[nanoguy]

Friends,
Have you in general noticed that it has become difficult to get test drives, even for vehicles not very much in demand. Not sure if it is with certain dealerships or more widespread.

My experiences recently in Hyderabad:

• Scorpio N (Dec 2022): I had to follow up with that sales guy for nearly a week to get the vehicle for a test drive. I even offered to go to the showroom.
• Tata Harrier (Jan 2023): It is more than 2 weeks now and I have reached out to 2 dealerships and still unable to get a vehicle for test drive.
• Honda City (Dec 2022): The dealer never came back. I took the test drive from another dealer.

Is it because they have demand and not bothered about people wanting to TD before buying
or
They generally have lot of work and unable to take time for a test drive which in a city like Hyd will eat up 1-1.5 hrs.
or
something else?

My earlier experience was vastly different. Getting test drives was very easy and once one dealer insisted that I test drive before booking even though I had made up my mind to buy the vehicle.

[RaSing]

I second that. It's true. However, if I am correct, these are all sales man's tricks. Also depends on how serious you look for a car purchase. Once, I was at the Hyundai showroom and requested a test drive. The salesman responds, "Sir, Hyundai has now changed the policy. You will first have to take an appointment for a test drive on their portal and then the vehicle will be sent by the company at the reserved time". As soon as I got out of the showroom, I saw the TD vehicle being used to give TD to some other folks. I told the same to SA and then the test drive was arranged there and then. I believe the following factors play a role here

- If you are alone, they don't consider you a serious buyer
- If you directly request a test drive. I believe you should first ask about the features, prices etc, and then come to a TD request
- Maybe the salesman has some other task in hand.
-Sometimes the car is not available due to TD vehicle being sent to some customer's place.

Also, as per my experience, call the reception of the showroom in advance, they will assign a SA to your query, and wait for his call. When he calls, check for the TD vehicle availability and then go to the showroom. This way you surely get a Test Drive.

[revsperminute]

Credit where credit is due, I have found MG to be the best when it comes to greeting a prospective customer(outside of luxury brands of course). We checked out the Hector when it launched initially. We walked in on a a Sunday evening and were treated very well. Even though we didn’t like the car, customer service was superb.

Similarly, when we were checking out the EV in November last year, the SA came with the car bright and early on a Sunday morning because we were busy throughout the week. We got to take the car on a 20km test drive without a single complaint from the SA.

[1.2TSI7DSG]

So the model for TDs has changed. In the pre-pandemic days, the credit for the dealer was not blocked on basis of the TD vehicles. However, a lot of OEs have changed their policy. This has led to the "sharing" of vehicles among the dealers/showrooms of the area. So nothing is fixed now. Very few guys have managed to set up and more importantly adhere to a schedule for the vehicle availability at the respective showrooms. That aside, no sales enthusiasm is a downer.

[the_skyliner]

I had a very recent bad TD experience with Kothari Hyundai in Pune.

Last week, FIL wanted to check out i20 N Line as a replacement for his 7 years old Rapid. So on a Saturday afternoon we went to Kothari Hyundai in Aundh at a predefined time. SA ensured my FIL that N Line will be available for TD and that we can have multiple TDs.

Guess what? Forget about a TD car there wasn't even a display N Line car! The SA told my FIL to wait for 15 mins saying that the car has gone for a wash. However, I had my doubts already. And after waiting for almost an 45mins the car showed up.

And again, guess what? It wasn't an i20 N Line. It was i20 Asta or something which doesn't get the same GB or engine and of course features are way less than the N Line.

SA was searching for thousand excuses but I was just fed up and asked my FIL to consider another dealer who is willing to provide a TD or at least has a display car.

Why a dealer who moves so many cars per month can not have a TD car? Beats me.

[Nalin1]

Cars that I test drove just recently-

1. Toyota Urban Cruiser
2. Maruti S-Cross
3. Nissan Kicks
4. Nissan Magnite
4. Kia Sonet (twice, petrol and diesel)
5. Tata Nexon EV
6. Tata Nexon petrol (3 test drives)

Each one came to my doorstep exactly at the requested time without any hassles and accommodated all requests.

