IAA-C63

Just wondering what you all have experienced regarding test drive policies.

At one extreme, I've done test drives where the salesperson insisted on being in the car and forced me to follow a short prescribed route, while also openly discouraging "spirited" driving. Annoying and not very useful.

At the other extreme, I've been given cars without the salesperson joining me, and told to have fun, including having curvy roads suggested to me.

And I've experienced both of these extremes with MB, BMW, and Audi dealers, as well as other makes.

Guess which dealers I've bought more cars from ...

ZephyrAMG

Funny you mention, I was actually thinking of the same questions myself the past 2 weeks. Reason being, I went to test drive some cars ( I don't want to mention names or get anyone in trouble) and the service kid...kid....told me to floor it and "beat the hell out of it". Of course I didn't, instead just did one quick loop with respect and care and u-turned it back. The whole time I was thinking, "man, glad it wasn't a car I was buying..." FYI the cars sticker was $178,000.00.

I can't stand people that disrepect the "test drive". Now before people start saying crap like "your supposed to, ITS A TEST DRIVE", I understand, but the car is not yours, it belongs to the dealer, and they are kind enough to trust YOU, a stranger, in their BRAND NEW car that some poor enthusiast has been dieing to buy, or has dreamed of owning for so long.

I just can't EVER bring myself in **cking the **** out of a car that doesn't belong to me on some test drive so I can get my jollies off....

Done....so do please carry on with further comments at this point...

IAA-C63

Agreed. Somebody is going to buy the car after we test drive it, and it's not fair to abuse it (and there's no way they can know the car was abused before buying it). When I test drive, I always think about this issue, and I try to find a balance between respecting normal break-in policies versus pushing the car enough to see what it can do. Of course, with used cars, we can push a little harder.

For me, probably the most important things are that I don't want the salesperson in the car with me, and I want to be able to drive a car long enough to really explore it in various conditions. I don't like put a lot of miles on new cars, but I think a decent test drive needs to be at least 10 miles.

And I also agree that some (not all) salespeople are remarkably incompetent.

ZephyrAMG

+1

AMGTTV8

+1 100%

BerBer63

It's a test drive, whoever buys a car with miles on it should expect that the car was driven at all extremes...but as far as test drives go you don't have to beat the **** out of it, you can still give it WOT and see handling without thrashing it...

Audi wouldn't let me test an S5 without going through numbers, financing and wasting my time so I walked across street to MB not even knowing about the C63. Test drove one, got on the gas, heard the exhaust and placed an order that week. I was supposed to go to BMW but I knew what I wanted. Eventually I went to BMW 6 months later to test an M3 and I'm happy I did, but the guy was totally cool. He said get on it and see what it can do. I think it was one of there pre-owned CPOs. Steering responsiveness and balance were really nice, but everything else just seemed boring for what I like in performance cars.

brad3285

When I was at the BMW dealer to test an M3, it was one of their "dealer cars." The salesman came with me, but he took me to some good roads and encouraged me to drive it hard to see what it could do. That particular M3 was later sold to someone at a discount because it had been used as the tester car and had a couple thousand miles on it as a result.

That is the way to do it.

When I went to the Benz dealer to test drive the C63 they brought out a new one that they were trying to sell at a high price and allowed me to drive it in a timid manner on a strictly prescribed route that was approximately 2 miles long. Just stupid.

DuaneC63

A test drive on these cars is rather redundant. You've read all the reviews and watched the videos with professional drivers. Don't kid youself about your driving abilities, you're not nearly as good as they are. All you need to do is sit in it and see if it is a good ergonomic fit, then write the check. The dealer wants you to test drive one to make you feel obligated to buy. There is also the legal argument that you "test drove the car and were satisfied".

cyberorth

Trashing a new car is different than driving it close to its limits.
Trashing=bad
The other one=good IMO of course.

Usually the test drive car is a demo car. I have come across cars that have 100-200 miles on them and my expectations are clear. If I want a car that was not messed with, I insist on a "0" mile car. I do NOT rely on the goodness of the citizens that test drove a demo car before me.

Last car I test drove was a DCT M3, which was a demo car and I was given permission to drive as I pleased and so I did. did NOT trash the car, but the RPMs went well past the recommended for the break in period.

It is the dealers' option to keep a demo car for this purpose and sell their non-test-driven cars to **** customers like me.

IAA-C63

That's pretty bad. I would have walked out too.

The closest I've come to this is when I test drove a 350Z several years ago. When I walked in the dealership and said I wanted to drive it, the salesman looked almost shocked: "you mean you want to drive the Z?!", as though I was asking to drive an SLS. He had me sit at his desk and fill out some forms while he worked on getting an OK from the manager. After some chatting, they learned that I came there in an MB and buying a Z was actually a step down for me, so they eventually relaxed and seemed glad to have me drive it. The main thing I learned from this experience was that driving an MB (any MB) is a big deal to most people, so those of us who drive one shouldn't forget how fortunate we are.

IAA-C63

My view is basically completely opposite of this. I've found reviews and videos helpful to identify options and narrow the field, but selecting among great cars is largely a matter of preference, so the test drive is key for that. Two examples:

- I test drove the Cayenne (base model), which has great reviews, but I found it to be way underpowered and I didn't like the handling either.

- I test drove the M3 and C63. The M3 had its strengths, but it didn't wow me. Then I drove the C63 and was unexpectedly blown away, so I bought it the next day. But there are also plenty of other people (including reviewers) who have driven both cars and much preferred the M3.

All of this goes to the point that none of us actually needs a "fast" car, whether on the dragstrip or track. Almost every car can go as fast as public roads allow, and none of us is racing a C63 to make a living. What we seek is a car which is fun to drive at a sensory level, when driven the way we each personally intend to drive it. As heretical as it may sound, that means that subjectively feeling fast could be considered more important than objectively being fast. The only way to judge that is a test drive.

IAA-C63

That would be ideal, but the problem is that it can be hard to keep a demo around for cars with low sales numbers like the AMGs. I'm toying with the idea of getting an E63 (in addition to the C63), but none of the local dealers has one in stock.