Ok, I've been looking at the 2005 RL since its introduction, hoping to trade in my Mercedes E420. I live in downtown Chicago, but have been to two suburban dealerships, McGrath Acura of Morton Grove, and Continental Acura of Naperville (my hometown). Also the Costco price I was given came from McGrath Acura of Westmont, which I haven't visted yet. I've test driven the vehicle twice at Morton Grove, and once in Naperville. All three drives have been rather short, and just around town.

I drove out to Naperville tonight because I decided that it would be a good evening to take an RL on the local highway, to see how it handles at speed, check out the engine and transmission performance, and how quiet it is.

About 7 PM, I arrive at Continental Acura of Naperville. I stop briefly to look at a used 2005 RL (Acura executive car) in Lakeshore Silver, just to check out the color. While walking towards the front door of the dealership, I'm greeting by who I believe is a used-car salesman. He asks if he can help, and I explain that I had been in to drive the car before, and my salesperson's name was Harvey. Harvey told me that any time I wanted to come back and take it out on the highway, I could do so. So, seeing as though traffic was light at 7 PM, and the dealer didn't close until 9 PM, the timing was ideal.

The salesman told me that Harvey wasn't in tonight, and that I'd have to call and set-up an appointment for a test drive. I was shocked. I repeated that I lived downtown Chicago and was told that I could take an RL on the highway anytime I returned for another test drive. "Well, there is no one here right now to go with you." I replied that I didn't mind, I just wanted to drive it on the highway. "Well, we never allow any test drives without a salesrep in the car at all times." I said "Well, that's a shame, because the other dealer I've talked to (McGrath of Morton Grove) told me I could take one out for a couple of hours or even overnight if I wanted to." The Continential salesman replied, "Well, we don't do that here. We've had people return cars with parts missing after the test drive." I said, "Frankly, I'm disappointed." He told me that he would tell Harvey that I stopped in, and that I could call to make an appointment for a test drive on the highway. I said, "Don't count on me coming back out here for anything, now."

I couldn't believe it! I'm dressed in a suit, driving a Mercedes, coming back for a second look at a car I've already expressed interest in (and even returned the salesman's calls), and I'm not allowed to take one out for a drive? I wasn't even asking to drive by myself, or take it overnight!

McGrath of Morton Grove will likely get my business for being the most helpful so far...I just hope the price they offer me is as good as I've heard on here... Continental likely lost my business after tonight.

Randy

 

Amazing I do not blame you for buying elsewhere. RL's are not even selling well here in Houston. I was at the dealership today and I noticed that several had been sitting on the lot for months now (you can check the Inspection Stickers); one from Oct, two from Nov, one from Dec, several from Jan, etc. How can anyone refuse a test drive for a serious buyer??

By the way I have only seen ONE RL on the road here in metro Houston; however I have already seen several new M-Class on the road.

 

That is really disappointing...I'm sorry to hear about your bad experience

I'm lucky enough to have great Acura dealers in my area. I just hope this one dealer will not put a bad taste in your mouth for Acura vehicles in general. I suppose each brand has its own fair share of bad dealers.

I had a bad experience at a BMW dealership in town. I wanted to testdrive a 325i, having never experienced a 3-series (I wanted to see what the benchmark of entry-lux sedans was all about). Being 17 at the time, I knew that I was going to be given crap from salesmen. So my mother decided to come along with me. I arrived at the dealership and was promptly told, sorry, you cannot drive the vehicle, even with a parent in the vehicle. GIVE ME A BREAK! I wanted to testdrive a baby Beamer...worth only $30k or so. PLEEEASE. And even with a parent there...puhlease. Overall, the dealership was incredibly snobby (with nothing to be snobby about...they sold Cadillacs and Saabs, all in the same showroom--a big turn off).

Drove to the dealership downtown, which sold exclusively BMW and Mini vehicles. Much different story. We arrived and were immediately greeted with a smile by the receptionist at the concierge desk. She then got us a salesperson who, while he wasn't supposed to, let me (with my mother) test drive a 325ia. No haggles. The dealership was amazing.

