Do people go for test drives in cars they have no chance of buying?

Did you smash it · 21-10-2020 4:33pm #1

As above, is it bad to do it? Do sales people have a word for these types?

kirving · 21-10-2020 4:54pm

Of course. Had a car for sale recently and the number of people who just wanted a chat about the car was astounding, probably half a dozen. It wasn't even expensive! 3 test drives, 2 offers, 1 buyer.

That said, I'm sure it happens less than salespeople who show little to no interest in genuine customers. Very broad strokes here, but I've found main dealer to be much more customer focused than independants in that regard.

Had the car into a Merc main dealer recently for some work, and they even gave me an office to work in for the days as they were out of courtesy cars (which they had told me in advance).

salamiii · 21-10-2020 4:57pm

it's not fun to test drive cars then you get the sales pitch it could take 4 hours out of your day

and now with covid they say it takes 15 minutes to catch covid in a closed space

ironclaw · 21-10-2020 5:52pm

A good car salesperson will qualify you before they hand you the keys as ultimately it's a waste of their time as well. Ireland is a unique in my experience though as the average person could afford nearly every car on sale in any average dealership, give or take. We don't have a large spread between average cars and the high end. Contrast this to say the US or UK, and there is an AMG garage with just €100k+ cars and there are 100s of them in stock. You simply won't be handed the keys for a test drive, maybe not even approached.

In other words, Joe Blogs can wander into any garage in Ireland and they'll probably have something they can sell them so it's probably worth a test drive either way.

On a side note, VinWiki on YouTube has some great stories about dealerships on both sides of the table.

pippip · 21-10-2020 11:06pm

One of the reasons many car dealerships dont open at weekends. Too many window shoppers.

crosstownk · 22-10-2020 9:16pm

pippip wrote: »

One of the reasons many car dealerships dont open at weekends. Too many window shoppers.

I've never heard of a window shopper for cars. That kind of time waster is a 'tyre kicker'.

ManOfMystery · 23-10-2020 1:26pm

Family business is cars, we'd have called them tyre kickers or tourists - just come for a look around and then leave.

Manic Moran · 24-10-2020 1:30am

It gets amusing where I used to be in Silicon Valley, where pre-30-year-old millionaires are not all that unheard of. Plus the dress code around here is pretty casual as well. I had a BMW dealer blow me off when, age 30, I went to check out a new M3. Took ten minutes before they realized I was serious. Bought an S4 instead.

Similarly, my then father in law who is definitely California casual wasn’t given the time of day by one Merc dealer when he wanted to buy an S class. Took his business elsewhere.

The one which really surprised me, though, was Chevrolet. My wife was in the market for a roadster. That day she had driven a Boxster, an E Type, and an SLK. I convinced her to give the Corvette a try right at the end of the day.
“We don’t do test drives of corvettes”
“What?”
“Store policy. We get too many guys coming in looking to joyride one”
“Hang on. We’re a married couple in our 40s. Do we come across as the joyriding type?We got no pushback from Porsche, Mercedes or Jag, and you’re telling me you want us to consider a car you won’t let us drive?”
“Umm. Let me ask the manager....”

Atlantic Dawn · 24-10-2020 1:38am

pippip wrote: »

One of the reasons many car dealerships dont open at weekends. Too many window shoppers.

I've never bought a car during the week, their loss. Often the person looking like they havn't a pot to piss in will have the cash on the hip.

JustAThought · 24-10-2020 1:43am

Not everybody knows what car they want to buy. A teat drive dosn’t mean a sale but will certainly rule a car out, or a dealership. I was trying a few out a few years back and while they were happy to take my car keys and passport as collateral, they got bored of me and my very general questions. Not all people who need a new car are petrol heads - that dosn’t mean they’re not potential serious buyers. The dealership refused to let me try a blue mercedes convertible I really fancied and so I retrieved my keys, went elsewhere and bought elsewhere. It still annoys me to this day. Ditto the garage that let me teat drive but wouldn’t actually let me drive the car - they had me ait in the passenger seat while the salesguy drove the car and talked at me about what a beautiful car to drive it was. I still can’t believe that happened. As it happened I bought car at the next deaLership up the following day and the salesguy actually came over to try and lure me back over the fence to buy his car - the same one he wouldn’t let me drive!! ( full clean driving license for 15 years & full no claims!) Madness. It seems the more money you are spending the more disinterested salesmen and patronising paternalistic nonsense you have to put up with.

Rodin · 24-10-2020 1:46am

Last time I went on a test drive I stumped the salesman when asking if the car was electric or hydraulic steering.... got taken seriously after that...

nthclare · 24-10-2020 2:06am

ironclaw wrote: »

A good car salesperson will qualify you before they hand you the keys as ultimately it's a waste of their time as well. Ireland is a unique in my experience though as the average person could afford nearly every car on sale in any average dealership, give or take. We don't have a large spread between average cars and the high end. Contrast this to say the US or UK, and there is an AMG garage with just €100k+ cars and there are 100s of them in stock. You simply won't be handed the keys for a test drive, maybe not even approached.

