Test Driving Cars
Discussion
This is something I've never quite understood, maybe somebody else has some thoughts but basically surrounding the first discussions between customer and dealerships.
I'm a bit addicted to change so if the right things fall into place at some point in the future I'm going to change my car whether that's in 1 month or 2 years from now, we're not in a world where I'll never buy another car again. Somewhere along this line I want to work out what that next car I'm going to buy is actually going to be and I don't think I'm alone in this but I don't decide one day I'm buying a new car then go to a some dealerships and choose on that very day. I'd prefer to take time, see things and think about it and wait for the right car to come to me and when I do stumble across it I'll buy it, like I said who knows when that might be.
So here's the bit I don't understand, I called my local Aston dealership and said I'd like to have a poke around a DBS Volante because I expect that's what I'm going to want next but here's the problem, this particular dealership don't want to let me take a test drive because I wasn't able to say I'll definitely buy it if it's all ok so after this goes around in a loop a bit I give up and I'll forget about it for a while. What are you actually supposed to do? Tell everyone you are definitely buying their cars? I mean I'll want to explore the SLS, California and DBS I think at this stage and have no idea how you go about it because I don't want to tell them all I'm buying their cars and then feel guilty when I don't!
I only bring this up because I've spent today with Maserati throwing some of their cars including the Gran Cabrio around a track - the only one to take my fancy was the Granturismo MC-Shift but that's not really appropriate for me so can rule Maserati out for now.
I'm a bit addicted to change so if the right things fall into place at some point in the future I'm going to change my car whether that's in 1 month or 2 years from now, we're not in a world where I'll never buy another car again. Somewhere along this line I want to work out what that next car I'm going to buy is actually going to be and I don't think I'm alone in this but I don't decide one day I'm buying a new car then go to a some dealerships and choose on that very day. I'd prefer to take time, see things and think about it and wait for the right car to come to me and when I do stumble across it I'll buy it, like I said who knows when that might be.
So here's the bit I don't understand, I called my local Aston dealership and said I'd like to have a poke around a DBS Volante because I expect that's what I'm going to want next but here's the problem, this particular dealership don't want to let me take a test drive because I wasn't able to say I'll definitely buy it if it's all ok so after this goes around in a loop a bit I give up and I'll forget about it for a while. What are you actually supposed to do? Tell everyone you are definitely buying their cars? I mean I'll want to explore the SLS, California and DBS I think at this stage and have no idea how you go about it because I don't want to tell them all I'm buying their cars and then feel guilty when I don't!
I only bring this up because I've spent today with Maserati throwing some of their cars including the Gran Cabrio around a track - the only one to take my fancy was the Granturismo MC-Shift but that's not really appropriate for me so can rule Maserati out for now.
I like to have test drives in lots of different cars too before I buy. I found it difficult finding places that would take me seriously too. Probably didn't help that I turned up in a bright yellow Ford Fiesta 
Would you go for the SLS roadster just out of curiosity? I looked at the gullwing SLS and I wasn't a huge fan. It drove well but the bonnet was so long, and it is ridiculously wide. Also quite awkward to get into, has wide door sills, and the headroom was poor I found. And I smacked my head on the door when I got out Sounds fantastic though. I'm hoping the roadster is a big improvement, although I would rather it had the 6.2 V8 rather than the 5.5 turbo.
I ruled out the California straight away because it had a prancing horse on the bonnet, and sadly the Maserati wasn't out when I was looking at cars. How does one get a day hammering their cars around a track if you don't mind me asking. I imagine that is a lot of fun.
Would you go for the SLS roadster just out of curiosity? I looked at the gullwing SLS and I wasn't a huge fan. It drove well but the bonnet was so long, and it is ridiculously wide. Also quite awkward to get into, has wide door sills, and the headroom was poor I found. And I smacked my head on the door when I got out
Sounds fantastic though. I'm hoping the roadster is a big improvement, although I would rather it had the 6.2 V8 rather than the 5.5 turbo.I ruled out the California straight away because it had a prancing horse on the bonnet, and sadly the Maserati wasn't out when I was looking at cars. How does one get a day hammering their cars around a track if you don't mind me asking. I imagine that is a lot of fun.
