roushracin

Hello everyone. My wife and I were talking a few days ago about how you go to an exotic car dealership and drive one of their cars. I am no way wanting to do this, but my wife and I were just discussing it. What do you guys think. Do they check your credit before? Do you have to make an appointment or just show up and say I want to test drive this one. I know maybe each dealership is different, however, I was just curious as to how the process works.

The Dougler

iTrader: (1)

if you have to ask, they say no.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

I've only dealt with Porsche and Mercedes and for both I had to make appointments (Mercedes b/c it was the C63 AMG). Unfortunately I never got to drive the C63 b/c they didn't have one I could drive.

For Porsche, we knew the sales guy b/c he sold us our Audi before he changed dealerships... so he didn't question us in any way. In fact, he told me to call him if I want to come and test drive other models (models which he knew we would not be buying).

Not quite sure how it works just walking in off of the street or calling a dealership. My guess is that if you have the money to do that, you know how to play the game. If not, they'll smell you a mile away and you likely won't get near the car to drive it.

imj0257

iTrader: (1)

I have no fking clue but because the cars are so fucking expensive i wouldnt be surprised if they needed to check your credit or some collateral or something

westas2

no idea either, but I say just walk in. People with money aren't going to think about calling ahead and making an appointment - that's too much work. They just show up and expect to be taken care of...........

Danil ACE

Probably just show up in an exotic and they'll let you test drive one.

Costco

exactly, don't show up in your Cama- I mean TL and expect to get a test drive of a Carrera GT.

Will Y.

I have my secretary or one of my assistants call to book the appointment.

Too bad I don't have any money...

iTimmy

you have to look the part and act the part, and until you establish a relationship with a exotic dealer and they know your serious they will probably not just toss you the keys to a high end car. If you march in there demanding a test drive you'll probably be turned down, they are not will to risk the chance that you "may" buy the car, they will probably want to hammer out most of the details before they allow you to drive anything.

One of my friends had a H1 Hummer in the late 90's and we could test drive any car we wanted if we rolled up in that thing, he ended up buying a CLK55, but we test drove pretty much every expensive car sold in this area over the course of a few months.

FiveLiterCheater

Buy an outfit from brooks brothers and roll up in maybach...

phee

iTrader: (5)

smash the window. shoot the clerk in the gray suit, then run up the stairs, shoot the window out in front of the feature car and hop in, hotwire it then drive it off the second floor onto the street below. that always works for me

nokiaman

There aren't too many exotic places around where I live so BMW,Porsche, MB and Audi, Lexus etc are about as high as it goes. If you want Lotus, Lamborghini, Ferrari and such automobiles you have to go to either Toronto or Montreal. The local BMW dealership usually lets me test drive most models they have unless they're sold mainly because my brother works and operates the dealership. I've also bought 4 or 5 cars from them in the past. Lexus, Mercedes and Infiniti had all very good people that were ready to toss me the keys. However, the first time I stepped in the local Porsche and Audi dealership, no one ever bothered to come and talk to me. I had to wait several minutes for a salesperson to come and assist me. When they asked me what kind of car I drove, it definitely made a difference as they sent me someone else, apparently someone more experienced who could differentiate an A6 and an A8. I ended up taking an A8L home that night. I didn't even bother asking for Porsches as they weren't in my budget and didn't want one at that time.

westas2

Just make sure to keep your pinky in the air - that means you're fancy

ThermonMermon

are you liable to any degree for the incidentals??

i got turned off by renting a jetski for 30 min due to a $1,000 deposit...cant imagine ever attempting to take out an exotic car. i know, apples to oranges...but still...

CCns24

It depends. If you have some sort of relationship with the dealer they may be more apt to let you drive a car vs. someone just walking in off the street. Our local Ferrari dealer generally requires you to make an appointment unless you are a current owner. I went to the local Porsche dealership and drove just about every car on their lot excluding the GT2 a few weeks back, but again this is a dealer that I have bought 2 cars from already so I have a relationship with them. However, the first time I stepped foot in the dealership I went for a test drive in a 996 C4S with the GM. Can't say there is any rhyme or reason, but in general I would say at least make an appointment.

phil2

Just show up

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

Never came up. I would assume that they would be a bit more selective than your average Saturn dealership.

subinf

When my dad went to look at a Maserati the sales person asked him if he wanted to take it out. Didn't seem like a big deal.

