Denied a test drive at Honda???

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Originally Posted By: raytseng
seems though like the salesman read you right though, and has lost absolutely nothing from you.

Perhaps you can also work on your negotiation game too and work on your answers and phrasing so you can play your cards better. Every interaction with others is a negotiation/test and they "won" this one (i.e. got your full position) without losing much.


A testdrive does take up the guy's time and effort.
It's not like the guy said please leave the premises if you're not buying today, just that he can't invest time in you to do a test drive.
If you just wanted to check out the car, then you can poke around and sit in the showroom model;

Based on your posting time, I believe you also went on a Weekend, which I would expect to be more of the prime selling time.

You also had it in your power to say, ok I'll give you $30 for your hour's worth of time to test drive the vehicle-which probably the fair market value for the gas, employee time, and car depreciation. But that puts you out of the position of power, and shows you really wanted the test drive? Did you?

Over in Munich at the BMW factory/showroom, they've instituted this exactly and gotten rid of this concept of "free" test drives. By saying they will let you take out any car; but as an hourly rental and with the corresponding prices.


I hate to think of how much money I would lose on test drives if they did that.

[As in, I would test lots of cars if given half a chance.]
 
Originally Posted By: supton


Over in Munich at the BMW factory/showroom, they've instituted this exactly and gotten rid of this concept of "free" test drives. By saying they will let you take out any car; but as an hourly rental and with the corresponding prices.


I wonder if you buy the specific model you paid to test drive if they discount the rental fee into the price you pay for the vehicle, they should.
 
Originally Posted By: Tdbo
Originally Posted By: Leo99
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
My car buying experiences were 180 degrees opposite with OP.
My last 4 new cars purchase:

1991 Honda Accord SE - Didn't test drive but seated in similar car in showroom. Negotiated and deposit the same day, and paid for it the next day with Credit Union cashier check then drove away.

1994 Lexus LS400 - Negotiate by email, didn't test drive but seated in the car after they prep it before paid for it with Credit Union cashier check then drove away. The sale manager told me I was the first customer who bought a Lexus online without test drove it.

2000 Mercedes-Benz E430 - Negotiate by email, paid for the car with Credit Union cashier check, seated in the E430 for the first time for a brief instructions of how to use the functions of the car after paid for it.

2004 Honda S2000 - Negotiate by email, seated in the S2000 for the first time after paid for it with Credit Union cashier check.

All the purchases above the dealers offered a test drive of similar car they have on the lot, but I refused and told them I knew what I wanted to buy and the only obstacle were the car color, equipment options and price. I even refused to step inside dealer showroom until we agreed on price to put down deposit.

What I did was research the car I want to buy, get pre-approve loan with my credit union(s), negotiate by phone or email, pay for the car and drive away.


My local Honda dealer told me they don't negotiate or quote prices other than MSRP via email and I'd have to come down in-person.



Tell them you don't need to buy a car from them.
There are plenty who negotiate via email or phone.
I have bought many cars that way, and will never walk in and deal with the beat down ever again.
Reward the people who try to do things the modern way with the business.


I just bought a Toyota from an email quote.

What's worse is the Honda dealer's website says "click here for our special Internet sales price". Sent an email to another dealer and they sent me back prices for Accords in every trim level. Consumers are getting smarter. Make it easy to buy a car.
 
Originally Posted By: GiveMeAVowel
Originally Posted By: supton


Over in Munich at the BMW factory/showroom, they've instituted this exactly and gotten rid of this concept of "free" test drives. By saying they will let you take out any car; but as an hourly rental and with the corresponding prices.


I wonder if you buy the specific model you paid to test drive if they discount the rental fee into the price you pay for the vehicle, they should.


Maybe they do it?, but if you think like a German and not like an American, I'm sure such a policy would grate at them internally and they'd be fighting tooth and nail not to.

The rental still occurred and the purchase did not unwind the miles that occurred on the rental car, so one thing had nothing to do with the other in terms of strict practicality.
inancially it is unfair to the buyers that did not do a rental that they'd pay the same price as someone who got the car+a rental.
 
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Originally Posted By: raytseng

Maybe they do it?, but if you think like a German and not like an American, I'm sure such a policy would grate at them internally and they'd be fighting tooth and nail not to.

The rental still occurred and the purchase did not unwind the miles that occurred on the rental car, so one thing had nothing to do with the other in terms of strict practicality.
inancially it is unfair to the buyers that did not do a rental that they'd pay the same price as someone who got the car+a rental.



Actually I don't disagree with that BMW policy at all. But I know that Muricans would be fighting tooth and nail to get that money back on the purchased vehicle...
wink.gif
 
yea, the thing about anything sales here, is people want to feel "special" and they've gotten a deal through their cunning and negotiation and have their egos stroked a bit.
Versus a strictly non-emotional and purely practical culture.
 
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Originally Posted By: raytseng
seems though like the salesman read you right though, and has lost absolutely nothing from you.

Perhaps you can also work on your negotiation game too and work on your answers and phrasing so you can play your cards better. Every interaction with others is a negotiation/test and they "won" this one (i.e. got your full position) without losing much.


A testdrive does take up the guy's time and effort.
It's not like the guy said please leave the premises if you're not buying today, just that he can't invest time in you to do a test drive.
If you just wanted to check out the car, then you can poke around and sit in the showroom model;

Based on your posting time, I believe you also went on a Weekend, which I would expect to be more of the prime selling time.

You also had it in your power to say, ok I'll give you $30 for your hour's worth of time to test drive the vehicle-which probably the fair market value for the gas, employee time, and car depreciation. But that puts you out of the position of power, and shows you really wanted the test drive? Did you?