Edited by George H on Wednesday 20th July 20:40
Shmee said:
I'm a bit addicted to change so if the right things fall into place at some point in the future I'm going to change my car whether that's in 1 month or 2 years from now, we're not in a world where I'll never buy another car again. Somewhere along this line I want to work out what that next car I'm going to buy is actually going to be and I don't think I'm alone in this but I don't decide one day I'm buying a new car then go to a some dealerships and choose on that very day. I'd prefer to take time, see things and think about it and wait for the right car to come to me and when I do stumble across it I'll buy it, like I said who knows when that might be.
Good post. I'm in almost the same boat as you. I simply refuse to buy the first car that comes along as I want to do some research and make sure I get the car I really want, rather than the first one that catches my eye.To that end, I want to do some test drives too. I want to compare a Sportshift Vantage against a manual version and compare standard seats against lightweight seats and basically see which of the above I prefer. Once i've done that, I will definitely be in a better position to know exactly what I want from the car.
Going to a dealer and being honest with them by saying that i'm not looking for a new car, giving them my budget and then asking for various test drives, is proving problematic. Mind you, i've only tried one since i've got back from holiday and I need to do some more research yet. Equally, asking to test drive a used Vantage under the proviso that I am just comparing vehicles at the moment isn't conducive to them allowing me to test what they have.
I refuse to lie and say that I am definitely interested in a vehicle when I am merely using it for comparison purposes but I might consider saying that "I am looking for a car and would prefer it to come from a main dealer, so if you treat me well then you will get my custom if you can find me the car I want."
I scheduled an appointment with a local used car dealer so I could check out an '07 Vantage they had for sale. I pulled up with my better half in my very eye-catching yellow Esprit. The sales guy who was dressed in shorts, old stained polo shirt, and docksiders with no socks walks over, asks if I was the guy who called and then said he was going to get the keys. Upon his return he opens the driver door, but stands in the way indicating that the car belonged to a friend of the dealer and that he didn't really want me sitting in it (!). I'm kind of puzzled at this time and continue looking around. The car was nice with only 6K miles, but the interior looked a bit dirty including what looked like soda pop drop stains on the passenger seat.
I asked the guy about taking it out for a test drive and he said he would only do that if we agreed on a price and I put down a $5000USD deposit first and then I could ride while he drove the car! I told him, I didn't know in what planet he sold cars, but I would most certainly not make an offer or put money down without having even sat in the car. When I mentioned that the car could have problems not uncovered until a test drive he said I could trust him that there was nothing wrong with the car. To this I replied "why would I trust a used car salesman who won't even let me sit in the car?".
As a last ditch effort, I offered him to hold onto the keys to my Esprit where upon he pitched his last insult by stating that a Lotus was not the same caliber of car as an Aston!
I could tell this guy had no interest in actually selling the car, so I walked off as I thanked him for wasting our time.
That same night, we went to the Aston dealer in Orlando where one of my Lotus buddies had started working as a salesperson and took a short test drive in a V8V. A week later, the car was in my garage. I stopped by in my new car to the used car dealer recently hoping to run into that stupid sales guy but he wasn't in. One of the owners was there however, and I did offer of few choice words as to how we were treated and how they lost a sale. While I was there, I made a point of parking next to their car and took a few snaps which I posted in another thread, but here they are again:
I understand sales guys want to stop joyriders, but obviously they need to do a better job profiling clients if they want to make a sale.
I asked the guy about taking it out for a test drive and he said he would only do that if we agreed on a price and I put down a $5000USD deposit first and then I could ride while he drove the car! I told him, I didn't know in what planet he sold cars, but I would most certainly not make an offer or put money down without having even sat in the car. When I mentioned that the car could have problems not uncovered until a test drive he said I could trust him that there was nothing wrong with the car. To this I replied "why would I trust a used car salesman who won't even let me sit in the car?".
As a last ditch effort, I offered him to hold onto the keys to my Esprit where upon he pitched his last insult by stating that a Lotus was not the same caliber of car as an Aston!
