Salesperson has to drive off the lot?

[Uzzy]

Originally Posted by King Riffle

Okay,

So I'm about to test drive this Focus. The salesperson then tells me that he has to drive the car off of the lot. Their insurance will not allow customers to drive the car out.


Is this normal? Or yet another in a long line of sleazy tactics he was going through?

Tell them it is your own personal policy to not buy cars from places with such crappy insurance. They might not be lying, but they are stupid. I've gone with the salesperson and I've just one off on my own. All at the same dealership. The ones that just let me go on my own knew me personally, and the others had only just seen me around and knew I that I was firends with "so and so."

AND re: t-rex's test drive, Steve sounds like a silly little dink and Mr. Manager is clearly a twat.

[t-rex]

Originally Posted by espo19047

You showed 0 respect for the sales consultant.

Make no mistake. I CLEARLY let Steve know that I intended on taking the car (a GMC Acadia) on a thorough test drive. He made no clear objections to the suggestion. Apparently he thought I was joking.

And for all you salesman... If you SERIOUSLY THINK that I'm going to write a cheque for nearly $40 thousand based on a spin around the block, you're completely out of your friggin' minds.

You want to discuss disrespect? Try respect the fact that we're talking a huge sum of money here. I mean enough money to put a kid through college. Enough money to put a substantial downpayment on a house. A year's income for many Americans.

If I'm going to spend a substantial portion of my savings on a non-disposable product that I'll likely keep a decade, you damn right you better be prepared to let me spend at least an hour with the vehicle.

My real estate agent didn't mind an hour to show us our house before we bought it. Our contractor spent the whole day going over renovation plans with us. Our flooring people spent at least an hour with us. The Landscaper.... And you know why? THEY RESPECTED OUR BUSINESS. And we weren't spending $40 grand on flooring or landscaping either...

If you can't take an hour to let a prospective buyer test the car in the environment the car will be used in, or respect the fact that these buyers are making a rather substantial monetary outlay, then you clearly need to rethink who has the "respect" issue here.

If any salesman (or dealership policy, since it's out of the salesman's control) can't respect the needs of the buyer, and the importance of the buyer getting the proper vehicle for their needs, then salesmen deserve the sleazy reputation they have with the buying public.

Don't lecture me on respect...

[GMCdriver]

Originally Posted by t-rex

Make no mistake. I CLEARLY let Steve know that I intended on taking the car (a GMC Acadia) on a thorough test drive. He made no clear objections to the suggestion. Apparently he thought I was joking.

And for all you salesman... If you SERIOUSLY THINK that I'm going to write a cheque for nearly $40 thousand based on a spin around the block, you're completely out of your friggin' minds.

You want to discuss disrespect? Try respect the fact that we're talking a huge sum of money here. I mean enough money to put a kid through college. Enough money to put a substantial downpayment on a house. A year's income for many Americans.

If I'm going to spend a substantial portion of my savings on a non-disposable product that I'll likely keep a decade, you damn right you better be prepared to let me spend at least an hour with the vehicle.

My real estate agent didn't mind an hour to show us our house before we bought it. Our contractor spent the whole day going over renovation plans with us. Our flooring people spent at least an hour with us. The Landscaper.... And you know why? THEY RESPECTED OUR BUSINESS. And we weren't spending $40 grand on flooring or landscaping either...

If you can't take an hour to let a prospective buyer test the car in the environment the car will be used in, or respect the fact that these buyers are making a rather substantial monetary outlay, then you clearly need to rethink who has the "respect" issue here.

If any salesman can't respect the needs of the buyer, and the importance of the buyer getting the proper vehicle for their needs, then salesmen deserve the sleazy reputation they have with the buying public.

Don't lecture me on respect...

I'm sure I would have signed you out a set of keys and a plate and let you be on your way for an hour or two but make no mistake, it wouldn't have anything to do with you having earned my respect.
You see, kissing someones butt while they rant and boss you around isn't respecting them, it is pandering to them.
I'm not sure what is more sad, the large number of people can't tell the differance and eat up the pandering with a spoon like it is respest or the large number of people who trade their self respect to serve it up.

[t-rex]

And anyone who thinks I'm exaggerating about narrow parking conditions, this is my driveway


This is my street on a Saturday. On weekdays its packed like sardines with cars. The cars in this pic are all owned by residents. There's almost no house in our area with off-street parking for more than one car...


This is the main shopping drag in my part of town


My daily driving conditions CAN NOT be replicated in a leafy residential tract developments or on wide suburban avenues with plenty of parking lots. It's of the utmost importance that I find a vehicle that's the proper size, has good visibility for tricky urban traffic and has good manoeuvrability so I don't end up hitting one of these...




