How to get test drives on rare/older sports cars
 

I'm always one to plan ahead, and am thinking about the next car after my BRZ. Having come from a FWD hot hatch to a RWD coupe, I don't see too many options to really improve on my driving experience. This is especially true as modern cars are more and more muted.

I've been thinking of an older car that will also serve as a project car (might replace the BRZ, might join it), and a Series 2 Lotus Elise piqued my interest. Question is, how do I get a test drive on one to know if I like it? They are not sold as new, are pretty rare and I doubt I'd see a used one in a dealership in my area. I can only imagine the situation getting worse in the years to come or for older/rarer cars.

I'm also considering a 987 Cayman or a 996 911 (which do pop up occasional at dealers around here) and an MR2 Spyder (not as bad as the Elise, but rarer than the Porsches).

How do people test drive these (and older) cars? I'd hate to wait until a local car's on sale only to test drive it without intention of buying it. I know Turo might be an option (specifically has a couple of Exiges, but nothing close by). Am I missing anything?

BTW, for the more mundane cars that I think of getting used in the future I test drive new cars in the dealership a few years ahead of the purchase. So if I know I'll be in the market in a couple of years for a 2-3 years old SUV I'll test drive the options today, write down my impressions (I love spreadsheets) and will be ready to shop in 2 years time.

I don't understand why you need to test drive something if you are not prepared to buy it. If a car comes up for sale and you're ready to buy it, go test drive it. If you don't like it, move on.

You must have an astounding amount of free time if you're test driving the "mundane cars" that you might be in the market for in a few years.

^^I would join online forums that specialize in those cars, to learn more about them, but more importantly (in context of this topic) to start interacting with people that own those vehicles. By doing that you can probably build enough trust with charitable individuals that live near you. At least enough to look over a car in detail and ride shotgun. All likelihood enough trust to have some let you drive their cars.

The reason is that I don't want to test drive a particular car for buying, I want to test drive a car to device which car I like. For example, if in 5 years I want to replace the BRZ with something more fun and decide I want to check out a Series 2 Elise, a 987 Cayman and a MR2 Spyder, these cars would be 15 to 25 years old. Say I see an Elise for sale, test drive it and like it, how do I know I won't like the MR2 better? Or the Cayman? So I decide to wait until I can get a test drive on them as well. While I'm waiting the Elise is sold. I would much rather know what I'll want and then wait for a good car to show up.

That's a great suggestion, but does involve a lot of effort, especially if I'm interested in multiple cars. I've actually saw a few posts like that in the past in enthusiast forums and the responses were fairly supportive. Thanks!

It's not really that odd. I do it myself, and I know others that do it. A car purchase is not a simple process for me. If I'm planning now for a car I'll probably buy in two or three years I'll want to test drive it now so I know if it's the right target.

Sometimes I'll drive a car and then know not to waste my time on it, or that I may have to wait for a new generation. (talking to you Camaro). A lot of times I'll drive it first, then do the research to determine if it's "all that". If I don't like the way it drives, no reason to do the research.

The only issue with test driving a 15 to 25 year old car is that the one you test could be very, very different from the one you buy. You could be totally deceived one way or the other and not buy something great or think you like it just to find the one you bought sucks.


I can understand the driving new ones but that could still wait until you are actually shopping not a couple of years ahead. Things can change a pile in one model year.

Agree, how can you know you want to invest in a car unless you drive it? It's not all about vetting any issues. I try to be a bit more sensitive with private sellers as I'm taking up someone's personal time - but I have no hesitation with trying out a car from a dealer. It's why they're there and it's not a crime to test drive any car (even though some snotty sales folks may act like it is).

That's a very good piece of advice, thank you! Obviously I'll take any prospective buy for a spin, but it'll help to keep in mind that older cars have more variation in how they drive. This also works in reverse - I might drive an Elise and not like it, only to discover that it was due to something unique to the specific car I drove.

Fully agreed, but with older cars it gets much harder to find them in dealerships. I haven't bought a private party car in my life, so don't really know how well is "window shopping" tolerated.

You can find some enthusiast cars on Turo, but a lot of them got taken down last year presumably because some terms of service changed and there was an exodus of owners.

I rented a Camaro, ND Miata, and Jag F-type on Turo. In LA in particular there is a massive selection of cars. I think it's very useful to try a lot of different cars like Dadhawk said. I certainly didn't expect the F-type to be as fun as it was.

Personally, I'm trying to find an AP1 S2000 to try out which is proving harder than I expected. On the East Coast, since I have no car, going somewhere away from the city to test drive a car is a whole-day commitment, or a very large amount of money spent on uber/Lyft :/ I'd also like to try a Lotus Elise.

FOMO.

one can't be happy if they're always worrying about what they don't have...

Take cash, sign a waiver.

I just research and buy what piques my interest... test drive just a formality to let you know condition of said example of vehicle. I just recently purchased a MKI MR2 (1989) after selling my FR-S and getting out of debt. Have never driven one or sat in one (have test drove a MKII MR2)... it's just a car I know I want that can provide me what the FR-S did in driving experience (and more...) and a deal happened on one I wasn't expecting at all and just couldn't pass up. Even if I end up selling it down the road, I'm practically guaranteed to get more from it than I paid for it if I keep it up... the value on good condition ones are starting to creep up... in a few years (if the world is still functioning at that time and not gone to pieces...) they will be priced like the AE86 corollas.

MR2 is a bit opposite of the FR-S in terms of why I bought it. In spite of the Subaru motor, I bought the FR-S because it was a new modern sportscar with a FR chassis focused on handling and open to mods to set it up however you wanted. I bought the MK1 MR2 specifically because of that 16 valve 4AGE motor it has (have always wanted a car with one) and, though mid-engined is not my preferred drivetrain layout, it is a classic analog sports car with no ABS or powered steering and cable throttle linkage (how I miss mechanical throttles!) I would have preferred an AE86 notchback with the same motor... they simply are too expensive for a good example.

Basically with the MR2, it's a classic car and I will be it's custodian ... a little bit different relationship from buying a brand new FR-S and being it's owner. I personally don't need a test drive in a classic car to be a custodian... it would help in seeing what areas need to be looked into but the current owner has relayed what few things need to be addressed with it, and I'm fine accepting it as is. If I got a used FR-S or other more modern car for a daily driver role that would be different, I would absolutely have to test drive it beforehand.

Bought the MR2 at the beginning of this month and will be picking it up next weekend, more excited than I ever was getting my FR-S even... and it is an old car that needs some TLC (but is in good working condition.) You can buy a used FR-S without even trying... trying to find a good condition MKI MR2 for reasonable inexpensive price is next to impossible - you take what you can get. Certainly better than the cheap trashy condition miatas I was searching through to try and find a gem.

I guess i'm weird. I bought my eight six without even doing a test drive. I wanted a new rwd lightweight sports car and the miata looked too small.

Same with my Jeep JK, although i have owned jeeps in the past so I had an idea already of what to expect.

I had a Mk1, be careful to not swap ends, they do it quite well with their mid engine layout.

And not fun oversteer, the, I'm going backwards.........NOW.......type.

You can set them up to handle really nice though, and 4AGE screaming off its tits is a beautiful thing to hear.

They make the FA sound like a tractor.

You will think your driving, a reliable, old 911.