I was just wondering what people's worst test drive experinces were?
I drove a 2 year old Honda CR-V today, with the usual blurb of 1 owner 27k miles, fsh etc etc, and on the surface looked like a very nice car.
During the test drive the car accelerated very poorly ("Its a characteristic of the honda VTEC engine sir!" yep sure it is!!!!). When i pushed the brakes, there was about 10cm of travel ("normal with brake wear sir"). This progressed to the brake pedal touching the floor during an emergency stop ("normal for brake wear sir"). On the way back to the showroom a loud whine started at 40 mph which was clearly coming from the front of the car.
Back at the showroom the dealer proceeded to tell me that the noise was probably nothing, a bit of brake binding, and that the movement of the brake pedal was normal for a car with 4x disc brakes (Yeah right, not only is that rubbish, i think its also an MOT fail point). Needless to say i walked away!
Sid
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Went with my Dad in about 1990 to test drive an Audi 100 on a perisihing winter morning in Wigan. The salesman couldn't start it, hardly a fine advert.
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My Dad went to test drive a new Vauxhall Cavalier when it was launched back in 1988, The salesman wasnt intressted & we didnt even get to sit in one.
No problems, We went a saw my dads mate down the Peugeot showroom & spent £10K on a new 405 instead, lol
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A guy at work told me he and his girlfriend test drove a Civic Type R at the weekend in the Preston area, and the salesman took them down a dual carriageway at an indicated 125mph.
He then chastised said girlfriend for not using the full range of revs during her drive.
They bought a Peugeot 206.
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This brings back memories. There was at least a 3 month wait for Cavaliers back then, more if you were a private buyer. I'm not surprised the salemen wasn't interested as he probably knew he couldn't get you another one. We ordered ours in November 1988 and finally got one in March 1989 - second choice colour too!
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Not strictly relating to the test drive, I went to test drive a Citroen C3 diesel 92bhp last year and made an appointment to do the same at a well known main dealer. On arrival, I had to go through a list of questions that took half an hour or more before I got anywhere near one, the most irritating one being...
Dealer. "And why does Sir think he wants a diesel"
Me. "Because I like diesels"
Dealer "But Sir has already indicated that he only does about 10,000 miles a year" (about 30 questions ago)
Me. "That is correct. But I don't like petrol engines very much and prefer the characteristics of a diesel"
Dealer. "Well I think it would be very foolish to get a diesel when it has been proven that you need to do at least 20,000 miles ayear to break even. I think that Sir should reconsider"
etc, etc,
I was offered a derisory price on the part exchange, after I had eventually got a test drive, and so ordered a new C3 through a broker and sold my car privately saving myself about £1,500 on their deal if I recall correctly. And yes, I did about 9,600 miles last year and am very pleased that it was in a diesel C3 and not a petrol.
Reggie
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In a related fashion, I went to test drive a new Golf a couple of months back. Booked a test drive time then had to kick around for half an hour for the salesman. Said salesman had some infernal computerised questionnaire which went on and on and on - including lifestyle questions such as whether you liked fishing, golf, yoga etc etc... he wasn't prepared to cut it short and after something of an arguement walked out.
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I've had a few test drives recently in 'performance' cars and can honestly say I felt more than a little scared when the salesman decided to show 'what the car can do'.
The Nissan salesman demonstrating the 350Z did one of those "don't worry, this car can move so quickly this crazy overtaking move near a blind summit isn't really life-threatening...".
The Porsche salesman surprised me too, as he drove like a nutter in a built-up area, tailgating everyone in sight, and almost sliding the car in a few twisties.
I remember test-driving my first TVR Griffith last summer. After my first accompanied drive at modest speeds the salesman let me got out and said "off you go then, bring it back when you've had some fun"! His attitude must have worked as I ended up buying it...
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Worst - launch of new Honda CRX in 1993. Incredibly snotty dealer wouldn't even unlock the car to let me sit inside let alone let me drive it.
Best - BMW dealer 2 months ago. "You want to test drive the M3 Sir? I'll get you a coffee while we fix up some trade plates." 20 minutes later. "Here's the key Sir, bring it back when you're ready."
Most frightening - Test driving Lancia Beta ca. 1983. Salesman sitting in passenger seat: "Give her some welly, it's a high revving engine, she'll do a hundred in third. Here, move over, I'll show you how to drive a Lancia..."
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The Worst Test Drive I had was in a Fiat Coupe Turbo from the Fiat dealer in Cambridge. It was all going nicely until I found that the throttle would stick open if you pushed it all the way down. Not the best thing to happen on a crowded A14.