I don't think it's too much to ask that I simply be allowed to test drive a vehicle in the environment I'll be using it in. It's not my fault the dealership is 15 miles away in the suburbs...

Sadly, the Acadia and Enclave straight-up constipated our driveway! We couldn't even open the pass. side doors... That's why we're looking now at a much smaller vehicle.

[t-rex]

Originally Posted by GMCdriver

I'm sure I would have signed you out a set of keys and a plate and let you be on your way for an hour or two but make no mistake, it wouldn't have anything to do with you having earned my respect.
You see, kissing someones butt while they rant and boss you around isn't respecting them, it is pandering to them.
I'm not sure what is more sad, the large number of people can't tell the differance and eat up the pandering with a spoon like it is respest or the large number of people who trade their self respect to serve it up.

And believe me, most dealers we shopped with have been very accomodating and respected our needs. Some took a quick glance and thought "I can trust these people for a non-chaperoned hour test drive." Frankly I couldn't care less if the salesman tags along, because I'm taking the car on a serious test drive, not just a spin to see if I like where the radio controls are...

Trust me when I say that overall we got very good treatment. But the bad ones.... BOY were they bad. Rude. Inconsiderate. Condescending.

We even invited Steve and his young family over for dinner to show our appreciation for his patience. But he declined. I think he got yelled at and just didn't want us to know...

But the condescending attitude of that sales manager means I won't be making a purchase from him.

[FenwickHockey65]

I think it really depends on the salesman. Usually all they have to do is drive the car up to the front of the dealer because of the tight squeezes. I've gone on maybe 5 or 6 test drives with my parents, only on one occasion did the salesman (whose name was coincidentally also Steve), allow us to drive ourselves. Probably because we already bought the Sonoma from him in the past and brought it back in one piece.

[HoosierRon]

Originally Posted by Uzzy

t-rex, you forgot the pics of your wife thrusting her chest out.

Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65

I think it really depends on the salesman.

Wasn't that a Seinfeld episode?

[DuSpinnst]

Nothing wrong with an extended test drive.

I let the salesperson know I will be ripping the car around the neighborhood including the local freeway. I typically say, I'll be back in 30-45 minutes as I already have a route planned out to do what I need to do.

I've maybe met one or two sales people who had a problem with that, and those people don't get my business. The rest have been very accommodating and in fact some of them even give me pointers as to where I should go to "open the car up" if you know what I mean.

[vsd]

Originally Posted by HoosierRon

Wasn't that a Seinfeld episode?

Yes, Kramer had to see how far the car can go w/ the fuel gauge past empty. One of my favorite episodes.

I've taken quite a few cars on test drives, every one I haven driven off the lot.

[Smaart Aas Saabr]

Originally Posted by vsd

Yes, Kramer had to see how far the car can go w/ the fuel gauge past empty. One of my favorite episodes..

Yes the SAAB episode! My favorite

[espo19047]

Originally Posted by t-rex

Make no mistake. I CLEARLY let Steve know that I intended on taking the car (a GMC Acadia) on a thorough test drive. He made no clear objections to the suggestion. Apparently he thought I was joking.

And for all you salesman... If you SERIOUSLY THINK that I'm going to write a cheque for nearly $40 thousand based on a spin around the block, you're completely out of your friggin' minds.

You want to discuss disrespect? Try respect the fact that we're talking a huge sum of money here. I mean enough money to put a kid through college. Enough money to put a substantial downpayment on a house. A year's income for many Americans.

If I'm going to spend a substantial portion of my savings on a non-disposable product that I'll likely keep a decade, you damn right you better be prepared to let me spend at least an hour with the vehicle.

My real estate agent didn't mind an hour to show us our house before we bought it. Our contractor spent the whole day going over renovation plans with us. Our flooring people spent at least an hour with us. The Landscaper.... And you know why? THEY RESPECTED OUR BUSINESS. And we weren't spending $40 grand on flooring or landscaping either...

If you can't take an hour to let a prospective buyer test the car in the environment the car will be used in, or respect the fact that these buyers are making a rather substantial monetary outlay, then you clearly need to rethink who has the "respect" issue here.

If any salesman (or dealership policy, since it's out of the salesman's control) can't respect the needs of the buyer, and the importance of the buyer getting the proper vehicle for their needs, then salesmen deserve the sleazy reputation they have with the buying public.

Don't lecture me on respect...

