I tried to test drive a CTR... no dice

BryanCO

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The car in question is used and has 1500 miles on it. There is no telling how many people have driven it. A "no test drives, period" attitude from the dealer means I won't be buying anything from them. Ever. If they are too stupid to be able to differentiate between a joy rider and genuine interest, then they're going to be difficult to deal with for everything else too.
Fortunately said dealer appears to be in a different country than you.

I wouldn't exactly say someone who is looking for 12 months out is a serious buyer.
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civicmanic

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I wouldn't exactly say someone who is looking for 12 months out is a serious buyer.
The OP himself stated he may well have impulse bought it that day! After all, impulse purchases are the big reason dealers offer test drives. He is genuinely interested.

"While I wasn't there to buy that day I still walked away a bit shocked that they didn't try to hook me with a test drive. Hell, it might have worked."
 
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civicmanic

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Fortunately said dealer appears to be in a different country than you.
Unfortunately, there are dealers like this in every country.

But I will say my local dealer basically threw the keys at me when I walked in to take a look at one last year. And that was a new one. I actually declined, I told them I didn't want to waste their time because I wasn't thinking about purchasing one at that time. They told me to take it anyway and it may change my mind. I still declined. Now, we have purchased 5 new cars from them in the last 15 years. So they do know me, I am sure that they don't do that for people they don't know.
 
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jdmk20akid

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As a sales representative at a dealership I completely understand why some dealerships wouldn't want every single person test driving them that wanted to. While I do agree that the test drive is a very important part of the process, if we let every single person test drive one when they wanted they would rack up a good many miles. And let's be honest, if you were going to buy a Type R you as a customer would want the lowest mileage possible. Every single time I get an internet lead on a Type R and call the prospect and one of the first questions that almost every single person asks is, "How many miles are on it?". They are very weary of people in service ragging on them, let alone people taking test drives. Also my guess is on your test drive you aren't going to baby it and drive slowly. You very well could, but that would defeat the point of that test drive for a vehicle like the Type R. You'd be causing wear on tires, brakes, and on the off chance you beat on the transmission while getting used to the clutch. It's just too much hassle to let everyone test drive the car, and ESPECIALLY if you told the sales person at that dealership that your time frame was 6-12 months away.

I'm pretty sure if you were trying to privately sell your Ford Focus and someone came up to you and said, "Hey can I test drive your fun and sporty car so that I can see if I want to buy it in 6-12 months", your answer as an owner would be, "No". It doesn't make any sense for you to, right? Same concept.

While I do believe that the whole, "Insurance", excuse is bullshit, that dealership may think it sounds better than them telling you to your face that they prefer to wait for a serious customer that's actively in the market. If you really are serious about wanting to test drive this early on your buying process I recommend what others have said, and go to the nearest CarMax that has one, or reach out to fellow members through Civicx to see if they would be willing to let you test drive theirs (I'm sure many will so "No", for the same reasons as the dealership though but its worth a shot". But if you are dead set on trying to test drive one from the dealership you went to, tell them to appraise your potential trade-in or at least sit down and agree to figures with them, and make a note that it is only contingent on you liking the test drive. Showing commitment to purchase is always going to give you leverage as a consumer.

If I'm being completely honest, I have sold 6 Type R's at my dealership, and every single serious buyer came in knowing and expecting to have to agree to figures before a test drive. The only people that had a problem with our policy on Type R test drives were customers who were in the service department and just wanting something to do, or people CLEARLY looking to just joyride the piss out of a Type R. You were probably 1 of 5-7 people that asked to test drive that car that day.

Just don't take it personally when a dealership declines you a test drive. It's just their policy. Your time and effort would be much better spent with the CarMax approach or someone through CivicX. Sorry it wasn't a great experience, but don't let it distract you or mess up your excitement for you future purchase in about 6 months! :) You'll love the car, there's no doubt about that! :)
 

civicmanic

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I'm pretty sure if you were trying to privately sell your Ford Focus and someone came up to you and said, "Hey can I test drive your fun and sporty car so that I can see if I want to buy it in 6-12 months", your answer as an owner would be, "No". It doesn't make any sense for you to, right? Same concept.
Terrible analogy. A private seller is not going to have that car in 6-12 months. There is absolutely nothing to gain for that seller - zero incentive. A dealership, on the other hand can earn that sale be it now(impulse purchase), or in the future when he's ready(they'll get more R's) and potentially get a repeat customer beyond that as well. Customer service is imperative to sustaining a successful new car dealership. Customers know when you're BS'n them. You lose them when you do that.

People tend to respect honesty, even if it's not what they want to hear. "We're trying to keep this car in top condition and the lowest possible mileage for its new owner, therefore we're only allowing test drives to those who we're confident are serious about purchasing this vehicle now".
 
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erbee

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A quick solution for people looking to test drive . Get on turo and rent one . You don't have $200?


I did this with a model 3 performance as I don't want salesman next to me . And I was able to took it up on the canyons, commute, and experience super charging .


And yeah I will get one when my remaining balance of 9k on my CTR is paid off
 

jdmk20akid

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Terrible analogy. A private seller is not going to have that car in 6-12 months. There is absolutely nothing to gain for that seller - zero incentive. A dealership, on the other hand can earn that sale be it now(impulse purchase), or in the future when he's ready(they'll get more R's) and potentially get a repeat customer beyond that as well. Customer service is imperative to sustaining a successful new car dealership. Customers know when you're BS'n them. You lose them when you do that.