I could tell this guy had no interest in actually selling the car, so I walked off as I thanked him for wasting our time.
That same night, we went to the Aston dealer in Orlando where one of my Lotus buddies had started working as a salesperson and took a short test drive in a V8V. A week later, the car was in my garage. I stopped by in my new car to the used car dealer recently hoping to run into that stupid sales guy but he wasn't in. One of the owners was there however, and I did offer of few choice words as to how we were treated and how they lost a sale. While I was there, I made a point of parking next to their car and took a few snaps which I posted in another thread, but here they are again:
I understand sales guys want to stop joyriders, but obviously they need to do a better job profiling clients if they want to make a sale.
George H said:
Would you go for the SLS roadster just out of curiosity? I looked at the gullwing SLS and I wasn't a huge fan. It drove well but the bonnet was so long, and it is ridiculously wide. Also quite awkward to get into, has wide door sills, and the headroom was poor I found. And I smacked my head on the door when I got out Sounds fantastic though. I'm hoping the roadster is a big improvement, although I would rather it had the 6.2 V8 rather than the 5.5 turbo.
I ruled out the California straight away because it had a prancing horse on the bonnet, and sadly the Maserati wasn't out when I was looking at cars. How does one get a day hammering their cars around a track if you don't mind me asking. I imagine that is a lot of fun.
In theory I'd never be without a convertible but the price of used SLS is certainly of interest and it's an awful lot of car for the money. Sounds fantastic though. I'm hoping the roadster is a big improvement, although I would rather it had the 6.2 V8 rather than the 5.5 turbo.I ruled out the California straight away because it had a prancing horse on the bonnet, and sadly the Maserati wasn't out when I was looking at cars. How does one get a day hammering their cars around a track if you don't mind me asking. I imagine that is a lot of fun.
I have always had a soft spot for the California, love them!
The Maserati day was a bit odd really; I had previously enquired about a Gran Cabrio but this seemed completely independent on that and as simple as they had my e-mail address and invited me.
Highrisedrifter said:
I refuse to lie and say that I am definitely interested in a vehicle when I am merely using it for comparison purposes but I might consider saying that "I am looking for a car and would prefer it to come from a main dealer, so if you treat me well then you will get my custom if you can find me the car I want."
I suppose I'm not yet at a stage where I'd go anywhere out of my way to look at a car I wasn't actually interested in so it's all a bit funny but yes that could even work; I can even tell you that this dealership network have what looks to be an awesome version of the car on their books - the problem being I'm not up for a 400 mile return trip to go and see it when I haven't even a clue if I want one!steelej said:
You simply just say you're interested in X,Y and Z and you want to try them all out before you make a decision.
Sadly I don't think it's that simple, they still don't really seem to be interested.michael gould said:
So shmee,you asked your dealer to test drive their 176k car and when asked if you liked the car wouldnit be likely that you would but it ......to which you replied..... no.......and your surprised they didn't want to give you a test drive
Duh
Come on, do you honestly think that's how the conversation went?!? My reply was more like "Yes, if I like it" but that wasn't good enough.Duh
I dont normally venture into the Aston Martin foru, but I found this quite intersting (I usually stick to the Porsche forums 
).Anyway, my dad has had a similar experience before with these types of dealers, he went to look at a Maserati a couple of years ago, but then refused to let him out in it unless he would pay a deposit on it. This was a properly booked meeting and told him he would be driving the car, pretty outragous in my opinion. Again recently we had a similar experience, we went to look at a lovely TVR chimaera, the people on the phone were more than happy for us to have a look and a drive, after making a faily long journey down there, and knowing we were serious they refused to let my dad out unless we were fully committed to buying the car 
Shmee do you know if Aston Martin have an official newsletter? If so they may have offers for test drives in there. We had a 24 hour test drive in any Porsche of our choice because we signed up for a newsletter from them (my dad has a old 944 you see).
As far as I can see dealers will not be changing their tactics around test drives, I think its rediculas that having seen you turn up in an Aston, they'd perhaps take you more seriously as a customer of theirs.