I don't disagree with your premise. I would have let you take good test drive. If you would have ignored me and do what you want you would have been done. You are right it is a $40,000 car so do what the guy says. You dont have to like it but if he says no then the answer is no.
There will be someone to help you just not that guy.

You really do not impress any of us. Would you want a car after 5 guys like you beat on it? You have respect issues for sure. You need to grow up.

[F14CRAZY]

I haven't had a salesperson yet drive a vehicle off the lot for me, nor have they suggested to. Not at Ford, another Ford, Jeep, Dodge, or Subaru dealer

[t-rex]

Originally Posted by espo19047

I don't disagree with your premise. I would have let you take good test drive. If you would have ignored me and do what you want you would have been done. You are right it is a $40,000 car so do what the guy says. You dont have to like it but if he says no then the answer is no.
There will be someone to help you just not that guy.

You really do not impress any of us. Would you want a car after 5 guys like you beat on it? You have respect issues for sure. You need to grow up.

"Has it got a full tank? I intend on taking an extensive test drive."

Steve's response was, and I'm paraphrasing, "not a problem, Sir."

With an apparent green-light given by the salesman, it was safe for me to assume more than a spin around the block was acceptable. Especially since we had experienced similar treatment from some other area dealers (this wasn't our first test vehicle).

Had his response been otherwise, I would have arranged the test drive through the sales manager.

And I can't see anything I've posted so far as an attempt to impress anyone. Impress how?

And pray tell, just how does a 20-some-odd-mile round trip on a freeway and urban residential streets constitute "beat on it"???

You wrongly are under the assumption that I'm attacking car salesmen. If anything I pity their lot. I'm well aware of the crass stupidity of the average human being. If anything, I'd think a salesman would be relieved to have customers like myself and my wife, who are jovial, relaxed, knowledgeable, personable and non-confrontational about car buying.

I let them know straight away to relax, that there's no need for them to try "sell" me the car. I'm there to compare, to see what works best for us. When I decide what I want, I'll walk in with my chequebook and drive off with the vehicle I've chosen, and when I buy, I'll make certain that the salesman who demonstrated the car is the one who benefits from my purchase. All I expect from them is to answer any question I may have to the best of their knowledge, which 9 out of 10 of them have done in an exemplary manner. I try to make it as non-painful, if not outright fun, for the salesman.

It's not the salesmen I've had issues with it. The few really negative incidences primarily involved rude sales managers, who insulted our intelligence and belittled us with condescending comments and stupid remarks pulled out of thin air. I don't need him, he needs me. That doesn't mean he should kiss my a**, but speaking to me in a civilised manner, even if I've broken some not-obvious-to-me rule, isn't asking too much.

And I must say, in 41 years, this is the first time I've ever been told to 'grow up'!

And espo19047, believe me, I'm not trying to give you a hard time. Far from it. But just as I go out of my way to understand a situation from the salesman's aspect, it's important that salesmen understand what it's like from the buyer's end. We're not "inside" the car sales business, so what may seem obvious on the sales end, isn't always so clear cut on our end...

[espo19047]

Originally Posted by t-rex

And I can't see anything I've posted so far as an attempt to impress anyone. Impress how?

You wrongly are under the assumption that I'm attacking car salesmen. If anything I pity their lot.

Playing the misic full blast while the guy sits back there is rude.

And I must say, in 41 years, this is the first time I've ever been told to 'grow up'!

Talking about your wifes breast in this forum is a little bit immature. You also come off as a condescending type. You said you would hire him if he got fired? Is that supposed to impress someone?.

And espo19047, believe me, I'm not trying to give you a hard time. Far from it. But just as I go out of my way to understand a situation from the salesman's aspect, it's important that salesmen understand what it's like from the buyer's end. We're not "inside" the car sales business, so what may seem obvious on the sales end, isn't always so clear cut on our end...

I'm sure the sales guy would have liked to let you drive by yourself but it is the policy of his dealership. I do not agree with some of my requirements as a salesman but I do what I have to. I sold 209 Chevys last year and never had a guy need a test drive for an hour. I sold ZO6s that weren't even drivin. bottom line is you had no respect for the salesman after a few minutes I think you figured out how uncomfortable he was yet you continued...
I stand by my earlier statement you need to grow up.

[chakis24]

Originally Posted by Buick61

Oddly, I've heard that before.

Some people insist on going with you and talking the entire time (I've read that's a tactic), while others just throw you the keys, and then there's the salesperson that goes with you, but politely shuts up unless there's something relevant to say, such as, "Watch out for that cat," or "Turn left," or, "It's OK to do a powerslide around this corner."

I only buy from the latter two.

and if it were a dog?