Test Drives - problems?
 

So, I went to my local Toyota/Scion dealer and wanted to test drive an FR-S. I was told, quite emphatically, that they are not allowing test drives per a directive from upper management. The reasons cited were that the FR-S is a limited production vehicle and they want to keep the miles low, and that this dealer only has 3 left and are not certain if they are getting more. The salesman seemed to suggest that they are only producing a small number of FR-S' (he said 2,000 in the US).

Is this the norm for this car or is this dealer just being unreasonable? Curious if others have been told the same thing.

I'd try another Scion dealer, but the next closest one isn't in an area I frequent often, and to be honest I don't want to waste my time if I'm going to be told the same thing.

I have the BRZ, but I'd imagine you're going to see this A LOT from both sides. I'd say you're basically going to have to be in the position to say yes or no after you've already displayed you can afford (credit etc) to purchase the car. In my case I'd pre-ordered and did all my paperwork before actually driving the car. Had I changed my mind we'd torn the paperwork up, but I was sold. :)

I don't know if they are just making 2,000 in th US but most dealership won't let anyone just test driving the frs. I think they will let u if ur a serious buyer

Wasn't it scions goal to sell 10,000 for the remainder of this year and 20,000 next year? Doesn't sound that limited..

Oh, and I didn't notice the 2,000 but I think that is a bit low for the FRS...

I first heard about this car in an article in Esquire. I'm more of a German car fan and don't follow what a lot of the Japanese brands do (although I do drive an old 2006 Mazda 3). Anyway, seems like a lot of hassle to go through just for a test drive. A car is a fairly big purchase, so I want to drive it before I commit my time to doing any kind of paperwork. Obviously your case is different, but I admire your dedication before even driving it :).

That's what I thought too - but the salesman didn't even ask if I was interested in buying one.

If that is true than this particular salesman is spreading FUD.

My local Scion dealer and three nearby Subaru dealers all require a deposit and paperwork before allowing a test drive.

Then I called a Subaru dealer that wasn't very local, and they had a car available for testing.

So it isn't unusual to limit test drives, but if you keep calling around, you might get lucky :)

That's a bit discouraging. I've never had to pay for a test drive before (and I've test drove Audi, Mercedes, and BMW before). I guess simple supply and demand is in effect here.

Oddly enough there is a Subaru dealer close to the Scion dealer I was at and they didn't have any BRZ's on display.

I can't quote numbers but I am sure that the BRZ will be more limited than the FRS... Others on here can back me up on this statement. :)

Oh, and yeah... I was VERY ready to get this car as it fit exactly what I wanted in a car. Thus I had no issue with how I had to go about getting it... Unless they were going to charge over MSRP, because then I'd just walked away!

That's how I was 7 years ago when I bought my Mazda 3. It was my first new car and I knew exactly what I wanted, and knew several months before I purchased. I'm seeing the same sort of behavior I exhibited then, except now the car is the FR-S. Curious - why did you buy the BRZ over the FR-S?

I liked the extra "features" came with the Limited package... Alacantra seats, heated seats and other little things like that. It seemed to be the best value and I liked the look a little more. (Especially the headlights/halo.)

Also I may get some heat thrown my way but the Scion badge was a turn off too. Had the car only been sold as a Scion though it would have been what I got! :happy0180:

Some dealers prefer you to schedule the test drive rather than jst do a walk in.

Got it! If you're going to spend the money, makes sense to get what you want. In my area, I have less of a concern for what badge is on the car, but for what is the better fit for me. I will admit that I think the BRZ has the better interior - have you compared to an FR-S in that regard?

I just noticed a form for this on the dealer's website, although they don't have a field to specify what vehicle. Hmm - I might try this route and see. Maybe they just don't like walk-ins?