At the opposite end of the spectrum was the Honda Civic VTi which I bought instead of the Fiat, it was amazing on the test and for the first couple of weeks, the thrill of revving to 8000rpm was unbeatable. But then you got tired of its inability to cruise on the motorway at a decent speed and the poor fuel economy (for a small car) due to the low gear ratios. Sold the car after 10 weeks, although I managed 6000miles in that time.
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The Worst Test Drive I had was in a Fiat Coupe Turbo from the Fiat dealer in Cambridge. It was all going nicely until I found that the throttle would stick open if you pushed it all the way down. Not the best thing to happen on a crowded A14.
I would be willing to put a small wager on that being caused by nothing more sinister than the accelerator getting caught on the endge of the carpet. :D
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I would be willing to put a small wager on that being caused by nothing more sinister than the accelerator getting caught on the endge of the carpet. :D
>>
That's what I thought, but no inspection of the footwell there were no mats or obvious 'catchy' bits of carpet in view. When you stuck your foot behind the pedal to pull it up, it came up easily enough hinting that it wasn't caught against anything. It didn't put me off Fiats, I said to the dealer that I'd buy one off them if they could find one with airconditioning in the dealer network for a similar price to the two they had on their forecourt (surely the work of a moment in this computer age) and they said they'd ring me back. Four years later I have yet to receive that call, I can only assume they are still looking. :-)
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Oh. Just lost my money then :(
OK, next (and somewhat more worrying) guess - a snag in the accelerator cable somewhere which is catching on somthing.
I'm not putting any money on this one though, I'm skint now.
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Worst - The one from a Ford dealer who let me go left out of the showroom, then left at the next three junctions - we covered a mile, did less than 30mph all the way and never reached 4th gear! I tried to alter the course, but he wasn't having it!
Best have always been with the more upmarket dealerships. 'I'd like to test drive a xxx. Certainly sir, when would you like the car?' Choose a day and it's yours for the full day - no salesman sitting there, no pressure to do a set route and a far more relaxed drive as a result.
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Easily a Nissan dealer. I was only 18 at the time - the salesman wouldn't even let me drive the car as "I wouldn't be insured"!! Needless to say I didn't buy it.
Best was a car supermarket in Maghull, Liverpool. Subaru Impreza Turbo, "off you go sir - try not to crash it". Wahey!
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>Four years later I have yet to receive that call, I can only assume they are still looking. :-)
They probably havent found one that works properly yet.....
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My wife arranged to test drive from an Audi dealership in Shrops. When she arrived both the petrol and diesel versions of the model she wanted were made available to her. She was told to take her time and was allowed to test drive unaccompanied. She was given a sensible price for her px. and a healthy discount on the car she was interested in buying. On top of that the lady was given flowers on collection and a follow up courtesy phone call a week.
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The bear - that exactly the same treatment I received from my local Audi dealer - flowers were for the wife though!
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My wife arranged to test drive from an Audi dealership in Shrops. When she arrived both the petrol and diesel versions of the model she wanted were made available to her. She was told to take her time and was allowed to test drive unaccompanied. She was given a sensible price for her px. and a healthy discount on the car she was interested in buying. On top of that the lady was given flowers on collection and a follow up courtesy phone call a week.
Wow, you must have had some fantastic test drives, since that was apparently your worst.
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It has to be the Maserati 4200 Spyder, which they were so desperate to shift that they offered it for 48 hours. Except that I chose a bank holiday weekend and the weren't open on the Monday. Never mind Sir - bring it back on Tuesday! :-))
On handover the salesman explained that there was a fault in the gearbox and that the detente to stop me going into reverse was broken. Thus, the stick could drop into R without difficulty - could I take care please as it would be fairly disastrous if that happened at speed. :-((
Good advert for their build quality.... and did slightly hinder my enjoyment of the car.
And, as you all know, I bought the 911 instead.
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I went to test drive a Vauxhall Omega diesel. It was second hand, and came from one of these places where the batteries ran out after a day or so. After nicking a battery from another car, and a jumpstart from something tiny (matiz?) that he revved the bits off to start the omega, he then drove the omega straight up a large kerb with no regard for the wheels or the underside of the car. We got 50 yards up the road, whereupon the battery gave up and the car stopped. I walked away, without saying a word, got back in my Rover 820 (epitome of reliability that THAT was) and drove off sadly.
It would have been richly comic, had he not been doing it for a living.
O
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I went to look at a two year old Astra (many years ago). Set off on the test drive. Generally going well, seemed comfortable, ran nicely, and I was thinking this might be a reasonable buy.