Never Summer

It's probably not too hard. I had a salesman have me move a 2006 Jetta TDI when I was only 15 and had my permit, and another salesman let me test drive a PDG CL-S earlier this year when I was 17, neither asked for any form of ID.

zguy95135

Theres a pretty big difference between a Jetta and a Ferrari though.

dmassott

i've always wanted to try this since F.C. Kerbeck is like 10 min from my house, they have lambos, aston martins, bentley, etc., whenever i drive by im drooling out the window

black label

You kinda have to leave Porsche out of this one as they aren't really exotics. For the most part you could show up at a Porsche dealer and get a demo in a Boxster, Cayman or some versions of a 911. Most 911 turbos are sold sans test drive, they typically aren't available for immediate delivery any way, you place an order for a custom build or you purchase an incoming spec'd out unit. GT2's and GT3's you just buy with out a demo.

It is quite often the same with Ferrari and Lambo, you don't drive them you buy them. People who do buy these cars want them with as close to zero miles as possible. Would you drop $200K= on "new" Lambo with 175 test drive miles.

Many Lambo and Ferrari dealers are by appointment only although previous customers do get to just stop in and if the dealers have the time available they will work with them on the spot.

Most folks in this market don't have any problem with making an appointment to see these cars. They are very limited production pieces and they might not even have the car you are looking for. I can recall a gentleman who wanted a pearl white Murcielago and lived in Beverly Hills. There were 6 in existence at the time and the only one in the US was at Lambo of Boston. Here's how the telephone negotiations went.

"So you have the car?"
"Yes we do"
"How many miles are on it?"
"The car has 23 miles on it, 19 from the factory and 4 from our tech check"
"what is the ticket?"
"It's $389,645"
"I'll take it, Let me know how much it will be to ship it to me and I'll wire the funds"

Let's put it this way, it's not like going to check out a 09 RL.

TommySalami

Round here they always ask for and photocopy your drivers license.

Maybe some day I'll stroll in to the local Porsche dealership and try to get a test drive of something like a Cayman S. You know, not too nice, but a Porsche nonetheless

Never Summer

Huge difference. Not even comparable. However if they didn't bother to check if I was of legal driving age well, what the hell, might as well head on over to Ferrari of Denver.

Crazy Bimmer

If you can afford one then you can afford to rent one to test drive.

Be-in my TL

I agreewith the guy a few posts above. Most people buying exotics KNOW what they're getting into(excluding celebrities because they buy whatever looks good, but nonetheless buy the cars.) I'm pretty sure a guy wanting a Ferrari knows most of the specs before he steps foot into a dealer, and the dealer should expect someone with a little knowledge of what they're putting themselves into, financially. YOu can expect a regular joe in a Honda dealer looking for a car to suit his daily driver, but you don't see many exotic shoppers looking from one car to another. They usually have an eye on something and, YES, they do buy it.


[quote]"So you have the car?"
"Yes we do"
"How many miles are on it?"
"The car has 23 miles on it, 19 from the factory and 4 from our tech check"
"what is the ticket?"
"It's $389,645"
"I'll take it, Let me know how much it will be to ship it to me and I'll wire the funds"

Let's put it this way, it's not like going to check out a 09 RL.[quote]

black label

I always get a copy of a license before a demo drive mostly because you need to have it ahead of time in case something does happen. The dealer plates carry a lot of insurance, but the driver is responsible for any moving violations.

In regards to the Cayman S, we're talking about a car that extremely well equipped might run up to $85K but most are in the 60-70 range. In the world of European high performance cars, that's not a lot of money. Now if you go in and tell them you are looking for a pre owned car, they would be even less suspicious that you are a stroker (that's what we call the asshats who come in with a good enough story that we have to take them seriously but there aren't really in the market for a car and they just waste our time).

