sailed past us. Interesting.

In summary, I was expecting a very rapid car. I think if you did most of your driving on flat, open A roads it WOULD be quick, but you have to work very hard to keep the momentum up. The 172 is lighter, more agile, gives better feedback and has a wider spread of useable power, making it easier to make rapid progress. Put them both on a twisty rod and Im confident that the 172 would steadily pull away into the distance.

Thats my opinion anyway. I know I own a 172 but Ive tried to be as unbiased as I can.
 


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