So I hope that you find a good dealership in your area. It really upset me and put a bad taste in my mouth when we went to the first dealership and made me not think too much of the brand as a whole. But after finding a good dealership, it more than made up for my one bad experience. Good luck

 

Yeah nothing like asshole dealerships/car salesmen treating a person like that. Sheesh

I remember the good ol days (when I was a wee young lad) where you could go into any dealership and take the car out without the damn salesman there with you. Now it is a hit & miss when test driving. Gah.

Spud,

that is horrible that you got refused even with your mom. My goodness.

 

Just to play devil's advocate here, I can see the dealers point of view that if they've had people who test drove the car on their own and returned the car with damage or "parts" missing (I don't know what he could mean by this exactly), then they are simply being cautious to make sure that nothing happens to the car. Also, most dealers still do not allow test driving without a sales rep present.

I don't know how high in the dealer command chain your salesman, Harvey, was, but if he's not too high up in the chain, and the sales manager made the executive decision, I'm willing to bet that even he can't come through on the promise to allow you to test drive the car by yourself.

Just my

 

When I test drove the RL at McGrath Acura of Morton Grove, they copied my license, filled the car up with a full tank of gas, gave me the keys, and told me just to bring it back before they closed at 9 PM. I had over an hour to spend with the car, alone, which is really what sold me on the RL. I didn't take it on the expressway that night, because the traffic is so horrible near their location I would have simply pulled into stop-and-go traffic.

Previously, when I was considering the TL, they let me keep one overnight - all I had to do was sign a waiver and give them a copy of my insurance card. Too bad for them that a night with the TL was all I needed to decide it wasn't the car for me (I couldn't get past the FWD feel and the torque-steer). However, because of their letting me test drive the way *I* wanted to, I'm back, now looking at the RL!

I understand the safety and liability concerns of a dealership, but I would have been more than willing to sign any paperwork necessary, or even have someone ride along with me, just for the highway test-drive. It was the overall tone the salesman took with me that I found such a turn-off.

In general, I much prefer to drive the car alone, without a salesperson, without friends or family in the car either, so I can focus solely on the driving experience, and not someone else's conversation. I especially can't stand chatty salesmen who won't stop talking about features I already know about, or those who perpetually ask questions about my personal life, and keep me from concentrating on experiencing the car. The salesrep who first went with me while driving the RL kept telling me incorrect facts on the car, like "the active-noise cancelling feature only works when the stereo is turned on." I told him that I read that it's on *all* the time, regardless of the stereo being on or off. He said, "Well, that's not correct. Where did you read that?" I replied, "Oh, let's see, in about three different reviews of the car, oh, and yeah, your official product brochere." Ugh.

Randy
(hoping to pick up a Lakeshore/Ebony sometime before June)

 

Yeah man if you were older the guy would have been more respectful to you...that is my guess.

 

Maybe a lot of other people have come in to that dealership wearing suits and driving a [insert prestigious car here] and not buyin them. Lots of dealerships don't let people drive certain cars. I test drove the STI and they wouldn't let me do it without a salesman in the car, and thats a $30,000 Subaru

 

For what it's worth, the only dealership in South Florida that has ever let me take a car on a test drive without the salesman was an Audi dealership (and I bought one). My new M45 will make the 3rd Infiniti I've purchased from South Motors Infiniti, and when I mentioned to the salesman that I'd like to drive the car by myself he said it wasn't possible. He did say he would go with me for an extended test drive wherever I wanted to go. That has also been my experience with JM Lexus, from which I've purchased 2 new Lexuses. I'm sure living in South Florida has a lot to do with it, but what you're describing is the rule... not the exception... here.

Additionally, when I was still in the decision-making process I went in to take a look at the M for a second time and was told my salesperson wasn't there. I had actually called ahead and the receptionist said he would be in by the time I got there. Another salesman did immediately try to help me and called my salesperson at home to let him know I was there. I got on the phone with my salesperson and he told me he'd have to split the commission with the other salesman if I went on a test drive. I don't know if that is the norm across dealerships, but that may be the reason the salesman was so reluctant to go with you on a test drive.