Then it stopped. Dead. Would not restart. The salesman tried to start it, and failed. He opened the bonnet, checked to see the engine was still there, and shut the bonnet again. Must have looked for all of 5 seconds at the engine.
So we walked back to the garage - just over a mile in the rain, and neither of us had a coat. We got soaked.
I ended up running one of the workshop guys back to the car so he could fix it and get it back. He took one look at the Astra, said "Oh no, not this one again" (or words to that effect), made sure it was locked, and asked me to take him straight back to the garage. Apparently, this was the third time it had broken down on a test drive.
I dropped him back at the garage and made my escape.
Couple of days later, the sales guy rang to see if I was still interested in the car. For some reason I wasn't...
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Never had a bad test drive myself, but a member of my family took an early Mk3 Mondeo for a test drive when they first came out. All was going well until when on the motorway at 70mph the bonnet flew open and put the windscreen through!
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A couple of years ago Mitsubishi had a promotion that if you took a test drive in a Shogun Pinin you would get a free Dover-Calais day return car crossing. that seemed a good deal, tho I had seen the car and had not the slightest intention to buy one.
When I went to the local delare the salesman said he didn't know why Mitsubishi had done the offer , as in his experience people were more likely to buy one if they DIDN'T test drive one .
I was so intrigued , I turned down his offer to just give me the voucher without the test drive, and took one out. It was dreadful in every respect - acceleration, handling, visibility , its external ugliness matched by an interior which looked like it had been acquired in a clearance at Woolworths .
What really amused was that he had a test drive route worked out which minimised cornering .I suggested a slight deviation , which he reluctantly agreed to , which required a sharp bend .When we took it the Shogun behaved with all the grace of a garden shed in a high wind .
When I left with the voucher , I thanked him and he said he was hoping to get a job with a Ford dealer in the next few weeks !
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And another one..
About 15 years ago I got a new job with a small company who said we don't have a company car policy, you can spend about this much..
So i spent a great time looking at the options and had always faniced having an Alfa so arranged to test drive an Alfa saloon- quite a big car, was it a 156?
Anyway I remember going out with the salesman and realising that a good chunk of the dashboard wasn't secured properly, and was kind of hanging over the passenger footwell .I became quite worried in case we stopped suddenly and it fell off onto me.
I then drove the car, which was Ok but realised that the sales guy either hadn't noticed this or was so used to quality problems that this was the norm .
It put me off the whole Alfa range and I neded up doing a deal on a 3 litre Senator , which was terrific while someone was paying for it!
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Another variation on the 'we don't want to sell' theme....
The SEAT Leon TDI 130 was a possibility for SWMBO.
Despite having plenty of notice the dealer could only provide a TDI 100 for test drive. Route max. 5 miles, all in 40 mph limit - salesman drove half of the way.
No brochures - so they would send one. A month later I am summoned by Royal Mail to pick up a letter with insufficient postage. Leave work early, thinking it might be important. Guess what it was, and guess what we didn't buy.
E-mailed SEAT UK requesting name of an alternative dealer - formal acknowledgement but nothing else. So they don't care either. Keep Gibraltar British - definitely!
Mustn't name the dealer, but not a million miles from Reading. Fortunately the Honda dealer in Reading is excellent, and the Jazz was replaced by a Civic type S.
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From the seller's side...
Worst test drive when selling a car was in my old Fiat Regata. We were going through some of the country roads near where I live and the clutch cable snapped!
The lady who was looking to buy it and I had to persuade a passing motorist to give us a lift, which he kindly did.
Needless to day they didn't go for the car. However all was not lost, one clutch cable fitted and it was sold for a fair price the following week.
Hugo
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In 1997, I decided to trade in my 100% reliable 1993 Mark II Nissan Primera for the Mark III model with air-conditioning. I went into Ian Skelly in Liverpool, who showed me the latest model in their showroom. They then looked on their computer, found a ex-demonstrator model and arranged for the car to be delivered to their showroom so that I could take it out for a test drive.
When the car arrived, it looked a little strange. It was only when I put my briefcase in the boot that the penny dropped: they were trying to sell me a last-of-the line Mark II model instead. I then had a stand up argument with the two salesmmen pointing out the difference between my mark II, their "mark III" and the dozen new Mark III cars in and around their showroom. Realising how close I had come to being ripped off by a main dealer trying to convince me that black was white, I was very gratified to see that the dealership went into liquidation the following year!
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Many moons ago when I was nobbut a lad,my father and I went for a test drive in a Simca 1100. It broke down, but nonetheless he bought one. After taking delivery, not the demo I hasten to add, it too broke down en route home. Needless to say it did not remain in the household for long.
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