Hello,
I was just curious about test driving a car at the dealership. How long do you usually take the car for? Any hesitation from the Dealer regarding the time/distance needed to test drive? Does the sales person accompany you?
Thanks
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At my local two dealerships the salesperson always comes along for the ride. Usually it is about a 10 minute drive along the back roads and onto Highway 19 and back to the dealership in a large circle.
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If they know you well enough they might let you test drive it solo but typically someone will go along with you to keep highlighting the features of the car.
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Usually a sales rep will come along with you, and its probably helpful if you're not familar with BMWs and/or the controls. However, I have never liked reps riding in any vehicle I test drive..........its undue pressure. Perhaps you can ask to drive it alone, assuming you're not driving an M car or very expensive BMW.
Intrestingly enough, the sales rep I often refer friends to allows us to drive alone. For example, last time I took an adult friend of mine (he's almost 40) to take try out the 335i coupe. Sales rep said we could go alone, no need for her to be with us.
As for how long, I'd recommend you first of all NOT go on Saturdays or rush hours........it ruins the whole drive. Plan out a route beforehand and try to stick to it. Make sure the route includes rough roads and flat highways, some corners, and if you have the luxury, an open parking lot to try stuff you might not feel comfortable doing on public roads. Overall it should probably take about 30min, sales reps are understanding for that kind of time.
It should NOT be a drive around the block and back.  . In fact, resist the urge to floor it out of the dealership because the engine hasn't fully warmed up, and going 0-40mph in 1st and 2nd gears doesn't tell you the whole picture of acceleration. My personal way of testing response AND accel (hitting two birds with one stone) is find an onramp or long straight, set yourself up at around 40-45mph light throttle, top gear. Floor it and see how the transmission/engine responds, and rack it up to ~75-80mph if you can, mindful of surrounding traffic conditions. BMWs all pass this test with flying colors, but there are many cars that take until next week to downshift and get stuck in the wrong part of the powerband.
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Quote: Hello,
I was just curious about test driving a car at the dealership. How long do you usually take the car for? Any hesitation from the Dealer regarding the time/distance needed to test drive? Does the sales person accompany you?
Thanks | Do a google search for "BMW Drive for Cure" you will be able to test drive the cars on your own or with a friend without any sales pressure -- only issue is that if you want to drive a car with specific options or stick, you will not be able to
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.My dealer let my wife and I drive around town by ourselves. He made copies of our license and insurance card and we were on our way.
We had the vehicle for about half and hour 45 minutes it was very nice to be able to test drive the vehicle, and be able to make our observations without any pressure from a sales person.
As mentioned in a previous post I would not recommend going to the dealer on a weekend for a test drive. During the week in the mornings when the dealership is usually slow worked for me
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A question about test drives