The Nexon petrol came twice for a test drive and once again to see my new car at the stockyard ( a third test drive ). And for a car that sells 14,000 units a month with the showroom more crowded than a vegetable market.

[d.w.w.]

My cousin was considering buying a magnite, went to the showroom multiple times, no TD was offered. They promised to call back, but it never happened.

Finally he bought Kiger since the showroom/SA provided better customer experience. They even offered him a test drive on a delivery vehicle.

Originally Posted by RaSing

- If you are alone, they don't consider you a serious buyer

+1. had similar experience multiple times. When alone, I dress to blend with the crowd, not sure if they assessed me as 'not rich enough to buy a car'.

[RaSing]

Originally Posted by d.w.w.

+1. had similar experience multiple times. When alone, I dress to blend with the crowd, not sure if they assessed me as 'not rich enough to buy a car'.

Well its not a case of not looking rich, but I think these SAs may be tired of time wasters too. They might be overly bothered by young chaps who come to showrooms just to have a test drive. I think, going along with family or friends makes them think that two or more people won't come to waste time on a TD. They must be serious :-P

[DCEite]

Well, I generally don't find it difficult to get test drives (specially onsite at showrooms) except for Mahindra.

Mahindra dealers atleast in Noida/Ghaziabad/Delhi are known to have "buy it or leave it/We don't care" kind of attitude, and they are least interested to attend to potential customers, let alone test drives.

I have found Kia to be best of the lost, offering Home test drives even from far off dealerships. TATA hasn't disappointed ever either.

Here is a Pro Tip: If you can't get your hands on a test drive vehicle from showroom, and if the car in question is available in the second hand market, you can just create an account in Spinny/Cars24 etc. and from their list of second hand inventory, you can easily get test drives scheduled, even free of cost home test drives.

[Doppelkuplung]

Originally Posted by d.w.w.

Finally he bought Kiger since the showroom/SA provided better customer experience. They even offered him a test drive on a delivery vehicle.

That is bad service. Would be happy to learn that your delivery car was test driven by another prospect?

[Asoon]

Tables have turned !!
There was a time when you had options for all the manufacturers and Dealerships used to win customers with their sales skills & delight / experience during the visit. They had to make deal lucrative for you with discounts, exchange bonus free accessories to close the transaction.

Today every other car has a long waiting period, forget discounts, people are willing to pay premium for early delivery. The experience factor in the dealership business is replaced with arrogance. Every aspect of the dealership experience has gown down

[d.w.w.]

Originally Posted by Doppelkuplung

Would be happy to learn that your delivery car was test driven by another prospect?

Trust me, I asked him the same question
Guess people don't mind until they become a victim of the same process.

[rajeevsulu]

Dealership experience has gone down very much. It is not just test drive denials, the whole booking to delivery schedule takes a beating. I recently booked and took delivery of an Interceptor 650.whilst submitting documents(Aadhaar, Pan, Ration-card, Driving licence), I very emphatically told the salesperson and the showroom manager to not mess up with name entering. My name is Rajeev Nandagopal and so is it mentioned in all id cards. To my dismay, both my insurance and registration have come out as Rajeev N!! All because some clerk thought I am son of Nandagopal anyway and shortened my name!! On speaking with the showroom, nothing happens. I raised a complaint to Royal Enfield, again nothing happens. I guess it is to do with the times!

[bosem123]

I believe it's due to two main reasons-

1) There are a handful of TD cars that always seem to be away with some or the other customer.
2) The average buyer would have already made up his or her mind through the Internet/recommendations and the TD is a mere formality.

[BrakeDancer]

Mate, I'm still waiting on the Mahindra dealership near me to call me and facilitate the test drive of a Thar( petrol, automatic). This was promised to me in 2021 December. Fingers crossed.