).Anyway, my dad has had a similar experience before with these types of dealers, he went to look at a Maserati a couple of years ago, but then refused to let him out in it unless he would pay a deposit on it. This was a properly booked meeting and told him he would be driving the car, pretty outragous in my opinion. Again recently we had a similar experience, we went to look at a lovely TVR chimaera, the people on the phone were more than happy for us to have a look and a drive, after making a faily long journey down there, and knowing we were serious they refused to let my dad out unless we were fully committed to buying the car Shmee do you know if Aston Martin have an official newsletter? If so they may have offers for test drives in there. We had a 24 hour test drive in any Porsche of our choice because we signed up for a newsletter from them (my dad has a old 944 you see).
As far as I can see dealers will not be changing their tactics around test drives, I think its rediculas that having seen you turn up in an Aston, they'd perhaps take you more seriously as a customer of theirs.
Shmee said:
In theory I'd never be without a convertible but the price of used SLS is certainly of interest and it's an awful lot of car for the money.
I have always had a soft spot for the California, love them!
The Maserati day was a bit odd really; I had previously enquired about a Gran Cabrio but this seemed completely independent on that and as simple as they had my e-mail address and invited me.
With you on the convertible thing, cant beat open top motoring. The used SLS's are a lot of car for the money as you say, but if I wanted a fast Merc, a second hand SL65AMG would be where my money would be going. I was looking at them the other day in the classifieds, a bargain now (relatively speaking from what they cost new). Can pick one up for circa £40k, a bit more for a good example. I have always had a soft spot for the California, love them!
The Maserati day was a bit odd really; I had previously enquired about a Gran Cabrio but this seemed completely independent on that and as simple as they had my e-mail address and invited me.
I have a real soft spot for AMG Mercs, my dad had several, but I don't think I could live with an SLS coupe. Hopefully in a few months the roadster will have depreciated as much as the coupe has, that would be a very tempting proposal.
The interior is a bit poor for a car of that price too, and the extras are ridiculously priced. Easy to add £40k+ to the price tag, I think one paint option is about £12k
I think I may have to have a look to where my nearest Maserati dealer is too, if that is the sort of treatment that gets given to potential customers!
Shmee, I know we blow hot and cold on Dealers vis a vis service, but I have to say your story does not scream out 'credible buyer' to me.
You fancied a razz in the car and they didn't let you - no probs. Are you on their mailing list, do you pop in for a cuppa when passing, do you keep in touch with them, do you try to support their open evenings (even for the Cygnet), have you afforded them a 'spec' of your future needs ??
I do all of these with Stratstone and I have no problem getting a prodrive in a Virage, and a test drive in ANY of the road cars. They are fully aware that I am an active buyer, even though there may be 3/4 years between purchases. They know the type of car I'm next looking for, the spec of my current car which will be traded in, the exact amount of funds available to make a target price etc.
They are also aware that they have to work for my custom or I will look elsewhere, as I did with the last Service.
I'm sorry that you feel affronted but you must be comforted that the next car you buy will not have built up several hundreds of miles on dubious test drives by people with far less scruples than you have
You fancied a razz in the car and they didn't let you - no probs. Are you on their mailing list, do you pop in for a cuppa when passing, do you keep in touch with them, do you try to support their open evenings (even for the Cygnet), have you afforded them a 'spec' of your future needs ??
I do all of these with Stratstone and I have no problem getting a prodrive in a Virage, and a test drive in ANY of the road cars. They are fully aware that I am an active buyer, even though there may be 3/4 years between purchases. They know the type of car I'm next looking for, the spec of my current car which will be traded in, the exact amount of funds available to make a target price etc.
They are also aware that they have to work for my custom or I will look elsewhere, as I did with the last Service.
I'm sorry that you feel affronted but you must be comforted that the next car you buy will not have built up several hundreds of miles on dubious test drives by people with far less scruples than you have
Edited by Jockman on Thursday 21st July 08:04
I had no problem with the AM dealers in Cheshire, Exeter or Sunderland in getting test drives in various set ups and cars. Never did the DBS as it is "not my cup of tea"
Shmee either they didn't believe you were serious or they are too protective.
Go outside London you might get a better response "in the sticks"
BTW I did find once I'd done the test drives and told them what I wanted 2 of the dealers didn't bother progressing it!