I completely agree that it's not the way business should work and I think it's an appalling way to treat a repeat customer, but that has been my experience pretty much across the board.

 

I am amazed to hear all these stories about test drives being refused, or drives requiring the Sales Person to tag along.

I have NEVER experienced this in my many years of dealing with Honda and Acura. The only time a Sales Person ever came along was at my request, (he had to show my wife how to drive a manual transmission for the first time).

Can you spell whiplash ? hehe

I know that they ask some of the younger customers for their driver's license and insurance info, but in most cases, they can take a car for a spin on their own.

I live in a smaller city, perhaps it is a little different in big ones.

 

It also might be because you live in

I have only been on a test drive without a sales rep only 1 time ever (and I do A LOT of test driving). I have no problem with a sales rep tagging along, but I usually make it clear to them that they should shut up and hang on because I tend to wring out the cars pretty well on test drives.

 

You really have no reason to complain. The rule for almost every dealership is that you must be at least 18 years old to test drive.

 

snowbound,

if you live in London then it is hardly a small city. London is quite big for a Cdn city.

I live in burlington with a mere population of 130000 and had the guy come us when my folks and I first took the RL out for a spin and during this test drive only my dad was driving it. I got my RL from performance acura in st catharines and when I went for that test drive (my folks were with me as well) my salesman came with me.

I just like how the policy some dealerships have changes. My dad bought an Impala SS last year from a chevy dealership that is owned by the brother in law of my dad's best friend so they have some history there. When we took that thing for a test drive the sales guy (the owner's son in law) let us go on our own. My buddy last month was in need of a new car and was refered to this dealership to try out the cobalt. Dealing with the same salesman who also knows who I am and where I work (so if something happened to the car he knows how to find me) we had to to have some monkey (another sales guy at that dealership or something) come with us when we took the base trim cobalt out. That annoyed me since he knew who I was and tried to pass off the "it is for insurance purposes" excuse when I know he let my dad and I go for a drive in the SS on our own.
I just do not feel comfortable having the sales guy there most of the time.

My buddy ended up buying a Mazda 3 (pretty nice car for the price...reminds me of my old IS300 in many ways) and at the local mazda dealership the salesman let us take the mazda 3 out on our own twice yet came with us when we took out a demo Mazda 6. That pissed me off too.

 

I have and had test driven MANY cars before this (far more expensive vehicles as well). The other dealerships didn't put up a fight...

Further, what does it matter if there is an adult in the vehicle--better yet, a relative. Yes, a rule is a rule, but I suppose it is my past experience that let this bother me.

 

Dear Chicago
I too know how it is to be treated like a second class citizen when it comes down to looking at cars. Let me tell you what I do. I go somewhere else and buy the car then go back to rub the sales persons nose in the poop he left on the floor. They can go to hell, and I know I will never deal with them. I was treated like a king at Frank Leta Acura in St. Louis and I am not talking about Rodney King.
RL Gray

 

I sold cars and I wouldnt have let you drive the BMW either. Theres no way I would've put my job on the line because some kid wanted to joy ride in a new car. MOST dealerships would not let a kid drive a new BMW or a car over thirty grand, unless you are ready to buy. They're not being dicks or being snobby just cautious because of your age. Once this sixteen year old kid came in with his girlfriend and wanted to drive a porsch boxster....just to drive it. Its called quailifying. Hahaha yea right. I didn't even bother asking the sales manager. Sounds like you just wasted the salesmans time....you did'nt buy the car did you? You werent at all serious about buying the car were you? Most people buying high end cars which 30 grand is high end to alot of people,so is 50 for the RL. They dont want alot of miles on them from people joy riding. Driving them 5 wash them doesnt count


Randy
Thats what it sounds like to me also. The salesman didnt want to take you on a drive because you were someone elses customer. Some are like that,some are not. Thats why some are frequented by acura enthusiasts and some are not.

