credit check + 500$ + meet director to test drive

[omadab]

Originally Posted by Grady

Good call on gong there and also dressing better. The tactic the dealership was using was because they put you in a never going to buy just looking to drive the car category. The other issue may be do you have full coverage insurance on another car? When you test drive a car the dealer does not want you on their insurance.



Pulling the cap while running on this engine will not tell you anything, they all will spew. Also moisture buildup at the cap is normal.



Anyway keep an eye out you will find the one you want that is in good shape.

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I was going to let that slide but since you brought it up...
All engines will have some air come out when you open the oil cap. Some way more than other. There are a pile of parts moving around and the oil system itself is pressurized. Normally all that air will pass through the various vents for the emission control system but when you open the cap it is the path of least resistance so out it comes. I would be much more worried if I popped an oil cap and there was no air movement or oil "spew".
If your rings were so bad and causing that much blow by you would know it. The air coming out would reek of fuel, you would have a very dense cloud of blue smoke billowing out of the tail pipe and if really bad you would actually hear the hiss during the compression stroke. How do I know? I have been there with other cars. More than once.

Yes I agree, all engines will blow out air and throw out a bit of oil. However, some more than others, if the oil cap flies off, then I know there's probably more blow by, no?

How would you guys recommend I inspect the wear on the engine then? It is a sports car after all... so I am expecting some wear. So far I have been getting a flashlight and looking around for leaks anywhere and then removing the cap and comparing it to other cars to see which has the greatest blowby.

Also, the blue/black smoke is a good recommendation, but no car with 50 000 km will have colored smoke unless the oil had never been changed since day 1 :p

Should I just get a real mechanic to check the car? Would they even be able to detect a worn engine lol?

It is also important to note that I only buy CPO vehicles

oma

[Dave-ROR]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I was going to let that slide but since you brought it up...
All engines will have some air come out when you open the oil cap. Some way more than other. There are a pile of parts moving around and the oil system itself is pressurized. Normally all that air will pass through the various vents for the emission control system but when you open the cap it is the path of least resistance so out it comes. I would be much more worried if I popped an oil cap and there was no air movement or oil "spew".
If your rings were so bad and causing that much blow by you would know it. The air coming out would reek of fuel, you would have a very dense cloud of blue smoke billowing out of the tail pipe and if really bad you would actually hear the hiss during the compression stroke. How do I know? I have been there with other cars. More than once.

Yeah I was trying to leave it at the learning experience instead of the focusing on the details as well.

[Dave-ROR]

Originally Posted by omadab

Yes I agree, all engines will blow out air and throw out a bit of oil. However, some more than others, if the oil cap flies off, then I know there's probably more blow by, no?

How would you guys recommend I inspect the wear on the engine then? It is a sports car after all... so I am expecting some wear. So far I have been getting a flashlight and looking around for leaks anywhere and then removing the cap and comparing it to other cars to see which has the greatest blowby.

Also, the blue/black smoke is a good recommendation, but no car with 50 000 km will have colored smoke unless the oil had never been changed since day 1 :p

Should I just get a real mechanic to check the car? Would they even be able to detect a worn engine lol?

It is also important to note that I only buy CPO vehicles

oma

A PPI done by a competent mechanic will give you the real condition of the vehicle. Compression tests suck to do on these cars so they are harder than most.

CPO really doesn't mean squat expect that the dealer paid some money to certify it to mark up that investment for more profit on the sale of the vehicle. I've found CPO vehicles with obvious problems in the past.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by omadab

Yes I agree, all engines will blow out air and throw out a bit of oil. However, some more than others, if the oil cap flies off, then I know there's probably more blow by, no?

How would you guys recommend I inspect the wear on the engine then? It is a sports car after all... so I am expecting some wear. So far I have been getting a flashlight and looking around for leaks anywhere and then removing the cap and comparing it to other cars to see which has the greatest blowby.

Also, the blue/black smoke is a good recommendation, but no car with 50 000 km will have colored smoke unless the oil had never been changed since day 1 :p

Should I just get a real mechanic to check the car? Would they even be able to detect a worn engine lol?

It is also important to note that I only buy CPO vehicles

oma

You can not check for wear from the outside of the engine. These things stand up very well so wear at 50K will be almost impossible to see.
If you have blowby with enough pressure to blow a cap off you will not be able to see the rear of the car from the exhaust smoke no matter how clean the oil is. Simple as that.
Get a real mechanic to check. They can do some things you can not. Not of the old wives tales of diagnosis actually work as well as people claim. Also get the maintenance records for the car. Those will tell you more about possible wear than anything you can look at short of opening up the engine. If they don't have or won't produce records be wary.

[omadab]

Thanks for the recommendations. I'll have a mechanic check out the vehicle. Thanks for the help people

[Summerwolf]

Originally Posted by GrantedTaken

Credit check is standard protocol to weed out joyriding ricers who ain't buying squat.

Lol, I had that happen to me once. I went to look at a used CSRT4 locally and was interested in it for sure. Salesman gave me one look and asked for a credit check (28 yrs. Old btw). When I asked why he said "We dont want young people tearing up the performance cars on test drives. If you were serious you'd let us run your credit."

I said alright, walked to my cammed GTO and rolled on out. As he walked by me, mouth gaping, I said "This thing might have a little more performance than your shitbox caliber, huh?!"

Bought my CSRT4 that following weekend from another dealer. Traded in a TBSS. I just needed a daily beater.....

Credit checks are not the norm for a test drive, especially a cheap car like these things.

[Grady]

Originally Posted by Dave-ROR

haha I like to go dressed down and tend to bring my shittiest car to dealerships. I want the salesman that NEEDS a sale instead of the one that wants the safe bet/easy sale.

