Rob Walker

Just opened near my house. Drive past it on the way to work every day.
Wonder what my chances of popping in and asking for a test drive are?

B0DSKI

iTrader: (17)

Tell em your a Lottery Millionaire and just lookin for a run about!

Gidney&Knowlesy

Many garages with "hyper performance" cars now have a policy of asking for bank account statements, unless you are well known to them

TopBanana

I normally park in South Ken when I'm in London... spent a few minutes with my nose up against the window on my way home late Saturday night! I reckon the Gallardo is the supercar to have at the moment

Scoobydick

An Impreza would have it in the twisties though.

Silvafox

iTrader: (1)

LOL

thecirsch

Or you've got ther badge tattooed on your @rse

Crapaud62

This might keep away some joy riders but it must be a great way to lose sales. Most people I know who could buy a Lambo etc would rather keep their finances private and not go waving bank statements around in a car showroom. I thought only lottery winning chavs would behave like that.

A good dealer would make discreet enquiries and if need be take a chance. Better to have a wasted test drive than a lost sale?

I would have laughed in dealer's face if he had asked for copy bank statements before I took a Ferrari out. Best way of getting a test drive is to act like you are not bothered one way or the other. If you go in acting like an excited school boy then its game over.

Study the model so that you know a bit about it (but not to the point of being a complete anorak) and just strike up a conversation with the salesman. If you can talk intelligently about the car and drop enough clues that you have funds (mention friends that have similar models, how you saw one recently when on business in Monaco etc etc), then before you leave he will be asking if you want to have a test drive.

You have nothing to lose except fear of rejection if he says no. More chance he will say yes so go for it!

Blow Dog

I plan on visiting my local Lambo dealer soon. If they ask me for a bank statement, I'll ask him to p1ss off.

Cem

Neanderthal

iTrader: (6)

Already Cem?

Gidney&Knowlesy

Cem, you'll be turning up in some well known exotica anyhow, somewhat different if you're turning up in some banger........

Anyhow, Tom hartley has a few in stock & a Porsche GT......only £374,950

http://www.tomhartley.com/

Neil Smalley

I remember an autocar article a few months ago about a lambo dealer in London. The salesman has a button under his desk that unlocks the showrooms doors, apparently they are trained to recognise a potential customer and so let them in. Chavs/normal mortals stay firmly locked outside. This particular show room asked for a 10K returnable deposit before they would let you test drive.

I suspect turning up in a 911 RS(aka Cem) would be enough to have the guy press the button more than once though.

Gidney&Knowlesy

LOL @ ED......got me into to many "hyper car" events that has

Blow Dog

You'd be suprised with some of these monkey car salesmen these days.
I've exacted my revenge on many of the offenders though

Cem

GaryCat

Sales guys generally check out your watch and your shoes when sussing out potential customers. If they are of good quality you are over the first hurdle.

G.

Crapaud62

I'm reminded of the famous story about Michael Caine.

He went into a London Rolls-Royce dealer in the days before he was well known. He was scruffy and produced his daily shopping list. It read "Two pints of milk, loaf of bread and one Rolls Royce". Snooty doorman asked him what he wanted and he replied "A Roller please". He was shown the door.

Later that day he bought a car from another dealer and drove round to the first one and honked the horn and gave them a V sign.

The moral is to never judge people by their appearances. With "new money" people such as dot.com millionaires or lottery winners, they might turn up wearing the "wrong" shoes and watches but still have the intention of buying.

A good salesman would welcome test drives within reason as it shows interest in the product. You have to accept in every business that you will get so many time wasters for every genuine customer. I don't know of any business that only gets 100% genuine buyers every time.

If the car business is bad, then selling houses is 100 times worse. The number of idiots I had "test driving" my old house was numerous but eventually it sold. I simply accepted that as part of the process.

If nobody ever test drove their cars then they wouldn't sell any.

Even if someone doesn't have the money at present, a test drive may motivate them to improve their finances until they can. They might even come back in 1, 2 or 5 years to buy from that dealer if he treats the potential customer well.

Take Blowdog as a great example. If he would have turned up at the Lambo dealer a few years back in his Evo they might have turned their noses up. Now he can turn up in a 911 RS they would jump to attention. Exactly the same person just different car. Judge the person, not their clothes, watch, shoes, current car, regional accent etc.

The English as so bad at pre-judging people rather than taking a chance and doing more business.

Dapster

From experience, if you want a test drive do the following.

1) Research the car but as said above, just a good breath of knowledge, not anorak
2) Ring the dealer, make them aware of who you are and have a chat
3) Go and see them, poke around, ask all the questions, say you have other cars to drive and are too busy to test drive the car
4) Ring them a few days later and ask for a drive, on a weekday after noon
5) Drive car

Tyre kickers will not do this, but if a drive in a 360 is what you want then this will get it.

Try and look like a punter of a £100k motor. You wouldn't go to a job interview in your shorts so why should you give a sales man a hard time for not taking you seriously in your tatty jeans and trainers?

My absolute total bile ridden hate is knuckle dragging doorman in ill fitting dj's that cost less than my pants refusing me entry into theme bars because I'm not chavved up in black trousers and a Ben Sherman - but they are only doing their job. People make judgements about you within the first 15 seconds of an encouter, and most of those messages will be superficial.

TopBanana

I turned up to a Porsche garage in Swindon in my Passat TDI wearing jeans and a t-shirt and asked about pre-ordering the new 997 (serious enquiry). Was treated impeccably.

Chris L

Crapaud62 is right. Having worked for Coutts&Co for 7 years, I can tell you that judging people by their appearance is very dangerous and normally wrong!

Chris

PeeOne

I think it depends on the dealer a lot. I came into a nice bit of inheritance a few years ago and decided I wanted to upgrade my Golf GTI bless it. The car I settled on getting was the P1, and noticed that there was one in my local scooby dealership. This P1 was absolutely mint, 1000 miles on the clock, and I thought, well I will just go and sit in it-they had it up on a display in the centre of the showroom. I sat in it, had the bonnet up, and then was offered a test drive. I think there is a lot to be said for not acting keen. I was wearing my gym kit as I was on my way there, and looked like a right jack the lad (23 year old!).

I know there is a difference between a P1 and a lambo, but I think the genuine buyers are the ones who act not bothered. If you know you can buy it if you like it, then there is no rush to take a test drive. The people who want to blag a drive however with no intention of buying are going to be jumpy and asking every two seconds can i take a test drive, can i take a test drive...

Ian Griffiths

Look at in the from the dealers point of view - this is a waste of time and money.

I've heard about the shoes and watch thing in the past but I've never deliberatly dressed like that to go to a dealer. Whatever is the moment, which for my last £21k investment was a tracksuit and cap.

I also regularly visit my local Vauxhall dealer in a suit buying parts for a 10 year old Corsa, they occasionally offer to sell me things if I hang about long enough.

gareth123

I seldom wear a watch and when I wear shoes it's a battered pair of New Balance, yet I'm minted. Go figure.

In my experience people who look wealthy normally aren't. Any mug can go lease an S600. Car salesmen should know this. I suspect many do.

Freak

Christ- i had enough problems getting the M3+individual brochures in person at local BMW $tealer.... i even turned up in a 3 series coupe- and STILL got treated like sh*t!

A little courtesy goes a long way.