 

I would have done exactly what you did. F- those guys, take your business elsewhere. The only other thing you could do is call your original salesperson back, tell him what happened and how disapointed you are then use it as leverage to get him down on the price.

 

Randy, glad to here you like McGrath of Morton Grove. FYI, I live literally 3 minutes of jogging from the place (right around that big park next to the dealer).

We bought out car from McGrath of Westmont (excellent, excellent service. BBQ, Putting Green, many TVs, all the goods ), but service it at the MG dealer because its a minute away. The service is awesome; they are understanding, good with test drives, and don't pester.

Randy, if I may add a little something;

-if you're looking for a perfect car wash, they don't have it. They do have one of the best I've ever seen, but if you want a perfectly dry car, they do tend to miss a little bit of the bottom.
-if you're looking for direct contact, McGrath in general is great with keeping in touch. They are very punctual with any and all appointments and gladly go out of their way for things.
-They make sure the car is in tip-top shape; about 5 months ago, the leather on the side bolster of the front seats was cracking due to rapid wear. We took it in, and they actually replaced it free of charge! When it happend a 2nd time, we took it in once more, again free of charge. We haven't been there again, but might be once there is more wear on the seats. It's incredible how they renew the leather free of charge .

-So, overall, I love the service. But, if you want to pamper yourself, service at the Westmont location is awesome because of all the amenities. Good luck with your purchase, maybe I'll catch you in the dealer one day.

BTW, Go Cubs!

 

i did that when i bought my 00 rl, the local toyota dealer wouldnt sell me a camry, something about credit or i wasnt inbred enough to buy from their dealership, so i took the rl and told him that it was his loss and i would tell everyone about their practices.
it felt great

 

wow, i guess i should feel lucky for having test drove the RL back in november, afew weeks after they had come out when i was only ....(drumroll)....16. Sales lady was awesome....even let me take it on the hwy. Didnt look at my liscencce or insurance (course i had both). Having a first gen TL and expressing an interest to trade in might have helped.

 

It's people like you that judge people by looks and appearance alone. We're in modern times now, there are people, kids 17-18 years old that have wealth beyond what you will ever see. How do you know the next 17-18 year old kid won't be loaded? Ever come to Richmond BC here in Vancouver Canada.. then you'll know. Take a look at the parking lot of one highschool here and 5 out of 10 cars is a mercedes/bmw, 1 is a civic, 2-3 is an acura and the other 1-2 is an upscale domestic.

If the kid is with the mother i'd let the kid drive. What's the worry? Sign some papers and let them take it out. If the legality is taken care of, your job security is not the issue.

One thing i _HATE_ is how people qualify others just from what they look or their age.

 

Things have changed a lot since I was in high school. When I was a senior in high school I had the best car in my class, a 10-year old 1953 Lincoln. Wish I still had it.

 

I had one bad experience with a Lexus dealership in NJ. A little over a year ago, a good friend of mine is looking for a 25-35k sedan and we test drove the A4, TSX and wanted to go test the IS300. The Audi and Acura dealerships were great. Audi even let us take the A4 by ourselves. The first thing the Lexus lady told us when we asked for a test drive was "how serious are you ?" She was alluding to how serious we were buying the vehicle. We simply told her we were serious about the test drive and that we were shopping. She never let us test drive. She had the nerve to tell us at the end that when we are real serious, come back for a test drive. So much for that Lexus service. I hate that IS300 anyway. I convinced my friend to get the TSX and he's been very happy with it.

 

I had one bad experience with a Lexus dealership in NJ. A little over a year ago, a good friend of mine is looking for a 25-35k sedan and we test drove the A4, TSX and wanted to go test the IS300. The Audi and Acura dealerships were great. Audi even let us take the A4 by ourselves. The first thing the Lexus lady told us when we asked for a test drive was "how serious are you ?" She was alluding to how serious we were buying the vehicle. We simply told her we were serious about the test drive and that we were shopping. She never let us test drive. She had the nerve to tell us at the end that when we are real serious, come back for a test drive. So much for that Lexus service. I hate that IS300 anyway. I convinced my friend to get the TSX and he's been very happy with it.

