Bmw Test drive..

[SoonerE39]

the BMW dealership here (and the Porsche-Audi dealer) are always good about giving me test drives. But I look the part now. When I was in my 20's, they wouldn't give me the time of day. I recently test drove a Boxster.

 

[Average Jae]

i still remember the local toyota dealership that wouldn't even look at me when i went in the show room. ask for sales reps, they show up 10 mins later. asked for a celica gts test drive and said there was none to be driven.. blah blah. well i love my bimmer punks.

needless to say, no toyota for me, and even tho my family has owned lexus' i don't think their build quality stands up to claims, suvs anyway.. it sucks that a bad dealership exp by a horrible salesman would make me practically never buy the car..

 

[frolf]

hehe, i know the feeling of being ignored. my solution is to be a total ass. whenever i go to a dealership on a mission, i always make sure my car is spotless, then i usually park as close as i can, sometimes leaving the keys in the car, or maybe even double parking the front two spots (rarely on both) and then i walk in like i own the place.

i know what you're thinking, thats kind of stupid. yeah, and thats the case when i'm daring and have a clean car, if not i just walk in and ask a vague question about the car, then totally own the sales rep by going on and on about specifics of which he's never heard before.

own3d

 

[Spidey]

hehe, i know the feeling of being ignored. my solution is to be a total ass. whenever i go to a dealership on a mission, i always make sure my car is spotless, then i usually park as close as i can, sometimes leaving the keys in the car, or maybe even double parking the front two spots (rarely on both) and then i walk in like i own the place.

i know what you're thinking, thats kind of stupid. yeah, and thats the case when i'm daring and have a clean car, if not i just walk in and ask a vague question about the car, then totally own the sales rep by going on and on about specifics of which he's never heard before.

own3d

lol... that's how i am too. 1/2 the time i'm talking to the dealer HE'S the one learning something about the car he's trying to sell ME.... and yeah, walking in there like you own the place is the only way to get respect at these dealerships.


... back to topic.

Before i bought my m-roadster I went to the local Nissan dealer to test drive a new 350Z. At the time they had only been out for a few months but all our local dealers had a few of them. Anyway, I went in with the intention of buying/ordering one that day. However, after a quick little chat with several of the sales people they explained that NO test drives were available with this car. I told them to run my credit because I was VERY interested in buying one today. They said "sure, we can run your credit... but we still can't give you a test drive". Something about having no miles on the car for new owners... whatever. Needless to say, I turned around and walked the hell outta there. In the end it worked out for the best. Everyone I see these days has one of those 350Z, and it's RARE for me to see another ///M Roadster on the road. Besides... now I have a BMW instead of some crap shot Nissan that who even knows if I would have liked how it drove. As for the no test ///M3 issue... go to another dealer because I've been asked by my salesman many times when we're going to go for a spin in one.

 

[Kirby]

A couple of months ago I was out for a Saturday drive in the BMW with the wife, and we "accidently" happened to go past the local Porsche dealer (I wanted to see a Cayenne up close). As soon as we got out of the car, a salesman was all over us. He was nice and not pushy, but he was kept offering, like 6 or 7 times, to let me drive the Cayenne or a Boxster. I'll bet if I asked to drive a 911 Turbo he would have let me, but I really wasn't interested in actually driving any of them. I don't like to take test drives unless I'm really in the market. When we left, he reminded me that I could stop back any time for a test drive.

I wonder how interested he would have been if I pulled up in the '87 Volvo? [fake] I hate it when dealers judge a customer's apparent worth by the car you drive, your age, or clothing.

 

[M_Six]

I test drove a 528i at Isringhausen one a rainy Saturday. I was dressed in old jeans and a sweatshirt. My wife was in JC Penney and I was sitting in the car bored to tears. I decided to give Isringhausen a call just to see if they had some CPO 5-series sitting around. I talked to Jeff Colman who told me to come on by and take one out for a ride. He never even saw me. So I get there, pull up in an Intrepid, and get out looking like I was about to clean the gutters on my house. Not a problem. Jeff took me into their awesome garage and gave me a top to bottom tour of a 528. Then he let us take it out for a spin. He even told us of a good route to get a feel for all driving situations. Two weeks later I saw my car on their website and starting making plans to get it. I called Jeff up and told him to stick a Sold sign on it and we went up on Saturday to pick it up. Piece-o'-cake. Easiest car buying experience I ever had.

Now they have a brand new '03 M5 sitting there. You can see it on their website if you look under Inventory and search for 2003 5 series BMWs. I'm not big on red cars, but it's a beautiful M5 nonetheless. They also have a really sharp looking '00 540i 6-speed. I was so tempted to work a deal for that, but I liked my '01 530i too much.

 

[donmbmw]

I think this test drive stuff has alot to do with how you present yourself to the dealer. If they think you just want a joy ride then they make up all kinds of lame excuses, but if they think that you are an actual buyer...well then, all the rules seem to change.