“Test drives on public roads are not allowed”

[Elkins45]

There’s a fairly large Chevy dealer nearby who has a manual 2010 Mazda6 with 132k miles listed for $4k as an “as acquired” vehicle.

https://www.tomgillchevrolet.com/in...er_listings&stocknum=36907A&atc_ownerid=72378

One very interesting thing about this listing is in the fine print (emphasis added):

THE DEALER / SELLER INTENTION IS TO BE COMPLETELY TRANSPARENT ABOUT THE "AS ACQUIRED" VEHICLE. THE DEALER / SELLER IS PROVIDING THE BUYER AN OPPORTUNITY TO PURCHASE THE VEHICLE AT THEIR OWN DISCRETION, OPPOSED TO IMMEDIATELY WHOLESALING THE VEHICLE TO ANOTHER LICENSED DEALER. THE VEHICLE WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY. TEST DRIVES ON PUBLIC ROADS ARE NOT ALLOWED.

I had a sleazy buy here, pay here lot in Cincinnati not let me drive a Mazda5 a couple of years ago, but this seems unusual for a legit dealer. I wonder if they actually enforce this or if it’s just boiler plate?

 

[Boomer]

Probably allow you to drive on his lot but does not want you to get it up to speed or use a higher gear. Says to me they are hiding something $$$$$.

 

[robbobster]

…or maybe they fell-behind on their insurance payments

 

[Owen Lucas]

Probably covering something up, or not added to insurance for some policy reason?

 

[Chris142]

Maybe they don't have a salesman that can drive a manual.

 

[skyactiv]

I went on the website. They list several "acquired vehicles" and they state test drives are not allowed. The dealer doesn't want to sink time & money in them and doesn't want the liability if the vehicle gets into an accident during the drive test because they didn't inspect the brakes or blow a salesman time on a cheap car vs a used vehicle with a higher profit margin. The real question is the dealer passing the savings onto the customer? I bet they are getting more selling to customers rather than offloading it to auction or buy here pay here lots. They are in the business to make money, not lose it.

This one has the "Toyota Tax" and is an automatic: https://www.tomgillchevrolet.com/in...t-wheel-drive-4-door-sedan-2t1bu4ee1dc096595/

 

[GW.]

Don’t walk, run away.

Personally unless I’m buying a project vehicle I would never buy a vehicle I can’t inspect and test drive.

 

[jcarr0314]

I had that happen once with a prius i looked at. A Chevy dealer would only let me drive it in the back lot, up and down the path between cars. Salesman acted like a 70s used car spoof.

 

[ClutchDisc]

I would run from any dealer than doesn’t let me test drive on public roads. I like to get it up to highway speed, full operating temperature, run it through the gears a couple times, etc.

 

[fdcg27]

Like they say in their ads "Tom Gill Chevrolet. Where you always feel the magic."
That may not be magic you're always feeling.

 

[dishdude]

I'm surprised they would even bother with this, but they probably took that Mazda in on trade for $500-$1000 so that's a decent profit for them. Carfax on the attached ad shows it spent most of it's life in the PNW so it shouldn't be a rust bucket. An accident in 2017 but a car that old with that kind of mileage an accident at some point is to be expected, just something else to look for when inspecting it.

Don't need a road test to check the engine, clutch and other important bits. Could be a good deal for someone with mechanical skills that knows what to look for and can bring the usual deferred maintenance items up to date.

 

[K2K2]

"OK then, what track have you rented for me to test drive it?"

 

[daniel327]

they probably took that Mazda in on trade for $500-$1000

This is why I'd start with an offer of $1.5K - $2K and see if they make a counter offer.

 

[macarose]

I've bought sold over 5,000 vehicles and not once did I ever make a vehicle not available for a test drive (except if it was an in-op vehicle).

If the seller can't trust a customer on the open road, then the customer needs to keep their checkbook shut tight!

 

[dishdude]

This is why I'd start with an offer of $1.5K - $2K and see if they make a counter offer.

That's what they'd get wholesaling it and wouldn't have to deal with the customer coming back a week later complaining there is something wrong with it.

 

[SC Maintenance]

I posted about this a few months back. I just went somewhere else. They used some BS excuse about insurance. They want to make retail margins rather than sending to auction. https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/wholesale-to-the-public-no-test-drive.402677/

 

[The_Jeff]

Maine will do this if they offer the car as-is without a state inspection. There'll be a "this car flunked" worksheet on the window with the admonition that you can't drive it on a dealer plate, and if you buy it, you have to tow it home.

I bought a Saturn from a dealer this way, $350, and the list of what it needed was 4.0 accurate. Did the work (wheel bearing and a douching of the exhaust air injection system) then went to my regular mechanic and passed for a sticker.

Naturally one shouldn't trust the dealer that they "didn't have time to get it ready for retail sale", someone in the know looked at the car and decided it would better sit, as-is, on the "back of the lot."

 

[TimeFlies]

Very sketchy!!!

 

[SOUNDMAN5000]

Its a 16 year old trade with over 100K miles and priced at $3,999. A car like that I would think is not worth the time of day for a new car dealer to do much more than park it on the back lot and offer it to his used car buddies that will show up and haul it off his lot for whatever he has in it trade value.

You can look at the price alone and know it was all but pushed into that dealer when traded.
You know the brakes are grinding and perhaps not safe on the road but simply NOT worth the dealers time of day as $3K cars is NOT how this dealer makes his money.

I would think a new car dealer selling a $3K car to someone is a bad idea as you know that person will return a week later complaining his car won't run. I seee nothing wrong with what this dealer is doing and he is being upfront.

 

[SupremePossum]

Don't waste your time buying a POS vehicle like that