The proper test drive

By David Maillie

One understated element of buying a car, regardless of whether it is new or used, is the test drive.  You wouldn’t believe the number of people that buy a car solely on looks or reputation and don’t go on a test drive.  A test drive is exactly that, a test of how the car will work for you.  A proper test drive will make sure it fills your needs. 

Seasoned sales people make sure every customer goes on a test drive.  This ensures a greater chance of a sale as the chances of a sale are greatly increased after a test drive.  A test drive for the customer, though gives them a chance to wear the car like a glove and see how it feels.  Most car salespeople are trained to go on a small or short test drive and then get you back in the dealership for numbers.  A proper test drive must be done without the fast speaking salesperson.  Borrow the vehicle for the day and use it as you would your own car.

This may sound stupid, but I’ve actually seen people buy the latest SUV and then get it back to their house and find it will not fit in their garage.  They didn’t take the time beforehand to do a proper test drive.  You also cannot do a proper test drive with the salesperson in the car.  If the dealership will not let you take the car without the salesperson then find another.  There are so many car dealerships today that you can easily find another one offering the same model and make that will let you borrow the car for the day.  Take it home.  Drive it to the grocery store and pick up the kids with it.  This will show you how easy or hard it is to get in and out.  It will show you the useful interior space (a lot of car manufacturers in an attempt to inflate their ratings and size include non useful space like the windshield area as interior space). 

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Take the car to your job or business.  Ask for the opinions of your coworkers or employees.  Some may own the same car and may be able to give you some test drive pointers and possible service or other issues.  The more you can use it the better.  Take it on the highway, try your mp3’s or burned cd’s in it (some radios will not accept burned computer cd’s and on some modern cars the radio unit includes wiring and circuitry for things like the horn and airbag so they cannot be replaced with an aftermarket radio). 

Another very important thing if it passes all this and you really like it is to look it up on the internet.  There are numerous sites that will give you helpful ratings on both new and used vehicles for every make, year and model of car or truck.  Sites like Consumer Reports and Edmunds.com.  They will reveal any service issues, expensive maintenance problems, even average owner opinions.  They will also arm you with the true invoice price and what you should really pay for the car in question.  There is no reason to not do your homework and make sure you get a great deal.

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One last tip is to go to a competing dealer service department and directly ask a mechanic about the car.  If it is a used car you are looking at you should also take this time to pull a Carfax report or other auto history report to make sure it isn’t a flood or wrecked rebuild vehicle.  Then take it to a good independent mechanic to have a pre purchase inspection.  For around $60 to $100 they will make sure it is a great vehicle or tell you not to buy it.  This is great insurance.  Then drive the car back to the dealer and use your proper test drive to negotiate the best deal on the car that best meets all your needs.



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