test drives - anyone been able to score one w/o a deposit or guaranteeing purchase?

[Smitty_89]

lol are you serious? I've done test drives at 3 different dealerships here in Raleigh and we didn't even discuss anything about a deposit. Put down a deposit at one of those dealerships like a month later. Then he let me test drive it again and told me to drive like I usually would. Let me really rip into the car. It was awesome!

[fiveoneoh]

yes, i'm serious. is it cause i'm female? i look about 15 years younger than i really am? i'm not sure.. i even went in during the work day so i was wearing "business casual" (cuz i mean bidness, haha), not teenager cut off shorts and converse. same BS runaround...

Well at least your responses are reassuring. A test drive is out there somewhere, I just need to keep searching...

[White64Goat]

Take the phone number for Scion Headquarters with you and when they give you the BS story, ask if you can borrow the phone and call Scion and I bet they change their tune. If they still give you the BS story then just flat out report it to Scion and then write a letter to the editor of the local newspaper and let the townsfolk know how their local business is treating perspective customers. Then you can always post to Yelp or other sites that take customer ratings and reviews. I wouldn't take their BS for one minute. Now if they only have cars that were ordered by people, then I can see their reasoning.

[RidetheTran]

2 weeks after the official release of the FR-S, I went to Toyota of Orange to check out if they had it in stock for me to see it in person. The second I got there, a salesman walks up to me, shows me the FR-S, talks about the car (which I knew all about, even more than he did), and out of nowhere, hands me a key. The only question he asked was if I was 18 years old...and in fact I was 22...Surprisingly, he never asked for my drivers license. Those 5 minutes behind the wheel was awesome. Went in the car with a smile and came out of it with a even bigger smile. The dealer even told me to drive til the needle hits redline, turned on sport mode, and TURNED OFF the traction control (Which I turned right back on, knowing something bad could've happened and I'd be responsible) It was such a tease. All with No deposit, no license check, and no credit check.

[Calidrifter]

I got to test drive my car pre purchase. I live in LA.

[sho220]

Originally Posted by Smitty_89

lol are you serious? I've done test drives at 3 different dealerships here in Raleigh and we didn't even discuss anything about a deposit. Put down a deposit at one of those dealerships like a month later. Then he let me test drive it again and told me to drive like I usually would. Let me really rip into the car. It was awesome!

And this is why I fall on the other side of this argument...I don't want a bunch of people with no intent to buy, "ripping" on a car I may be looking at buying...

[PMok]

looks like you're in NorCal, so am I. I didn't find any dealerships in NorCal willing to give a test drive unless you are seriously about to buy the car they have on the lot. So I went to SoCal and some dealerships like Kearny Mesa Scion in San Diego have a dedicated demo car available for test drives. It was fantastic, I walked in, found a guy in the Scion department, and he took my DL for info purposes, and off we went for a drive. It isn't going to be sold to anyone as a new car so I had no hesitation to rev it up and throw it into the turns like I had stolen it, and the salesman was cool enough to let me take it up and down the highway a few times and helpfully pointed out which turns I could use to test the handling on. If you're serious about buying this car and willing to go a little distance to test drive and maybe even get a better deal on it, consider going to SoCal.

[FRomar-S]

If you do some research on the car and like pretty much everything about it, minus the unknowns (aka the drive), you could do what I did.

I called around a few places that were getting FR-S's with no deposit currently on them. When I found one, we wrote up all the paperwork and I gave them a $1000 deposit. Written in the contract that was signed, the deposit/purchase was contingent upon test drive as I was not 100% sold on the color/transmission. Of course I went the next day, saw it and couldn't say no to it.. which is basically what the salesperson said the night before anyway :p

[Neekowahhhh]

When i first got news that BMW would be reimbursing me for my lemon, i called around to see which dealerships in my area had cars on site. Ended up getting in contact with a salesman named John at Riverside Toyota/Scion. I made it short and simple when i called, expressing my interest in the vehicle and how serious i actually was about it. Let him know that i need to test drive it first before even considering buying it just to confirm as to which one i wanted(at/mt)

went in a week later and he was busy with a customer but came to talk to me. I let him know that i was on a short schedule and didn't have time to wait. Jumped in with me and we were off..

