aGenKa

so i'm going to be test driving a tl soon and i wanted to know if anyone had any advice for a first time car buyer? like i was wondering if people do like hard breaking and fast lanes changes at test drives or is that considered rude? i would like to get an idea of the tl in hard breaking, especially because i have read that there is a forward roll on the body? would the salesman scream in horror if i do? what if it was in the parking lot?

i remember when i helped my parents buy their 530i a few yrs ago and i was testing the car out on the highway and the salesman's face was in horror from my aggressive driving and he kept telling me to slow down. i thought bmws were suppose to be driven aggressively

is there any tips in terms of the actual test drive? i have heard you should do test drives w/ the radio off so you can hear the engine, interior noise, and if there are rattles and what not. also i would assume you should try to do some highway, onramp, passing, test the turning radius, hard breaking tests, tho doesn't the dealer usually pick the test drive route? is there anything i left out? what about the overboosted/light steering and torque steer?

another question how many test drives did you guys do before buying?

and lastly, any dealer advice for either boston or pittsburgh dealers? i goto school in pitt, but live in boston, i could potentially buy in pitt and drive up to boston to register if the dealer experience is worth it.

any tips for a newbie is appreciated, thanks!

twong11219

Check this site out. Should cover everything you need to know.

http://www.fool.com/Car/Worksheets/T...eChecklist.htm

Tripp11

My advice:

If the salesman is with you, I would abide by the laws of the road at first....watch your speed and no sudden lane changes. You should never just hop in car and drive the thing "balls to the wall" until you're familiar with it anyways. When talking to the salesman, ask him about handling and performance related aspects of the car. Then, if you feel like you have a little "connection" going, ask him if it would be ok to put the TL through its paces a bit......nothing too crazy but I would definitely make a few aggressive corners and do some straightline acceleration runs. Plus, I think it would be a good idea to accelerate in the middle and out of a corner to see if you note any torque steer that might sway your decision. Personally, this car has little or no torque steer but I'm coming from FWD turbo-charged cars to this.

If they flip you the keys, then, once again, become familiar with the car first and then run it through some spirited driving. Remember, at the end of the drive, the car needs to come back in one piece.

I do turn the radio off so I can hear what the car is saying and respond/react to the car noises. If you want to listen to the radio, which you should, do it when you get back and play with all the little knobs and dials - don't do this while driving!!!

I test drove all of my potential new car candidates....but I only drove the TL once....that's all it took.

narikin

(Allston, next to Martignettis). I nearly bought our TL there even though we live in NY. Their prices are very good (make an offer), they get a lot of cars so you have a choice, and they prep them well I think. It's also easier to buy and register a car where you live than where you go to school.

aGenKa

thanks for the advice guys
great link twong

apwalsh

I beat the everliving crap out of cars when I test drive them. Sometimes they freak, sometimes they are confident enough to let you do your thing. (Salesmen) Some dealers let you take the car alone and bring it back. Make sure you find out what you want to find out while test driving, such as hard braking (as you mentioned) hard acceleration, and cornering, etc