Rubimon

I was just reading this post when my cell phone rang. It was a dealership I had stopped at a couple of months ago. He asked me if I was still interested in the 4 door. I told him I never was that I was looking at the new 2 doors. He then asked if I was getting the long or short wheel base 2 door.

JPRS51

This stuff is hilarious. I almost fired one of our salespeople once for doing something similar. It all comes down to how much the dealer cares about training.

I have a couple off-road clubs that meet here at our store monthly. They love to act like customers while waiting for their meetings and asking extremely technical questions of the sales people. When they start talking slip-yoke eliminators and such the salesmen start to squirm.

tcpatter

My JK buying experience has been enlightening. It probably doesn't help that I'm only 24, but I'm on my second brand new car in the last 3 years. I had one dealer who gave me the third degree because I drove the half hour to test drive the two door Jeep after they called me and convinced me to stop in. Something about the first question out of there mouth being "How are you going to pay for it" that just doesn't put you in the right mood.

I had one dealer that I dealt with via there internet sales manager. This guy apparently refused to pass his internet contacts on to the other sales people and lost my business because he was anything but timely in responses. I just found out today that partly because of that (my boss is friends with a couple of their sales people) he got canned.

The best though was when I took one of my friends with me to test drive an automatic 4-door. I figured that if I brought one of my female friends with me that it would look more like I was in a serious relationship and wasn't just there to waste there time. I had the guy sit in the back seat and chirp in my ears about all the neat things they put into them this year, blah, blah, blah. When someone walks in and tells you the exact options by dealer code that he wants on his Jeep, how do you not think he has done a little research? Then he tried to convince me that the 4-doors only came in 4WD. He apparently didn't read all the material he was reciting to me. And once I told him that I wanted a two door, he tried to spend the next 15 minutes selling me a 2006. I GAVE HIM THE EXACT DETAILS OF WHAT I NEED, WHY DO YOU TRY TO SELL ME SOMETHING ELSE?!!!!

Ok, I'm done ranting and very glad to be done with the hassle of dealing with the dealerships.

Phishjeep

I always ask them (very politely) not to talk while on the test drive. If they ask why, I explain, quite truthfully, that there are a few considerations I have before I would like to buy/place my order, and explaining them to him would take longer than driving it.

The worst is when they try to tell you where to drive. Look buddy. I've lived here all my life. I know where the &%$@! we are. I also always ask a couple of easy questions to get a feel for their knowledge and honesty levels.

JPRS51

I f they have been trained properly they would know to only answer questions when on a test drive, otherwise just sit and let teh customer experience the vehicle.

The reason they tell you where to go is because most dealers have a set test drive route. They do this for safety reasons. Usually it involves all right turns, becasue more accendents are casued by left turs. When people test drive new vehicles they pay nowhere near the attention they usually do to driving. 1 out of 2 test drives I have to tell someone to watch out for something to avoid and accident.

The other reason for the planned test drive is if the salesperson does not show back up. They know where to start looking. There are some scary things that happen on test drives, like car jackings and such. So cut them a break on the planned route becasue it is usually not up to them.

Piginajeep

On test drives, i like to beat the piss out of the car, just to see what kind of acceleration it has, and braking power. that being said. i wont buy the car i test drove.

and I dont want to buy a vehicle with more the 20 miles on it. for fear of getting a vehicle someone test drove like i did.

JPRS51

Very thoughtful of you .

If I was your salesperson the test drive would be over very quickly. I have had to deal with someone like you in the past.

When you test drive a car you should treat it like you would expect someone else to treat your property.

Piginajeep

i would almost agree here but, my brother works for a dealership,,

they beat new cars worse than I would ever do on a test drive..

as a matter of fact one dealer was bragging to my wife and I, how they drove the new 4 door saraha into the woods and how well it performed. The same jeep he was trying to sell us.

one more reason to get one with low miles.

john112deere

Agreed. Actually, I treat 'em better than I might if they were mine...

In central Massachusetts, a lot of dealerships let you take the vehicles out without a salesman. Once, I was helping a friend shop for a truck, and when we took one out for a test-drive, I hopped in the back seat, figuring the salesman would get in the front. He said he wasn't riding along, and my friend asked why. He said "I got grandkids." I guess they figure it's not worth risking a salesman's life for a vehicle.

JPRS51

I guess it depends on the dealership. We fired a guy last week for doing a burn-out in a brand new 300 SRT-8.