Now that I find frustrating, unprofessional and confusing!
Shmee either they didn't believe you were serious or they are too protective.
Go outside London you might get a better response "in the sticks"
BTW I did find once I'd done the test drives and told them what I wanted 2 of the dealers didn't bother progressing it!
Now that I find frustrating, unprofessional and confusing!
shmee you need to read your own posts.........you said
"this particular dealership don't want to let me take a test drive because I wasn't able to say I'll definitely buy it if it's all ok so after this goes around in a loop a bit I give up and I'll forget about it for a while."
Dealers are independant businesses not extensions of Aston Martin Ltd.....they are not interested in young men test driving their cars in the hope that some time in the future they might buy one
get real........you approached it badly
"this particular dealership don't want to let me take a test drive because I wasn't able to say I'll definitely buy it if it's all ok so after this goes around in a loop a bit I give up and I'll forget about it for a while."
Dealers are independant businesses not extensions of Aston Martin Ltd.....they are not interested in young men test driving their cars in the hope that some time in the future they might buy one
get real........you approached it badly
Dalto123 said:
Shmee do you know if Aston Martin have an official newsletter? If so they may have offers for test drives in there. We had a 24 hour test drive in any Porsche of our choice because we signed up for a newsletter from them (my dad has a old 944 you see).
As far as I can see dealers will not be changing their tactics around test drives, I think its rediculas that having seen you turn up in an Aston, they'd perhaps take you more seriously as a customer of theirs.
The underlying issue I guess is something somebody else mentioned, I haven't really had much contact with this dealership; it isn't the one I bought my current car from and as it hasn't technically had a service yet I haven't given them any money.As far as I can see dealers will not be changing their tactics around test drives, I think its rediculas that having seen you turn up in an Aston, they'd perhaps take you more seriously as a customer of theirs.
George H said:
With you on the convertible thing, cant beat open top motoring. The used SLS's are a lot of car for the money as you say, but if I wanted a fast Merc, a second hand SL65AMG would be where my money would be going. I was looking at them the other day in the classifieds, a bargain now (relatively speaking from what they cost new). Can pick one up for circa £40k, a bit more for a good example.
I have a real soft spot for AMG Mercs, my dad had several, but I don't think I could live with an SLS coupe. Hopefully in a few months the roadster will have depreciated as much as the coupe has, that would be a very tempting proposal.
The interior is a bit poor for a car of that price too, and the extras are ridiculously priced. Easy to add £40k+ to the price tag, I think one paint option is about £12k
I think I may have to have a look to where my nearest Maserati dealer is too, if that is the sort of treatment that gets given to potential customers!
The thing I find with an SL65 or SL63 is that they aren't dramatic enough; great cars and seriously good looking but they do blend in a bit. Time will definitely tell what happens to SLS Roadsters though, it will be interesting to watch.I have a real soft spot for AMG Mercs, my dad had several, but I don't think I could live with an SLS coupe. Hopefully in a few months the roadster will have depreciated as much as the coupe has, that would be a very tempting proposal.
The interior is a bit poor for a car of that price too, and the extras are ridiculously priced. Easy to add £40k+ to the price tag, I think one paint option is about £12k
I think I may have to have a look to where my nearest Maserati dealer is too, if that is the sort of treatment that gets given to potential customers!
With regards to Maserati I think they have a very different attitude because most people go looking for something else and don't have Maserati as their first choice, therefore it's much more of a focused-sell than some other brands need to do.
Jockman said:
Shmee, I know we blow hot and cold on Dealers vis a vis service, but I have to say your story does not scream out 'credible buyer' to me.
You fancied a razz in the car and they didn't let you - no probs. Are you on their mailing list, do you pop in for a cuppa when passing, do you keep in touch with them, do you try to support their open evenings (even for the Cygnet), have you afforded them a 'spec' of your future needs ??
I do all of these with Stratstone and I have no problem getting a prodrive in a Virage, and a test drive in ANY of the road cars. They are fully aware that I am an active buyer, even though there may be 3/4 years between purchases. They know the type of car I'm next looking for, the spec of my current car which will be traded in, the exact amount of funds available to make a target price etc.
