Calling Los Angeles-based car shoppers: Have you recently traded in (or plan to trade in) a car with negative equity (i.e. the amount you owe on your auto loan is greater than the car's value)? A reporter would like to speak with you; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 11/6 for details.
Would you buy a car without test driving it?
More people are researching cars online and opting to order a new car to buy or lease without first test driving it.
Some of us will do anything to avoid the dealership!
"Skipping the test drive can also eliminate what for many people is the most annoying part of car shopping -- the hard sell. Already, roughly a third of buyers who purchase their cars over the internet say they do so to avoid face-time with car salesmen, reports Edmunds.com."
Car Buying, Without the Test Drive (smartmoney.com)
Would you be willing to do a "blind transaction?
Some of us will do anything to avoid the dealership!
"Skipping the test drive can also eliminate what for many people is the most annoying part of car shopping -- the hard sell. Already, roughly a third of buyers who purchase their cars over the internet say they do so to avoid face-time with car salesmen, reports Edmunds.com."
Car Buying, Without the Test Drive (smartmoney.com)
Would you be willing to do a "blind transaction?
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Comments
But the lasts haven't changed and they always fit the same. Different styles but I buy the same brand every time.
If the leg to gas pedal angle is off or my knees bang the door or console, I'm not going to be a happy camper.
On a new car I'd have to have driven an example of said car. Just to get a hang of possible killer quirks.
I will say when we bought our 00 Accord I'd only test driven automatics and bought a stick but that's OK....
If it was a car I had sat in and drove before, I wouldn't feel too bad about buying one without driving that exact unit, if I had some kind of recourse about the vehicle not being correct anyway. I wouldn't jump sight unseen into a make and model I had never touched though.
Research online including reviews and others experiance and if nothing blatent stands out don't need to drive one prior to purchase. Don't want to waste a sales persons time either if I've already decided on vehicle to purchase.
I guess it comes down to whether or not you 'bond' with the car or not. More than just fitting behind the wheel, I guess I'm talking about something more 'spiritual' in nature.
Yes, even if it's a 4-door appliance, you've got to be comfortable with it since you'll spend so much time behind the wheel.
Back in '02, I was looking for a V6 powered sedan with leather and a sunroof. Test drove both an Altima and a Saturn L300. For some reason, I thought the interior of the Saturn (redesigned for the '03 model year) was nicer than that of the Altima.
I did get 97,000 miles out of the Saturn, however, so I guess it was an OK choice.
Too many unknowns.
I did that once (at the request of my then-wife) and it was a huge mistake....
Don't go there !!!
If You're picky (like me) you not only test drive it -- you make sure you get a thorough test drive -- meaning all types of roads, smooth, bumpy, local, highway, with the radio/CD/IPOD on (playing something you're intimately familiar with). I often have 3 or 4 cars I'm seriously considering and in those cases I try to get back-to-back test drives...multiple times. I'll also come back another day to make sure my sense of the drive is right.
I also research the cars thoroughly. Is this too much -- maybe, but I really enjoy my cars and can honestly say I've only bought one that I ended up hating (a Gremlin) because it was a hasty purchase (and I took Consumer Reports high ratings on it without a thorough testing myself).
Regarding the issue of sales pressure -- the simple way to address that is to ALWAYS be ready to walk (and have alternative models/brands)...even if you like the car. Tell the salesperson if they are getting on your nerves to back off (nicely) and if they don't -- tell them they blew a possible sale and walk away. Today, good sales people understand that sales is about relationship building (especially if you go for upscale brands or models).
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
I once bought a used Miata without a test drive. The guy had detailed records, the car was like new. It was in a nice warm garage and it was pouring rain outside. I gave him a deposit and came back the next day with the rest of the cash and drove it home.
If I do test drive a used car, it's a short, around the block drive.
Some of my customers used to do some strange and creative and sometimes scary things that made no sense!
I don't like buying SHOES without trying them out. I have bought plenty of cars without driving them, like my XJ8, but I have driven lots of XJ8s, ditto my GS350 (What was I thinking.. awful car).
I didn't test drive my Lincoln Premiere either, but it was a thousand miles away and I know what they drive like.
I'd buy an older Miata without a test drive, assuming my mechanic had okay'd it. But I've driven one.
I bought my Outback without test driving it, although I could have backed out when I went to pick it up. I don't think a test drive would have alerted me to the door handle hitting my knee in the exact wrong spot anyway.
The test drive is the single most important part of buying a car.
Checking the blind spots... seeing how the seat fits... whether you can see the dashboard through the steering wheel... how the car accelerates/handles... all this you cannot do outside of a test drive, no matter how much research you do.
Case in point, I thought the Kia Forte would be perfect for me. The internet research all pointed to it being exactly what I was looking for. Until the test drive, that is.
Then I found that despite the on-line pictures, the dashboard was hard plastic. That's a big no-go for me.
And the seats were designed by a retarded monkey out to inflict the maximum amount of pain possible on a human being.
So, I walked away from the car.
---
Had I relied solely on internet research, I'd have bought the car... and then had to live with the consequences.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
The shoes analogy could work, however, these days you can order them online and if you don't like them, send them back. It's still cheaper than buying at the store.
