Most interesting test-drive you've been on

[addyguy]

When I was looking for one of my first cars, I came across an ad for a very low-mileage 1979 Dodge Omni 024 hatchback that I decided to look at. Thought it would be a 'sporty' econo car to have.

Went to look at the car, and it was weird - the body was completely rusted out all over, and the interior was absolutely mint. When I say the car was rusted out, even the floor was going on it, and it was obvious.

Even with these issues, I decided I'd come this far, might as well take it for a drive. I wanted to get 'back into' driving a stick, so I chose this car b/c it was a 4-speed. I was nervous about looking like I had no idea what I was doing, but the owner and I got in for a drive.

Now, it was the middle of summer, and it was HOT, like 30C, and this car had been sitting for a while, so it was hot inside, and it didn't help that it had a bright red all-vinyl interior, that didn't have a mark in it.

I was so nervous about driving the car, that I didn't think to roll down the window, so I started it up, and drove it around the long country block, trying not to stall or buck it. When we were nearly back at the house, the owner in the car with me commented 'hot, isn't it?' that's when I snapped out of my daze, and realized I was literally soaked head to toe in sweat, it was just pouring off me.

I sheepishly parked the car, and explained to the owner that I thought that it was in too rough of shape to last any period, and he admitted that I might be right. It was an east-cast car that wasn't driven very much, hence the mint interior and completely rotted body and floor. But to this day I haven't seen an Omni with that nice of an interior....it was funny that the owner didn't try to sell me on it, but I think at that point he was worried about me....

My step-dad had driven me there, and when I got back to the his car, he was amazed I'd survived the test-drive, he's said 'It must have been over 60C in that car! How did you do that?'

What's YOUR crazy test-drive story???

 

[Lead Shoes]

This should sum it up...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF8GhC-T_Mo

Lol....

 

[eljefino]

I was shopping for a car for my sister. I told the salesman that I had $10k but only felt like spending $5k or even less. He told me an Accent the dealer had for sale on their website was not actually for sale, and the person who traded it in was going to be put back in it because her credit fell through on her new car.

It was still full of trash and old tapes.

Then he said, well, I have this Sonata for $2k more.

Let's go for a test drive, c'mon.

So we go. Nice car. 4 cyl feels like a V6. Guy is jawing about how the shop goes through cars for a 100 point inspection. I roll the window down. It rolls back up to about 1/2 inch from the top. It would fail state inspection for this.

I speak over the wind whistle to tell him I don't want it, and he starts whining about why was I wasting his time on test drives. ("if you get them behind the wheel, you'll seal the deal.")

A couple days later I test drive another Accent from an enormously shady dealer. Turkish dude who owns the place told me he drove it from NH to Boston on $10 in gas. Brake pedal was 2/3 of the way to the floor, at 40k miles! Oil was black. I should have done an e-brake turn in traffic to get back to the dealer even faster!

epilogue, third time was the charm, and I got an accent with ~52k, still under warranty, and my sister's run it up to 170-180k. It was a repo, too!

 

[Barkleymut]

My dad took our 84 or 85 Toyota minivan into the Toyota dealer to get serviced and the sales guy sprinted over to us to see how he could sell us something that day. We ended up taking a Corolla something version for a spin. I was really into exotic, sports cars at the time just for reference. He stated that this was the "fastest car on the road". I asked him what he meant and he said acceleration, top speed, handling, nothing beat it. Mind you this was the super duper S or SI model Corolla. Being a 15 year old know it all it asked if it did under 6 seconds 0-60, asked if it held .91 Gs etc. The guy had no idea what I was talking about and I told him he was a moron. Dad gave me a stare that I still have not forgotten. It sure was a quiet ride back to the stealership.

2nd - while we were dating, my wife was test driving an Accord that had a button on the shifter of the AT. She asked what it was for and he answered that it was for the sport suspension. I already knew that we had another noob salesguy so I played along. Why would they put it on the shifter? What exactly does it do? All answered by generalizations and total guesses. When we got out I opened up the owners manual and showed him it was the OD button and that it allowed the driver to lock out 4th gear. I swear he almost cried. Long story short we bought the car and I told his manager that maybe his reps should learn something...anything about the cars before trying to sell them.