They are also aware that they have to work for my custom or I will look elsewhere, as I did with the last Service.
I'm sorry that you feel affronted but you must be comforted that the next car you buy will not have built up several hundreds of miles on dubious test drives by people with far less scruples than you have
Jockman you do have a very good point hidden away in there. I didn't actually buy my current car from this dealership and nor has it had a service, therefore I have never actually given them a penny (except for an umbrella!) so I can now simply see where they are coming from.You fancied a razz in the car and they didn't let you - no probs. Are you on their mailing list, do you pop in for a cuppa when passing, do you keep in touch with them, do you try to support their open evenings (even for the Cygnet), have you afforded them a 'spec' of your future needs ??
I do all of these with Stratstone and I have no problem getting a prodrive in a Virage, and a test drive in ANY of the road cars. They are fully aware that I am an active buyer, even though there may be 3/4 years between purchases. They know the type of car I'm next looking for, the spec of my current car which will be traded in, the exact amount of funds available to make a target price etc.
They are also aware that they have to work for my custom or I will look elsewhere, as I did with the last Service.
I'm sorry that you feel affronted but you must be comforted that the next car you buy will not have built up several hundreds of miles on dubious test drives by people with far less scruples than you have
Sounds like my next call is to head out of town to the dealership the has done some work on my car.
mikey k said:
I had no problem with the AM dealers in Cheshire, Exeter or Sunderland in getting test drives in various set ups and cars. Never did the DBS as it is "not my cup of tea"
Shmee either they didn't believe you were serious or they are too protective.
Go outside London you might get a better response "in the sticks"
BTW I did find once I'd done the test drives and told them what I wanted 2 of the dealers didn't bother progressing it!
As Jockman pointed out, I've had very little contact with this dealership in my AM ownership so it's not too surprising that they aren't keen; as someone said it's a seriously expensive piece of kit and who's to know if I'm going to buy one.Shmee either they didn't believe you were serious or they are too protective.
Go outside London you might get a better response "in the sticks"
BTW I did find once I'd done the test drives and told them what I wanted 2 of the dealers didn't bother progressing it!
A bit odd that dealers didn't push to sell you a car even after you knew what you wanted though!
michael gould said:
Dealers are independant businesses not extensions of Aston Martin Ltd.....they are not interested in young men test driving their cars in the hope that some time in the future they might buy one
Well in which case that's absolutely stupid of them. Aged 23 I'm probably going to be buying cars for another 50+ years; if a brand like AM keeps my fancy (and the appropriate dealership) I could imagine sticking with them for a seriously long time and that could mean 25 or more car sales and the associated servicing costs. If a company isn't interested in getting that business then they've got something seriously wrong with them!Shmee said:
As Jockman pointed out, I've had very little contact with this dealership in my AM ownership so it's not too surprising that they aren't keen; as someone said it's a seriously expensive piece of kit and who's to know if I'm going to buy one.
A bit odd that dealers didn't push to sell you a car even after you knew what you wanted though!
Shouldn't and didn't make any difference when I went looking recently.A bit odd that dealers didn't push to sell you a car even after you knew what you wanted though!
I see this from both sides of the coin with our business.
Sales guys not qualifying a buyer and then not following up is just unprofessional.
It reads to me like you got "qualified" and didn't pass as a potential buyer.
I got "qualified" as a current buyer and didn't get any follow up - IMHO that is worse!
Anyway you need to "build a relationship" with that dealer if you want them to take you seriously or go to another who are more flexible.
Shmee said:
The thing I find with an SL65 or SL63 is that they aren't dramatic enough; great cars and seriously good looking but they do blend in a bit. Time will definitely tell what happens to SLS Roadsters though, it will be interesting to watch.
With regards to Maserati I think they have a very different attitude because most people go looking for something else and don't have Maserati as their first choice, therefore it's much more of a focused-sell than some other brands need to do.
Yes they are a bit bland, and 95% of people can't tell the difference between the top of the range 65AMG and the basic SL300.With regards to Maserati I think they have a very different attitude because most people go looking for something else and don't have Maserati as their first choice, therefore it's much more of a focused-sell than some other brands need to do.