And make some sense this time.
I always used to purchase used car and would test drive in order to make sure there were no issues. This was the first time I would buy new, as the used market was non-existent at that time. My decision was purely based on the look, the specs sheet, the price and the good reputation Honda had.
The only thing I tested with the car was the my seating position in a show-room sample.
As the car was warranted , i felt a test drive was unnecessary. This means I really discovered the car when I drove it after taking delivery.
Looking back into it, I realize I took some risk, but the next car which could best the fit my power to weight ratio objectives would cost the double. In other words, I had no alternative car at that time.
If I had to make a choice today, this would be a bit different, but the Fit would still be a strong contender.
The second car bought as new without prior test is a 1.6 TDI DSG Golf as a company car which was delivered last February in Paris (France) . There again, I made a lot web research . Most tests results were pretty consistent in concluding this was a very balanced car with good features throughout. The closest car I drove beforehand was a VW Passat with a 2.0 TDI engine. This car was a pleasure to drive and I speculated that the Golf should not be much behind.
I compensated for VW's average reliability by purchasing a warranty extension for a total of 5 years.
Even the color for leather or body paint was chosen from a paper catalog. This means that specs aside, I totally discovered the car when I took delivery.
There again, I was not disappointed and the Golf drove in a satisfying manner.
As a conclusion, I would be ready to purchase without even seeing the final model. One important step however would be for me to seat in the driver's place and see if my driving position is OK. I would probably require a test drive for brands which are totally unfamiliar to me or with little engineering history.
Have you driven other Odyssey vans before?
I sold our Saab 900S to some friends and had to insist that they test drive it. I figured Saabs have certain peculiarities that they might not like. They bought the car, still have it and use it to commute daily.
If I'm buying new it might suffice to drive a similar car but I make the sale conditional on my satisfaction after driving it prior to signing the papers.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Please email pr@edmunds.com by November 4, 2011 with your daytime phone number and a comment about your experience.
Vanessa Vick for The New York Times
UNTESTED Charles Van Stone did not test drive the 2010 Camaro he leased.
By ALAN RIDER
AT a time when consumers have become accustomed to buying flat-screen televisions from Amazon.com without ever seeing the picture quality and ordering shoes through Zappos.com without trying them on, is it any wonder that some would buy a vehicle without ever taking a test drive?..."
This is just the first paragraph of a two page article that gives a lot of reasons, pro and con, why an increasing number of people pass on test drives.
The article talks about net research as a substitute but I think this quote may be the real reason:
"The aversion to test drives may be rooted in the dealership experience"
Translation - people hate going to car dealers.
Car Shoppers Often Skip Test Drive, Study Reveals (Inside Line)
Last month my wife bought a CPO 328i- again without a test drive. Both of us had driven several permutations of the E9x 3ers, so there was no need to waste everyone's time.
Having said all that, there is NO WAY that I would buy a car that I had not driven in the configuration I was buying. One example:
I was a bit interested in a Lincoln LS V6 with a manual. They were extremely rare and there was no way to test drive a stick prior to purchase. I might not have liked the clutch take-up or the shift quality, but I'd be stuck with the thing(I guess I should count my lucky stars that I didn't get one, as Ford threw the LS under the bus and Lincoln began to specialize in building overpriced, tarted-up Fords).
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-2021 Sahara 4xe-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
The problem is that often test drives are just too short for you to learn how comfortable the car is going to be after sitting in it cruising the Interstate for four hours.
I have done this with my last three vehicles. I know someone will say "well that's expensive" but this way I get to really test drive the car and can put bookoo miles on it and get to really feel how it drives and feels.
I am not an expensive car buyer, so almost always I can find what I am interested in at local rental agencies.
Tred, a Seattle startup with ties to former GM CEO Rick Wagoner, cuts dealership trips by delivering new vehicles for consumers to test drive and possibly purchase.
Tred drivers, not salespeople, deliver the vehicles wherever the shopper wants. The service ensures that dealerships can keep salesmen on the floor at all times, the company said."
Seattle startup tied to Wagoner delivers cars for test drives (Automotive News)
"Test drives are one of the most important parts of the new car buying process but studies show that many Americans are skipping them. Automotive marketing company DMEautomotive recently found that one third of shoppers test drive just one vehicle prior to purchase and 16 percent don’t test drive at all. Studies also show that the number of dealers a consumer visits prior to purchase has gone down substantially in the last several years."
Consumers Test Drive Less, Visit Fewer Dealerships (US News)
Unless the dealership is going to let me have the car overnight with a 200-mile limit, I really only need 10 minutes in a car for a test drive. What's the point of 30-45 minutes vs 10? Either way you're not getting enough information about the car to know how you will feel about it for the next five years.
I do a quick check that I can get comfortable in the seat and take it a couple of miles down the freeway to check for ride and noise at those speeds and call it a day.
Now if I was ever going to spend serious money on a car, then I would figure out a way to get the car for an extended period, at least overnight. But for the under-$25K cars I typically buy, it's not worth the trouble.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)