Over in Munich at the BMW factory/showroom, they've instituted this exactly and gotten rid of this concept of "free" test drives. By saying they will let you take out any car; but as an hourly rental and with the corresponding prices.


I should have offered $30 to test drive a Civic? Ok...

Other brands, like Toyota, have times where they pay you $50 to test drive a car. No way in [censored] I'm paying a salesman 30 bucks to test drive a car.
 
Originally Posted By: raytseng
yea, the thing about anything sales here, is people want to feel "special" and they've gotten a deal through their cunning and negotiation and have their egos stroked a bit.
Versus a strictly non-emotional and purely practical culture.


Are we talking about Vulcans? Mr. Spock would make a great car salesman.

I just bought a car yesterday. I didn't want to feel special. I wanted to feel like I didn't get ripped off. The dealers are all about cunning and negotiation and they do it everyday so they're better at it. It's war!
 
Plenty of other Honda dealerships that will take your business in the Twin Cities. Pretty simple. Take your business there... A call to the sales manager pointing that out may also be in order.
 
Weekends are a busy time for dealers. If you want to drive but are not serious about buying, go during the week when they are not as busy.

Originally Posted By: 2010Civic
So my father and I went to a Honda dealer (Buerkle Honda in white bear lake, MN) to test drive a new civic. Among our family we have a 95, 02, 03, 10 and 2011 civic and a 2005 accord. We were just curious how the new civic stacks up against the 8th gen (2006-2011).

When we asked a salesman if we could test drive a civic he asked if we were planning on buying today. When we said "no, not today" he said that he works 100% on commission and if we are not going to buy today he couldn't give a test drive. Totally baffled by his response we left the dealership.

Now I understand it is a Saturday but there were only a few people there, and most of them were there for service. While there were a group of 4-5 salesman just standing around talking to each other.


I still can't believe we were turned down to test drive a freaking Honda civic? Talk about poor sales tactic. Sales man are all the same...
 
Originally Posted By: MNgopher
Plenty of other Honda dealerships that will take your business in the Twin Cities. Pretty simple. Take your business there... A call to the sales manager pointing that out may also be in order.
He says, there was no business as he was not even in the market for purchasing a vehicle.
 
Consider that there might be weird incentives where the sales manager wants to see salesmen turn test drives into sales ("behind the wheel will seal the deal") and the test drive is only offered after the customer is thoroughly vetted.

So if a salesman has to admit that he took ten phone calls, had six walk-ins, five test-drives, and no sales, the boss would wonder what's up.
 
Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
Originally Posted By: GiveMeAVowel
Originally Posted By: DuckRyder


I hate that "what can I do to get you to buy it today" hogwash. My usual reply is "You can start by not asking me that again".
.



Actually I'll buy it today only for 100$.

...


Yeah Ive used that one too, or "I'll give you $500.00?".

I find usually once they figure out it isn't going to work they abandon it. You really only get this when you're shopping at a place that has the usual clientele that it works on, my closest Honda dealer is just such a place - it is so slimy you will be looking around to see if you've accidentally walked into a Toyota dealer...
So ALL Toyota dealers are like ONE "slimy" Honda dealer.... you're full of it and folks here see right through that.
 
What we are seeing, and I agree it's a bad business practice, is probably a reflection on the growth of "internet car buying services" which produce little revenue for dealers other than a delivery fee. Still, once the owner receives the car there's a chance to sell parts and service and make a favorable impression. Even outfits like Consumer Reports will suggest you "try locally but shop the internet for the best price". If factory direct sales catch on the practice may become worse, or better. "Confessions of a car salesman", a work commissioned by Edmunds which engaged a writer to get hired as a car salesman is worth reading. Just Google it. The writer worked for a "pressure house" and a more ethical dealership and in the end the more consumer friendly dealer sold just as many cars.
 
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I turned away a lot of "kids" that wanted to test drive Honda Civic SI's back in the day. I told them to come back with a parent, then we'd go for a ride. That was managements rules, and I agreed with them. The last thing they wanted us to do on a busy day was to ride around with an 18 year old that didn't have two nickles to rub together and needed his parents permission to buy a car.
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I turned away a lot of "kids" that wanted to test drive Honda Civic SI's back in the day. I told them to come back with a parent, then we'd go for a ride. That was managements rules, and I agreed with them. The last thing they wanted us to do on a busy day was to ride around with an 18 year old that didn't have two nickles to rub together and needed his parents permission to buy a car.



We had a similar policy with cars like the Shelby GT500's and used Corvettes on the lot. You had to actually pass the credit application proving you could buy it before you could test drive one.
 
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I turned away a lot of "kids" that wanted to test drive Honda Civic SI's back in the day. I told them to come back with a parent, then we'd go for a ride. That was managements rules, and I agreed with them. The last thing they wanted us to do on a busy day was to ride around with an 18 year old that didn't have two nickles to rub together and needed his parents permission to buy a car.



We had a similar policy with cars like the Shelby GT500's and used Corvettes on the lot. You had to actually pass the credit application proving you could buy it before you could test drive one.


Nothing wrong with that either. The last thing you want to do when you're working on commissions is waste time. I think it was the movie Fast and Furious that had the "kids" storming the place wanting to drive the Civic SI. It didn't take long to implement the rule. A funny thing, is maybe one in twenty would actually come back with a parent, and the competition implemented similar rules, so we weren't losing sales.

I would put plates on cars and let people go on solo test drives when we were busy. That worked great, it kept the customer happy, and me on the floor selling if it was very busy.
 
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