Shouldn't shopping include a test drive. Yes, there's no real way to figure whether someone is really serious about buying. But I think that comes with the territory and that the dealership just have to "suck" it up and not piss people off. That's part of selling. A car is not a microwave oven, you need to test it before you buy it. It's simply unreasonable not to provide a test drive of something that expensive.

 

I bought my 05 RL off the show room. I was offered a test drive, I declined.
I am a mechanical engineer. (30 yrs)
What is the point of test driving anyway??

 

Why would you ever buy a car withOUT a test drive? There are many things that go into purchasing/choosing a car, like appearance, price, features, e.t.c., but in my mind, the test drive is the make it or break it test. I can't imagine laying out even $10K for a car I'd never driven, let alone almost $50K. Would you buy a house you read about and saw in photos but weren't allowed to tour in person? Would you marry a woman after reading about her, even seeing her in person, but not being allowed to even talk to her?

I test drove the Lexus GS300 & LS430, Audi S4, BMW 530i, Porsche Cayenne, Acura TL, Infiniti M35X, M35 Sport, M45 Lux, and M45 Sport, as well as the RL 6 times by itself before coming to my decision. When laying out that much money for a car, I would think most people would want to know all their options.

Or did I miss your point and you were somehow joking about turning down the test drive and then buying the car?

Randy

 

Over the years I have purchased several cars without a test drive. You really can't tell a lot about a car in a short test drive. The only way to really know the car is to buy it and drive it. Then you find out all the quirks.

BTW Aziz I'm a civil engineer (38 yrs).

 

Well, I would agree that short test drives with a salesperson chatting your ear off are not very helpful.

However, when I bought my Mercedes E420 in 1999, I was also considering a 1999 Audi A6. Both dealers agreed to let me take the cars home on a Friday night, to be returned before noon the next day. I drove both of them, back-to-back for several hours that night. Sat in them both, learned all the interior features. Got a feel for them on the highway, local roads, daylight, and night time. I loved the Audi interior, gadgets, and overall look of the car. However, at the time, the A6 was powered by a 190-HP V6, and the E420 had the 275-HP V8. After driving them back-to-back on freeway entrance ramps, the Mercedes had won me over.

This time around, I took a TL home overnight, and an M45 home overnight. I couldn't take the TL's torque-steer, and it felt just too "different" than my rear-drive car. The M45 was great, terrific engine and tranny, but the price was too great to get it up to par with the Acura products. I kept thinking about the RL I had sat-in in the showroom, and went back to that. After several test drives, it was an easy choice over the competition; M45 too pricey, M35X not as "complete" a car as the RL, in my opinion.

Anyway, when you really narrow it down to 2-3 cars you're interested in, get an overnight test-drive. It makes it much easier to see the perks/faults of each car.

I've owned my RL two days now, and I have four complaints:
*lack of interior storage and trunk space compared to my E420
*turning radius is much larger than my E420 (could pull out of my condo garage in one turn in the Benz, the Acura takes a three-point-turn)
*Homelink output is weak - it will open my condo garage door from the inside, but won't when I pull up to it from the outside. Again, the Homelink in the eight-year-old Benz worked fine.
*Can't play DVD-Rs with MP3s on them; I know this wasn't supposed to be a feature anyway, but MAN would it be great to keep 1-2 DVD-Rs in there all the time with about 900 songs each on them.

Randy

 

Wow, I guess each to his/her own, but I find a test drive is an invaluable part of determining which car I really like and want, but I guess it all gets down to how you approach it.

For example, before I test drive, I have normally got the list of cars that I think I will like down to a handful. Then, I carefully note the comments from others on each car, so that I can check it out for myself. The test drive allows me to get the feel of the car and to check out the reported highs and lows for the model. In the case of the RL, I tested the SH-AWD by aggressively driving round a freeway on-ramp (recommended by the dealer), I also noted the quietness of the cabin and the superb fit and finish of the inside. I checked the acceleration (some were trying to say it was too slow) and listened to the 5.1 surround system.