Why I'm telling you this after you just insulted my favorite whip to take out I don't know but the Cayman S is the best handling Porsche on the market the doesn't have the letters "G" and "T" in it's model designation.

I'll walk past a 911 turbo coupe and a Carrera S cab to get my hands on a Cayman S almost every time (sometimes I like the wind in my hair and the sun in my face.

black label

Actually it's quite the opposite. The most (I said most not all) of the guys buying Lambos and Ferraris are really buying a sock for their pants. They will never drive the cars fast or make them do what they were made for and if they do, they end up posted on wreckedexotics.com

The people who are spending a substantially larger amount of their income percentage wise on something like a Honda or an Acura are much more educated buyers and in my experience know their shit before they came in.

In this case Porsche is a little different as well. The Porsche sports car buyer (leaving the Cayenne out here) is the most brand loyal car buyer out there especially the 911 buyer.

slowaccord

very true. Alot of times they just know what brand they want. many times the dealer can ask a few simple questions and get them the model thats right for them.



Lol ur post made me laugh where u said stroker. We get a bunch of these losers at my work also. They come in the shop with a salvaged bmw thinking their hot shit and they want to spend 1,000 on a set of 20's.

black label

If they buy something then they are better than the strokers.

TLType-s12

iTrader: (2)

Yaaa nobodys goin to let you drive a exotic without a appt and alot of money or just alot of money. People that are going to buy a ferrari or lambo dont test drive these cars. They just buy them lol

stright-(paint)balling

never test drove an exotic
the nicest 2 cars i ever drove was an:
#1. Acura RL(previous generation) a-spec.
that i just walked in asked them nicely "may i please drive the RL A-spec" they asked me a few questions then they road with me probably 10-15 minutes.
#2. previous generation Z06 Vette.
again they asked me a few questions and sales person rode with me for 10-15 minutes.

BstonBruin

As one guy previously posted...the real exotics are usually not test driven just bought. The Lamborghini garage about 10 minutes away from me does not do test drives so I imagine most to be the same

roushracin

Thanks for all the replys. I guess I don't understand how some people would just wire funds to a dealer to buy a 200-300k dollar car. I thought I loved the new Lexus ES350 until I drove it. I also thought I was going to buy a Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT until I drove it and couldn't stand how uncomfortable the front seats were. I just don't understand how some people would fork over that kind of money without driving it first. That's like seeing a picture of a house and buying it without getting it checked out.

nokiaman

It's because when you lay out 300k on a 640 hp Ferrari or Lambo, it rarely deceives you.:wink:

TommySalami

haha I wasn't insulting it, no way. I'm just saying it's a great car but no GT3 or anything like that. should've worded it differently

black label

Well if your location is correct and I believe it is, the conversations regarding the white lambo and the wire transfer happened there. If you keep your eyes open you'll see Joey Kramer (drummer from Aerosmith) stopping by frequently. I'm not working next door anymore even though I do still keep in touch with Todd (the only Lambo salesman) but the last I knew he has bought three of them. He started low with a Gallardo and gets bored every 4-6 months and upgrades.

BTW if you want to get some nice Lambo pics from there do it soon. Things will be changing in the very near future. Think "practical sports car"

This is sort of what I was refering to when I mentioned that most of these exotic buyers buying a sock in the pants and the gutybuying a Honda or an Acura (in your case replace with ES350 and Grand Cherokee SRT) being more informed about the product.

Guys buying 200-300K cars are the "ultra rich" not the "lower class millionaire". This is chump change to them. I'm guessing to that to you the purchase of either of your choices takes a larger portion of your income and it's more of a necessity than a toy (even though you could get a much less expensive car that would serve you needs).

FTR, I'm a regular guy, I just rub elbows with the ultra rich.

TS_eXpeed

So say you really liked the styling of a Lambo for instance, and went in to buy one yet they never let you test drive it.

You buy it, and decide you hate it over the ferrari you were allowed to test drive now.

Can you take and back??

I just think that would be pretty messed up not even being able to test drive the car at all before buying it.

subinf

The Ferrari dealer just down the road does test drives all the time. It is all about your attitude and how you approach the dealer.

coconut

^^^ wtf are you talking about?