Disclaimer - I am in sales as a career and usually spout out the correct answer.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: Barkleymut
Being a 15 year old know it all it asked if it did under 6 seconds 0-60, asked if it held .91 Gs etc. The guy had no idea what I was talking about and I told him he was a moron. Dad gave me a stare that I still have not forgotten.

 

[Burt]

My wife and I were looking for a school car for our daughters. We answered an ad in a newspaper for a used Saturn. The guy wanted to meet us at a car wash. Understandable that he does not want to meet at his house. So we are sitting there in our car when the guy pulls up in a V-12 twin turbo Mercedes with nigerian flag stickers on the back and says "follow me". So we follow him for a couple miles while he short cuts through a trailer park and some rough roads. I'm thinking "how many $4,000 saturns do you have to sell to afford a $110,000 Mercedes?" Finally we pull into a strip mall where he has a half-dozen cars for sale. We take a test drive and the Saturn is perfect better than anything else we have seen, but my wife says "let's take it back quickly before he steals our car!"

 

[javacontour]

I was a college student back in 1987, getting ready to graduate and my best friend and I went to a dealership and looked at a V8 Mustang. I think it was an LX, not the GT.

My friend is driving and looks at the sales guy and says a cars not broken in until you do this and lets rip with the nastiest gas ever emitted by a human being.

The sales guy was mortified and had no idea what to say.

Today, nearly a quarter century later, I feel bad for the guy. We were wasting time and had no intention to buy the car. Just using our soon to be graduates status to worm our way into driving cars neither of us could afford.

I sure hope they got that odor out when they detailed the car before it sold.

 

[OtisBlkR1]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Originally Posted By: Barkleymut
Being a 15 year old know it all it asked if it did under 6 seconds 0-60, asked if it held .91 Gs etc. The guy had no idea what I was talking about and I told him he was a moron. Dad gave me a stare that I still have not forgotten.

+2 this is good stuff

 

[apwillard1986]

My most interesting was as a salesman. Couple in their early forties test driving a crown vic. Wife is driving husband in the pass. Side. Husband's cell rings, it's in the center cup holder. Wife answers before her husband can grab it. It was his girlfriend... Got really interesting from there.

 

[dparm]

Not me, but my father was test driving the G35 right when dealers started receiving them. The sales guy is a long time family friend from whom we had bought some other Infinitis. He actually told my dad to disable stability management and hoon the car in the parking lot.

 

[oppirs]

Never even test drove that rust bucket of a Chevy Luv! A '78 in 1991.

I saw a local ad for a Luv for $75, when I got there the owner SAID I couldn't test drive because the brakes won't work. Well how about I pay you $40 for it? He said you can't drive it off my lot. OK, see I wanted an that engine to replace my '79 Luv!

I told the owner that I'm his best bet. I'll will drive it, I'm pullin' the engine. And I'm only 2 miles away.... NO he said I drive it or you tow it. After that I said you drive it my house for $30. He took it. I gave him a lift back to his home . A good running engine for $30 plus I junked the body for $50.

 

[HTSS_TR]

I was interest in the Pontiac Fiero in the early 80's. Went to take a test drive at local dealer in Rochester MN, the test car was parked head-in so I need to put the manual transmission to reverse to back out, the reverse gear did not engage even with two hands on the shift, the big salesman could not do it either, the car had to be pushed by several people into the service bay to repair. I bought the Honda Accord instead.

 

[Cristobal]

In 1991 I visited a Ford dealer about a used pickup truck. The one I looked at had no sticker price and the slimy salesman said I needed to make an offer on it as it was in perfect shape. He said it had always been garaged by an elderly widow, yadda yadda yadda.

I looked inside and could smell the faint odor of water damage (I have a very sensitive nose). I looked with care while the salesman was with another customer - the truck had been submerged up to the top of the rear parcel shelf and dash!

I got the salesman's card and told him I'd call the next day. For some strange reason that day never arrived.