In other words, Joe Blogs can wander into any garage in Ireland and they'll probably have something they can sell them so it's probably worth a test drive either way.

On a side note, VinWiki on YouTube has some great stories about dealerships on both sides of the table.

That's true in a way but I got 300 Euro off a Rolex in Keans jewelers in Cork during the 90's
for horrible treatment.
I called them up a day later and they asked me what time I was in and a description of the sales assistant.

I've been buying watchers there every 4 year's since.

Those types of sales people who judge you by your looks are bad for business.

johndaman66 · 24-10-2020 9:56am

Rodin wrote: »

Last time I went on a test drive I stumped the salesman when asking if the car was electric or hydraulic steering.... got taken seriously after that...

It has being said that somebody selling a car should not know too much about the mechanics of the car underneath as there is a risk they may talk themselves out of a sale.

That said though times have moved on. People are more clued in now than they were say 30 years ago (due in no small part to so much information being readily available on the internet). People may rightly expect salespeople to know the answers to them sort of questions where it may be them mechanical nuances that differentiate cars that are otherwise very homogeneous in many aspects.

Xtrail14 · 24-10-2020 10:07am

Can’t blame the pcp lads wanting to drive something nice instead of the soul destroying duster.

coylemj · 24-10-2020 12:24pm

pippip wrote: »

One of the reasons many car dealerships dont open at weekends. Too many window shoppers.

I don't think opening hours have anything to do with deterring tyre kickers, unemployed time wasters have all week to go into car showrooms. Dealers often have promos where they open at a weekend.

But most prospective buyers are tied up at the weekend with sports, shopping and family duties so its not worth their while opening.

Rodin · 24-10-2020 12:44pm

coylemj wrote: »

I don't think opening hours have anything to do with deterring tyre kickers, unemployed time wasters have all week to go into car showrooms. Dealers often have promos where they open at a weekend.

But most prospective buyers are tied up at the weekend with sports, shopping and family duties so its not worth their while opening.

What about working during the week?
Evenings and weekends are the only time I can get in to a shop of any kind. I prefer evenings about 20nins before closing. Weekend shopping just annoys me

darragh o meara · 24-10-2020 1:41pm

Was selling a Ford Focus RS a few years back and had a chap ring me who asked all the right questions and sounded genuinely interested. For security reasons I offered to come meet him and show him the car. I went off and got the car valeted again so it was spotless and took a few hours off work to go meet him. Unfortunately when I arrived I was met by a few lads in a “pimp my ride” style banged up focus with L plates.. Turns out this was the interested fella. I wasn’t doing much so said I’d show him the car anyway and offered to take him for a spin, about a mile out the road he brazenly asked me if I’d let him drive it so I told him yeah no bother just let me find somewhere to pull in. I pulled in, he jumps out and I floor it leaving him at the side of the road.

He rang me later asking why I did what I did and I told him the ad said no timewasters and that he was exactly that and that he should take it as a lesson learned. He kept telling me that he was still interested in it but insurance could be a bit of bother for him

coylemj · 24-10-2020 2:33pm

Rodin wrote: »

What about working during the week?
Evenings and weekends are the only time I can get in to a shop of any kind. I prefer evenings about 20nins before closing. Weekend shopping just annoys me

If you're serious about buying, you can take an hour off work. Car sales people also have lives and families and need weekends off.

But in normal times, there are plenty of showrooms open at weekends. I'm pretty sure I visited Joe Duffy (BMW) on the northside one Sunday a couple of years ago.

But here's the problem at weekends ..... you get a whole family in the showroom, the kids are running around looking at the shiny new cars and there's no harm in that but the dad is in no hurry so he peppers the sales person with heaps of useless questions and the next punter in line (me) has to stand there while this obvious case of tyre kicking drags on for 20 minutes or more. So I left. Will never visit a showroom at the weekend again.

bazz26 · 24-10-2020 4:22pm

I think there was some study or survey done a few years back with dealers by the SIMI or likes where there were more sales followed through by customers who visited showrooms during the week than at those at the weekend. Most weekend visits were by people who just had time to kill and were just browsing while they were out and about doing other stuff whereas most people taking time out to visit a showroom on a weekday were in there for the purpose of buying a car. If you think about it's reflected in the weekend opening hours, dealers would certainly entertain opening longer hours at weekends if the demand was there, it obviously isn't.

bs2014 · 25-10-2020 3:40pm

Its very dealer specific. I went to a independent garage who was stocking all sorts of fresh nice beemers, audis etc. I was genuinely interested in the used 320d they had but really wanted a test drive to rule it in or out. After I got all the BS sales pitch for 10 mins, I had to ask him could I have a sit in her as she was locked (I wasnt bullish enough to say a test drive); he went away to get the keys which took 10 mins, then he opened the car and literally let me 'sit in it'. Some garages literally just want you to ring from down the country, click and collect dare I use that cliche all garages have been using since March.