Ironically the one time that I've ever been turned down for a test drive was when I tried to drive a Camaro 1SS 1LE at a dealership in Orlando, FL. And that day I pulled up in normal clothes driving a Porsche Boxster Spyder.

It was a good thing though, the 2SS 1LE became available after that and I gladly bought that instead.

I do not dress up, but with his age it will help. The only one I was ever given the run around on was a new 06 Corvette. Was at the dealer getting some other stuff done. The sales man knew the chances of me buying one was slim to none.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Grady

I do not dress up, but with his age it will help. The only one I was ever given the run around on was a new 06 Corvette. Was at the dealer getting some other stuff done. The sales man knew the chances of me buying one was slim to none.

I had the reverse age thing happen when I bought the FRS. I was just killing time getting an oil change at the dealer next door and wandered in. I spent about 45 minutes looking in, under and around the car in the show room. I even popped the hood an looked at the engine. All the time the salesmen all just stood in a small group chatting and watching the scruffy old guy in the Marilyn Manson tee shirt look at the sports car. I was in no hurry so I just waited for the one sales person that had at least hello finish up with her current customer. When she was done I just walked over and said "does nobody here want to sell a car?" when the rest all of a sudden sprung to action I said "no not you guys she can make some money". I bet that even dressed as I was if I had looked at a Camry or Tundra I would have had somebody beside me at the speed of light.

[wbradley]

TL;DR

Walk into the dealer with the person who will sign the contract before asking for a discount. Far too many people negotiate, then walk out never to come back. Offer them the actual commitment on the spot in exchange for your request, otherwise manager and/or salesperson might have previous recollection in similar dealings where customers just went from store to store. That really sucks for them and indicates poor communication. In general, they might not have a good read on you as a customer but if you sit down with the salesperson and tell them what you told us I am sure there will be an understanding. They are writing the order on the condition that you test drive the vehicle, bit premature IMHO. Purchase subject to inspection and credit (when your father MUST participate). Your father really needs to go in with you IMHO.

Edit: I see it is a used car and you are being kinda weird diagnosing things with the engine that I might question Get a mechanic to inspect to finalize sale. If you are unsure of condition, wait for something else.

Better for you AND the dealer!

PS I hear Quebec is sometimes pretty shady with used cars, so yeah.

[g e]

Originally Posted by omadab

Hello guys, I am back. I am sorry if I am annoying with all these questions, but I tend to get lots of helpful advice from this great community

So, I've been looking for a car. When I called the sales man today, I asked to make an appointment for a test drive which he immediately responded with no we don't do test drives. I asked him how I am expected to buy a car without test driving it and he told me that to test drive it, we need to do a credit check, we need a 500$ payment and we need to meet the director. I have never experienced anything like this before (me and my father have bought 3 cars together before). My dad has a very good credit score. I don't understand why they need to check the credit score + take 500$ (refundable) for a test drive. It is also very rare for someone at my age to buy a sports car (idk if that has anything to do with it)

Thanks

These are not serious people.

Go somewhere else.

[g e]

Originally Posted by omadab

Okay a little update.
Called back and told them I'm willing to do the credit check + 500$. now they want me to also sign a contract (im assuming to buy the car) before I even get to test drive it. idk if thats how they work or if theyre trying to hide a problem with the car and force the sale onto me.....
I'm really bummed cuz its the nicest in the city and I can't even fucking buy it. I'm trying to give them my money but they don't want it....

With all the BS I am guessing this far from being the finest car in the city and they are playing on jacking up your emotions to get you psychologically invested.

Expand your search and be patient.

[g e]

Originally Posted by Dave-ROR

haha I like to go dressed down and tend to bring my shittiest car to dealerships. I want the salesman that NEEDS a sale instead of the one that wants the safe bet/easy sale.

Ironically the one time that I've ever been turned down for a test drive was when I tried to drive a Camaro 1SS 1LE at a dealership in Orlando, FL. And that day I pulled up in normal clothes driving a Porsche Boxster Spyder.

It was a good thing though, the 2SS 1LE became available after that and I gladly bought that instead.

When I visit a car dealership the first time I ask for the sales manager. Hearty handshake, smile explain what my purpose is. And then I ask to work with the best sales guy/gal they have.

I kinda think they just do it on rotation because the folks I get to talk to make me wonder how they function in modern society.

But when it comes time to buy it’s all done through the internet team... by best bid.

[g e]

For all the nonsense one experiences in the car lot, it’s amateur hour compared to shopping for a home mortgage. There are some real sharp angles used by these people ... mostly not to your advantage.

A colleague and his wife found dream house and thought they had locked in mortgage rate and were ready to close.

On closing day they were told they had some negative stuff impacting credit scores and the rate going forward would be far higher than was initially presented. Incredulously, they signed anyway.

Every mortgage rep I have talked to since I have warned that if any funny business then no deal. And I would look into legal remedies. No one ever f@cked with me.

[Go Frogs]

Originally Posted by Summerwolf

Credit checks are not the norm for a test drive, especially a cheap car like these things.

Disagree. it depends on the business...

Test drives can have an affect on your credit score. It all depends on the particular FICO number used (I think they are up to #9), but different FICO numbers are used for different things.

Regardless of buy or not, if you go test drive the $60k car/truck, that is an indication that you potentially want to buy said $60k car/truck, at least to the lenders.

In the end, it is all invisible to you, but behind the grand scheme of the credit score rules (made up by the banks), all they see is risk.

The more cars you test drive, the more "risk" is involved as you are showing interest in what is perceived as a "possible purchase".

I know the credit score thing is a bunch of smoke in mirrors, but test driving cars, whether one or alot, cheap or expensive, will have some effect on your credit score. How much is hard to tell.

plenty of articles on the topic.