I think calling ahead can make a big difference if you show your actual interest and explain that your busy.

on another forum that i frequent a guy posted about how he has driven almost every vehicle you can think of simply by following a few steps. ill try and find it and post it in the Off-topic if i do.

best of luck

[fiveoneoh]

Thank you for that information. I am willing to make a trip to socal for a test drive. I will definitely check them out (SD dealer).

I hope they'll still have the car available in 1-2 months time! If any one knows of other dealerships in Socal with a dedicated demo car, please share.

Originally Posted by PMok

looks like you're in NorCal, so am I. I didn't find any dealerships in NorCal willing to give a test drive unless you are seriously about to buy the car they have on the lot. So I went to SoCal and some dealerships like Kearny Mesa Scion in San Diego have a dedicated demo car available for test drives. It was fantastic, I walked in, found a guy in the Scion department, and he took my DL for info purposes, and off we went for a drive. It isn't going to be sold to anyone as a new car so I had no hesitation to rev it up and throw it into the turns like I had stolen it, and the salesman was cool enough to let me take it up and down the highway a few times and helpfully pointed out which turns I could use to test the handling on. If you're serious about buying this car and willing to go a little distance to test drive and maybe even get a better deal on it, consider going to SoCal.

[encity5]

Walked in near closing time saw a red mt, asked for a test drive, and was on my way no deposit or guarantee of purchase.

But I did end up thinking about it to the point of buying it that night anyway -.-

[GNS]

Walked in to a local dealership, test drove a black FRS MT. But it was one of two designated as test drive vehicles only, so no issue there.

[eriktherod]

I'd find another dealership. I know it's a pain in the ass, but if they won't budge, they don't deserve your business. Like others have said, I can understand they don't want every person that comes through to joy ride the car and "ruin" it for the potential buyer -- I get it. However, it's unreasonable to expect someone to buy a car without test driving it. I know many people have with this car, and that's their choice, but that's definitely not the norm.

I think the car is starting to lose the hype, I've heard of a bunch of FRS sitting in nearby dealerships (I assume AT, as that one sells slower). So I'm hoping that the dealerships will be more lax with the cars and stop acting like they're selling them before they get them in (some are but not all).

As someone has said, state your intentions. Tell them straight up, "I could easily buy this car today, but I want to drive it first." (unless you're not certain) If you come across as a very serious buyer, they will work with you. If they give you trouble, look for the manager since the grunts may just be adhering to what their superiors told them and often times a manager will come and "fix" the situation.

I thought it was funny, I showed up to "just take a look" at the red one (was not sure about color). I'm 25 but I probably looked a good 21 if that, freshly shaved in a polo with some jeans and tennis shoes. Granted, I think they knew I work at the local race shop and my Si was very visibly and audibly not stock. Anyhow, the salesman was showing me the car, opened the door and told me to sit in it. He sat in it with me, handed me the keys, and said, "let's take it for a drive?"

[goincarcrazy]

It was like pulling teeth to get a test drive. Keith Pierson Toyota/Scion. I called ahead and told em the story, month out from buying, looking at this, genesis coupe or veloster turbo, need to compare before making decision etc and finally got them to say yeah, come in and we can go for a drive. I get there and the lady that was helping me was busy so I talked to another salesman who started with the whole "can't test without a deposit" speech, but said that was my reason for coming and that I had already gotten the ok. From there it was no problem to test drive and if anyone DOES go to the Kieth Pierson Toyota/Scion, Brian is a cool guy to deal with.

I had to leave the car there though because they're still charging a $5000 dealer mark up with an extra $1800 for tint, after market alarm, and some sort of BS paint protection. I'll have one soon enough though.