 

[OtisBlkR1]

In 2008 i was looking for a good new/used truck, something under 30,000 and no more than 2-3 years old. My local chevy dealer told me it wasnt going to happen (my only requirements were extended cab and 4x4. The best he could show me was a 2003 Z71 with 80,000 on the clock and ALOT of under body rust, straight pipes, oversized mud tires on aftermarket rims.. both in poor condition. the price was $23,000 before anything else.. I told him i might be intrested in the truck but the price was already $4,000 over KBB. the salesman simply said well lets take it for a test drive, OK. the true nature of this truck quickly showed itself and it became obvious the previous owner was not nice to this pickup, everything rattled, the front end was wasy "off" you could turn the weel 180 degrees before the wheels even started to turn.. its a very long list of "the bad" i never even pulled out of the parking lot.. we sat down and his "deal of the month, cant say NO" was $21,900 well, i said NO and that i thought i could do better. I went 70 miles to another dealer, actually i was just passing through town and seen a 06 silverado LT2 loaded with all the toys, and not so much as a scratch. 37,000 on the clock and asking price was $24,900 2 days later i bought this truck after some fierce negotiating for $18,500

T

 

[LS2JSTS]

In the early 80's I went on a test drive with a couple on a late Friday afternoon. About five minutes out from the dealership, we turn into a residential area the guy in back pulls a gun as his "wife" slowly pulls over to the curb. They both scream at me to get out, and I DO...quickly. I watch them speed away with my dealer plate and the dealers car, they take a turn at the next block and the car goes right up into a waiting truck. Two guys pull the ramps up and throw them into the truck along with their new car...and drive off. Me standing there scratching my head in disbelief at what just happened.

 

[FowVay]

I hope it's OK to post this:

I was in Berlin, Germany, window shopping on a used car lot a block off of the Ku Damm. While there I was propositioned by a prostitute.

True story.

 

[OtisBlkR1]

Originally Posted By: LS2JSTS
In the early 80's I went on a test drive with a couple on a late Friday afternoon. About five minutes out from the dealership, we turn into a residential area the guy in back pulls a gun as his "wife" slowly pulls over to the curb. They both scream at me to get out, and I DO...quickly. I watch them speed away with my dealer plate and the dealers car, they take a turn at the next block and the car goes right up into a waiting truck. Two guys pull the ramps up and throw them into the truck along with their new car...and drive off. Me standing there scratching my head in disbelief at what just happened.


AMAZING, like something straight out of a movie ! were the thieves ever caught ?

 

[hattaresguy]

My friend and I were bored one day and were sitting on his boat drinking beer. After a few, well quite a few we said ah what the heck lets go waste some time. So we went to the Range Rover dealer up the road and took a super charged Sport out for a ride. The sales guy was awesome, we beat on it without mercy, and than took it over their rock course.

They are junk so I wouldn't buy one, but it was a fun waste of time.


I never test drive cars though, its a waste of time, only time I ever drive a car is when I'm buying it or already have.

 

[jigen]

Originally Posted By: Brenden
This should sum it up...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF8GhC-T_Mo

Lol....


I used to work with this guy. LOL

 

[pzev]

Honda dealer: Accord Coupe - Ran out of gas halfway through test drive. Takes dealer near and hour to send a lot porter with a fuel container. They never said sorry...

Nissan Dealer: Nissan 350z - The salesmen being unhappy with my rather relaxed driving technique, takes over and hits 110mph in a 45mph zone. He neglected to notice the police cars up ahead. In the best display of misdirection ever, the group of us at the car lot manage to frustrate the officers to the point of just driving away. Nobody got a ticket. Mind you they were just doing their job and the sales guy really was being reckless, but we were all caught up in the moment.

Chrylser/Jeep dealer: Took a new Wrangler on an offroading excursion at the local community college. My mother, who was driving, appreciated the excellent ground clearance and short wheelbase. Campus safety, who was watching, didn't appreciate the bright red Jeep rearranging their landscaping. Salesmen was puzzled when we returned to the dealer in a very dirty jeep...simply said "road construction".


I have many many more, but honestly its all the same stuff. Salesmen trying to [censored] with outlandish claims, doing something stupid with a car, etc etc. When I get a salesmen spewing bad info, I don't bother correcting them, as it just creates needless tension. Honestly, just let them think you're an idiot, as you'll catch them off guard when it comes time to negotiate

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