The thing that worries me about the SLS is the way they have depreciated so far, if they carry that on in true AMG Merc fashion, it could end up costing a lot.
Used SLRs are looking like a good buy too, can pick one up for <£150k for a 6 year old one, with about 25-30k miles. That would put the SLS to shame imo! Plus wouldn't lose any on depreciation, which is always nice.
I shall certainly be enquiring when I find the nearest Maserati dealer, if not just to get a free track day
Shmee said:
Come on, do you honestly think that's how the conversation went?!? My reply was more like "Yes, if I like it" but that wasn't good enough.
Haven't some people been going on experience days at Aston where they drive the cars at the factory? Does anyone have contact details they could pass on to you so you don't have a dealer getting in the way?When I bought my DB7 off an independent (aka Indie No1) they were not too keen on letting me test drive it at first - mainly because they didn't want to have to clean it again! I only needed a mile or so in it to check the nature of the driving experience tbh...then I bought it.
When I was then looking for a DB9 my local dealer were superb on the test drive although they only had a coupe and not a Volante. They were also very keen for my business however they couldn't/wouldn't match the trade in figure I had in mind. I managed to get a test drive in a 9 Volante then with another indie (Indie No2) and traded in my 7 with them.
In terms of general moans however...
- Indie No1 could not be bothered to find me a 9 Volante when I contacted them (even though when they sold me the 7 they were adamant that they would love to buy it back off me when I came to selling). I gave them 'first dibs' on my business but am still waiting for them to come back to me 2 years later!
- Indie No2 took 3 weeks to contact me regarding a service on my 9 two years ago and last year did not even get back to me at all with a price etc! This was despite email acknowledgement of my request
- Local dealer fannied around 3 times trying to sort the issue with the passenegers door not locking before sorting it. This was even after I had said that it was a mechanical issue rather than a reflash issue. They have not had my business since.
- Asked works service for a price on the paint job after my recent scrape by an old duffer. Never received it despite sending off photos etc as requested. Work was completed over 2 weeks ago by local AM approved bodyshop. He will be getting more business off me after my hols.
In my experience the only garage who have consistently done the business are Rick and the team at DMS. Can you imagine how much better life would be if they also sold AM's as well...
When I was then looking for a DB9 my local dealer were superb on the test drive although they only had a coupe and not a Volante. They were also very keen for my business however they couldn't/wouldn't match the trade in figure I had in mind. I managed to get a test drive in a 9 Volante then with another indie (Indie No2) and traded in my 7 with them.
In terms of general moans however...
- Indie No1 could not be bothered to find me a 9 Volante when I contacted them (even though when they sold me the 7 they were adamant that they would love to buy it back off me when I came to selling). I gave them 'first dibs' on my business but am still waiting for them to come back to me 2 years later!
- Indie No2 took 3 weeks to contact me regarding a service on my 9 two years ago and last year did not even get back to me at all with a price etc! This was despite email acknowledgement of my request
- Local dealer fannied around 3 times trying to sort the issue with the passenegers door not locking before sorting it. This was even after I had said that it was a mechanical issue rather than a reflash issue. They have not had my business since.
- Asked works service for a price on the paint job after my recent scrape by an old duffer. Never received it despite sending off photos etc as requested. Work was completed over 2 weeks ago by local AM approved bodyshop. He will be getting more business off me after my hols.
In my experience the only garage who have consistently done the business are Rick and the team at DMS. Can you imagine how much better life would be if they also sold AM's as well...
Shmee said:
Aged 23 I'm probably going to be buying cars for another 50+ years
I suggest that you have hit the nail on the head here.Most dealers are used to people being a wee bit older. So given your age they want to check you are not a test pilot. It's annoying but you have to simply play the game - talk to them, show them you are a credible buyer. When speaking to a dealership for the first time will now always talk through what I am looking at, what options and what colours. Just to show that I know what I am talking about. So if you say "I really fancy the scissor doors on the Gallardo you are selling" they will know you are a muppet (don't send me a link to the car that had them retrofitted - I know).
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