Without a test drive you are simply depending on other opinions, or worse the marketing for each car (no flames, I am in marketing myself and know very well how to hype things up to make them sound more than they really are).

Pete

 

So in your opinion do you think Acura hypes the RL enough? I don't. I think Acura could use slightly more aggressive marketing (or is their conservative marketing approach more appropriate for the company's philosophy?).

 

Salesmen who play games w/stupid stuff like test drives are only ensuring that their dealership won't be selling a car to you, and that the salesmen themselves are a day closer to the unemployment line. In my previous job (before I went into business for myself ... eeps) I was pulling down $52K a year plus a $500/month car allowance. Over several months I evaluated multiple makes and models.

I visited 3 different Infiniti dealers (2 in San Diego, 1 in Las Vegas: Discover/Kearny Mesa and Carlsbad and Towbin in Vegas), interested in the I30 or M45. I made it clear I could afford pretty much anything under $40,000 and wanted to experience the vehicles for myself. Their attitudes were pretty much (and in one case, more/less stated): "Our cars are pretty similar to our competitors; it depends on what you like. When you've decided our cars are what you want, then we'll let you test-drive one." F**k them. When I told the salesguy at the Bimmer dealer in Henderson I was looking at Benz, Acura, Infiniti, etc., he got combative and just wanted to argue with me, and basically told me I was an idiot if I was looking at Bimmers and Benzes comparatively. That just made me want to leave w/o looking seriously at his cars. Fletcher Jones Benz (Vegas)'s saleswoman was honest, at least: she told us up front that they're the only Benz dealer in Nevada and they'll take 3% off the sticker and that's it, because they've got a local monopoly. Other than that the C and E-Classes were totally boring, unimpressive vehicles, that did nothing for me either.

Every Acura dealer except one I've visited in California and Vegas, for either service or product evaluation - Hoehn, Cush, Ball, and Falconi's - has treated me with complete service, courtesy, and respect. It's one reason I've bought two new Acuras. (The one exception was Cerritos Acura, which sold me a pre-owned Legend with two major mechanical problems that should've been reported in their vehicle inspections, but weren't, and refused to stand behind the vehicle. Needless to say, I've spread a lot of poison about them over the years.)

 

I had the same thing happen to me at my local BMW dealer last December. First of all, I'm 57 y/o (and look every day of it) and had been a loyal customer of their dealership for about 12 years. I had even referred several other buyers tothem, all of which are driving BMWs. Anyway, I was already in my 3rd BMW from them and simply wanted to test drive their new 545i, for I was considering buying one this Spring. I was told the usual salesman that I dealt with was out of town, so another one came to help me. I told this guy up front that I was the other salesman's customer and just found out he wasn't in town. I then told him I could only come today and was considering buying the 545i, so I wanted to take one out to see how it drove. The salesman told me I could only test drive it in the parking lot (!!). So, my wife (who was with me) and I simply walked out of their lot and never returned for another BMW.

I can see that the salesman felt he wasn't going to make a sale on me, since I had informed him I was a customer of another sales guy, therefore, he wouldn't let me test drive one. In all 3 previous BMWs I considered buying, I was always allowed to teake a model out for a drive, the first time with the salesman, the last 2 times by myself (with copies of my driver's license and insurance info left behind). However, this time, for whatever reason this other guy didn't want to "work as a team" and let his sales buddy make a sale, I simply swore off the BMW dealership and got the 05 RL.

 

Did you let them know? I'd have let the owner (and your former saleman) know that their attitude cost them a repeat customer.

 

Randy,

I too have been to McGrath for a test drive (TL). What salesman did you deal with?

Thanks,
Steve

 

Yes! I subsequently called the sales guy I had dealt with in the past and told him. It blew right past him, though, for he simply told me to "make sure I go by there when he's there..." I then sent a letter to their GM and have yet to hear back from them. They don't care, though, as long as there are hundreds of those $329 a month 3-series zipping around here (and there are).