I've been slightly surprised by the number of accounts of salemen simply giving people the keys to GTs to let them go test drive them alone. Then again, if I was a saleman there's no way in hell I'd want to get into a GT with someone else driving.
When i sold fords back in '99, i took some guy out for a test drive in a brand new '99 GT automatic,now mind you,i haven't drove the GT yet and i really wasn't impressed with the '96-98 stangs sooooo.....i didn't think anything of it to tell the guy to "floor it and see what she'll do.". Big mistake,i think he must have been trying to put his foot all the way through the floorboard....that car took off like a rocket and threw us both back in our seats,scared me to death! I though if he doesn't kill us both,i'll be fired once he throws this car in a ditch,i remember him saying.."wow,it's amazing how quick it gets up to 100" Holy crap! Since that ride and a equally scary ride in a '65 vette,i'm a tad bit reluctant to get into any performance car with anyone,let alone someone i barely know. There was a internet story story a few months ago about a test drive in a SRT-4,the guy wrecked the car and nearly killed him and the salesman,the pics showed blood all over the interior,scary stuff.
I would not doubt that some salespeople may be concerned. I was helping a friend shop for a nice used car and the salesman who was helping us out stated during the test drive that a woman in her upper 50s came by to test drive one of their sporty cars. Long story short, he never thought he was going to see his family again but made it back in one piece. Eve
yes, the saleman crashed it, and a wood fence pole went thorugh the windshield and scrapped the customers face off. im not sure, but u could try ogrish.com for pics
When I took a Mach 1 out on a test drive the salesman told me to keep it under 70 on the interstate. The last guy he rode with got it over 110 and really scared him.
I test drove a run out 97 Cobra last year. The dealer watched closely as I dropped it a gear and floored it. I was surprise that he didn't flench at all. Instead he told me this car wasn't the car for me. We got to talking and it turns out that he races Mustangs and is the salesman they assign to ride with Cobra customers. On the other side, I test drove the new Crossfire convertible and the salesman decided to put the top down while we were drving 60 MPH. He never did understand why got so upset. Here, we have to put down a $1800 deposit to testdrive a Mustang. That might sort out those who know how to drive one from those who don't. 2000 white vert
I was really surprised last week when the Ford salesman offered me a test drive like the Stang was just any other car. I thought they would be guarding them or something.
I remember going to test drive an srt-4 and as we where leaving the lot in it the sales guy said there is usually a fun trick I do but with it being wet out Im not sure if I should. He kind of implied he would show me a 180. Im glad it was wet out and he didnt want to do it. Im only 19 and have been on test drives where they tell me to go faster, and they havent checked my license, yeah my dad was in the car but I was surprised at the amount of trust they had in me. I didnt take it to fast because I didnt feel like i need to be rocketing at 100mph to get a feel for the car. Some sales people are too protective some need to be more protective, others are just wild.
my two best friends went to the audi dealership and talked the salesman into letting them drive the new s4 last yr (before it was a v8). one of them was 16 and didn have his license yet...lets just say he took it to 95 on the city street in front of the dealership (40 zone)...salesman thought it was a blast
My two 05 test drives Well I have test drove the 05 twice so far. Both times the Ford salesman told me they have to drive the car off the lot first, then we can switch. The first time I drove one I took it on the interstate, gunned it and all, salesman had no problem. The second time the salesman asked me if I wanted to test drive it. I wasnt going to sice I had before but I agreed. He then admitted he and the other salesman took any chance they could to get to drive one.They love diving the 05 as much as we do. He sort of gunned it a little to where we could switch too. When I drove the 04 Mach the salesman took it out and hit 1st and 2nd gears pretty hard before we switched. He told me the same thing, the salesman love to get any chance they can to drive one.
