I’m considering moving from a traditional sedan to an SUV and I’d honestly like to test drive 3-4 brands/models.
I don’t want to waste a salespersons time, or my own being pressured on the spot each time.
My last two vehicles I drove at the bmw driving event and owned a previous generation model so I was comfortable moving into without a “test drive”
I know people have to make money and I don’t want to waste their time. I just want a painless test drive and if I like it go from there, but I won’t be buying on the spot 100%!
I’m changing from a sedan to an SUV for a first time, I’m not concerned about the deal right now, I’m concerned about finding the right car for me, and then once I’ve picked a vehicle I’ll work on a deal. I don’t need any pricing today, I just want to get some knowledge on the product and give it a test drive, full disclosure I have 2 other makes/models I want to see before making a decision.
Something like that. Just be nice and tell them the situation. Any reasonable sales person is going to understand that.
Fair enough. Been awhile since I test drove anything, and last time I remember an obnoxious number of follow ups. This was long before I found LH though. Thank you.
Yeah, that’s why I would say to not give them fake information, just contact information that would be easy to filter to eliminate the persistent sales reps.
OP, the other thing I used to do pre-Covid was just walk the lot at Carmax to see how vehicles fit - which ones were more comfortable than others, etc. It’s not a test drive but you do get the idea of whether you will be comfortable/fit properly in the vehicle. Around me the Carmax lot is enclosed by a fence so all their vehicles are unlocked - no need to deal with a sales person.
CarMax is a great option
Also came here to say the other day I went to Paragon Honda (a notoriously bad dealer) wanting my sister-in-law to sit in the Civic to see how she liked it. From the beginning, I told them we still had to go look at the VW Jetta. After the test drive, they had the sales manager come in to try and get us to buy.
The point is do not feel guilty, especially if you said from the outset that you are not buying yet. You go, you test drive, and if they try to get you to buy you walk out.
If they have a customer they are going to make a sale on, they probably would be helping that individual.
PS throwback to paragon honda letting my 17-year-old brother test drive a used S2000 being so desperate to make the sale to some “dumb kids”
Another good tip is if you can, go during a weekday, late morning. The dealerships are much less busy then and you’ll have a much easier time.
The purpose of dealerships is exactly what you want to do, test drive and comparison shop. Don’t feel bad for “wasting their time”. Just be honest and tell them you’re looking at other brands and will return if you decide on theirs.
I see you’re in pa. If you decide on Kia or Toyota feel free to reach out to me for quotes
We did this couple of years ago, and most of the salespeople are very nice and respectful. Like Jim said, you’re not wasting anyone’s time. It’s their job, and if go on the week, you’ll see that they’re just standing around shooting the crap with each other. There will be a few bad apples, but you don’t have control over that. Just whatever you do, don’t give them the keys to your current car so that they can appraise it; that’s a trap. Some will ask to hold on to a credit card if you take a car for a test drive alone.
And have fun. One of my neighbors goes to the Porsche dealership just for test drives several times a year, and sometimes he’ll leave with a new one. He has built a relationship with the salespeople and the dealership. He has 3 Porsches.
In the northeast there are multiple stores like carmax, carshop, etc etc.
Anything that hasn’t changed in the last couple years can be test driven in a used version.
But the chicken-and-egg conundrum is whether to test drive first to narrow down what you like … or narrow down based on budget first before test driving a smaller pool of cars.