People tend to respect honesty, even if it's not what they want to hear. "We're trying to keep this car in top condition and the lowest possible mileage for its new owner, therefore we're only allowing test drives to those who we're confident are serious about purchasing this vehicle now".
I respectfully disagree with your statement regarding that its a terrible analogy. You can still make an impulse purchase on a privately owned vehicle just like you can a new car.

But I do agree that customers can tell when you are BS'ing them. I also agree that instead of lying about an "insurance coverage" issue being the reason for not being able to test drive isn't a good idea , I personally would have been transparent about the reasoning much like you mentioned in your comment. Customer's aren't stupid and know that your lying and would immediately make the sales rep lose credibility and not much the dealership in a good view to the potential customer (or even worse, offend a current and repeat customer). Ruining any potential sale then or later.

The whole point is that it could've been handled better with more transparency for the reason they aren't allowing test drives. If you break it down logically for a customer as to why they don't allow test drive, most people when be understanding about it. I feel like if you were transparent about why the dealership doesn't allow test drives, offer an opportunity to agree to figures first before the test drive (again, if that's the dealerships policy), then if the customer doesn't feel comfortable with that tell the customer that you (the sales representative) would be more than happy to get his direct contact information so that you can call him slightly closer to his time frame of purchase with an update of current available inventory and schedule an appointment to test drive then instead of 6 months to a year out, the management staff would be more comfortable with allowing a test drive.

But, with that being said, I do understand where you are coming from. And if our Type R's at my dealership didn't have such a high turn over from arrival to being sold I would completely agree with you 100%! I'm sure some areas have them sitting on lots a little while longer than we do so it truly varies based on which market you are in.
 

jdmk20akid

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A quick solution for people looking to test drive . Get on turo and rent one . You don't have $200?


I did this with a model 3 performance as I don't want salesman next to me . And I was able to took it up on the canyons, commute, and experience super charging .


And yeah I will get one when my remaining balance of 9k on my CTR is paid off
Oh yeah! I totally forget about that service. That's also a great option!
 

erbee

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The OP himself stated he may well have impulse bought it that day! After all, impulse purchases are the big reason dealers offer test drives. He is genuinely interested.

"While I wasn't there to buy that day I still walked away a bit shocked that they didn't try to hook me with a test drive. Hell, it might have worked."

Customers can say a lot of thing . Being a car salesman and finance manager at an independent car dealership I heard customer bullshitting in my face all the time claiming they have a credit score in the 700s but after I pulled her credit it's about half of that and no down payment . You are not getting dat Mercedes today .
 

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A quick solution for people looking to test drive . Get on turo and rent one . You don't have $200?
this is what i was going to do for the new supra since none of the dealer was allowing me to test drive. You can get a better representation of the driving you would do vs just a few mile quick test drive around the dealer also.
$200 is a cost im willing to pay to make sure i like something i'm spending 55k for.
 


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Customers can say a lot of thing . Being a car salesman and finance manager at an independent car dealership I heard customer bullshitting in my face all the time claiming they have a credit score in the 700s but after I pulled her credit it's about half of that and no down payment . You are not getting dat Mercedes today .
Considering car salesman are some of the biggest bullshitters out there, forgive me for not feeling bad when you get a taste of your own pie.

Not saying you yourself are the stereotypical salesman, so don't take offense. Just generally speaking here. There are a few good ones.
 

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Oh yeah! I totally forget about that service. That's also a great option!

And because you're renting from owner they will actually tell you their opinion on the car the good and the bad especially that you were in the market for one .


They are not looking to sell you the car after all
 

BryanCO

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Unfortunately, there are dealers like this in every country.

But I will say my local dealer basically threw the keys at me when I walked in to take a look at one last year. And that was a new one. I actually declined, I told them I didn't want to waste their time because I wasn't thinking about purchasing one at that time. They told me to take it anyway and it may change my mind. I still declined. Now, we have purchased 5 new cars from them in the last 15 years. So they do know me, I am sure that they don't do that for people they don't know.
Four pages on this topic... And my last post in this thread.

You are now making my (and others) point. The dealer has to figure out who is serious, might be serious, might be an impulse buyer, might qualify, is a repeat customer, is lying to them, etc. And there are certainly good dealers and unscrupulous ones.

When I test drove the CTR, the car was used with 4200 miles at a non Honda dealer. Based on the price and me asking how flexible they were, there was no way I was going to buy the car. I did ask them for a test drive. Sure, they are there to interact with customers and sell cars. Was I wasting their time. Sure. If I had told them that there was no way I was buying that car, would they have still agreed to the test drive? Anyway, as always, find a good dealer and do business with them.

BTW, cars are easy compared to motorcycles...
 

civicmanic

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When I test drove the CTR, the car was used with 4200 miles at a non Honda dealer. Based on the price and me asking how flexible they were, there was no way I was going to buy the car. I did ask them for a test drive. Sure, they are there to interact with customers and sell cars. Was I wasting their time. Sure. If I had told them that there was no way I was buying that car, would they have still agreed to the test drive? Anyway, as always, find a good dealer and do business with them.
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I believe US dealers are way more uptight about these cars. They're just $35k cars after all. Big whoop. Your run of the mill truck costs that! They are just trying to hype up the car to justify their ADM. Hope none of you guys are dumb enough to get sucked in and pay over msrp. ADM doesn't exist in Canada.
 


 


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