Meanwhile, few years ago, I was doing car mystery shops. Me a fella in mid 20s was doing one for a Merc GLC in a well known Dublin dealer. They were about to take the GLC out of the showroom for a test drive. I had to talk them into just letting me drive their GLC Coupe demo outside but the man was like oh that is slightly different to drive. My conscious knowing it was a mystery shop and I wasn't actually gonna buy meant I wouldn't have slept well with guilt of them pulling the showroom apart.

My point is it seems very dealer specific. What I received in dealer 1 with the BMW was what I would have expected to happen in the main Merc dealer. Granted I told the Merc salesperson I inherited money from an uncle just so it made my story look half plausible!lol

Del2005 · 25-10-2020 6:03pm

bs2014 wrote: »

. Some garages literally just want you to ring from down the country, click and collect dare I use that cliche all garages have been using since March.

14 day test drive

https://www.ccpc.ie/consumers/shopping/buying-online/

timple23 · 25-10-2020 8:44pm

bs2014 wrote: »

Meanwhile, few years ago, I was doing car mystery shops.

Can you tell us a bit more about this? Did you get a spin in a few nice cars?

wonski · 25-10-2020 8:56pm

Mid 20's mystery shopper sent to Merc dealership?

What kind of excercise was that? Did they ask you to wear specific type of clothing

Celtic tiger days perhaps?

HBC08 · 25-10-2020 9:41pm

I was asking about this the other day.
Not a chance would I be handing over 20k without a good and proper test drive.
I realise there must be some test pilots wrecking sales people's heads but that's for them to worry about/work around.

bs2014 · 25-10-2020 10:36pm

wonski wrote: »

Mid 20's mystery shopper sent to Merc dealership?

What kind of excercise was that? Did they ask you to wear specific type of clothing

Celtic tiger days perhaps?

Lol nope...but I did find myself wearing the only tommy Hilfiger coat I have to look as much of a D4 a culchie could lookðŸ˜‚

SEPT 23 1989 · 25-10-2020 10:39pm

Window shopping is a dismal way to live

ManOfMystery · 26-10-2020 11:14am

As a dealer my father always had a sixth sense when it came to tyre kickers, he could usually spot them a mile off. Then you'd have the ones who are looking at a petrol convertible sports car one minute and asking about a family diesel estate the next, no intention of buying either cos they had no idea what they wanted.

Rodin · 26-10-2020 10:48pm

coylemj wrote: »

If you're serious about buying, you can take an hour off work. Car sales people also have lives and families and need weekends off.

But in normal times, there are plenty of showrooms open at weekends. I'm pretty sure I visited Joe Duffy (BMW) on the northside one Sunday a couple of years ago.

But here's the problem at weekends ..... you get a whole family in the showroom, the kids are running around looking at the shiny new cars and there's no harm in that but the dad is in no hurry so he peppers the sales person with heaps of useless questions and the next punter in line (me) has to stand there while this obvious case of tyre kicking drags on for 20 minutes or more. So I left. Will never visit a showroom at the weekend again.

I don't know what you do for a job but I certainly can't take an hour off during worktime to go look at a car

pippip · 26-10-2020 11:07pm

Rodin wrote: »

I don't know what you do for a job but I certainly can't take an hour off during worktime to go look at a car

Oh im sure you can arrange time off if you needed to.

Dramatic much?

bs2014 · 27-10-2020 2:49pm

For someone who loves cars and doesn't impulse buy, I bought my first car on my lunch break from Sat job. Was over to the garage and back with a quick lunch necked in 1hr 15mins.... Mind you my car was rare and the price was right. It can be done.

JohnCleary · 05-11-2020 2:43am

I did the opposite... bought a 14 month old E Estate Premium Plus.

Called to dealer knowing what I wanted. Ordered it (had to come from UK) and left deposit. It arrived so went for a look (waiting to be regged) and offered to let me drive it around the yard. Didn't bother, what was the point... i'd it bought. Sat in the driver seat for a minute and headed off.

Said himself it was the easiest sale he'd ever made.... about 18 months on and no regrets, love it.

Did lots of research about bringing in from UK myself. Inc. ferries / flights / over-night I would have saved approx. €900 - €1000.... wasn't worth the time off work / travel etc.

Do people go for test drives in cars they have no chance of buying?

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