no, they wouldn't do a dealer trade, so i ordered one which they shipped one straight from Japan to me (from another dealer)... the car has 3 miles on it when i brought it home...

i wouldn't have left my accord over there!

 

Or, instead of trying to test drive a new one... you could look for a used one to test drive. Then you would be able to floor it, etc, without worrying about damaging the car. Or come out to a meet and see if one of the people there will let you drive theirs. I know that's happened before in the DC area. Don't get discouraged! I wouldn't take the 330 over an Evo. Price and Performance. The performance was really what sold me. I like no compromises, and (besides the 4-door thing) the Evo is no compromises.

 

ehh . . . i had a bad expirience when i purchased my car. . . . For being 19 i have a deep voice. . i called in and asked for a sales rep and asked if they had a car avaliable to test drive . . set up an appointment and went in. Over the phone the guy was like yes sir ok no problem cant wait to see you. I was with my girlfriend also. Well i let the clerk lady know i was looking for Mike ( think that was his name ) and waited. Well here comes mike and the lady was all your appointment is here. We were standing like 3 feet away from him. And he was like ok and walked right in the middle of me and my girlfriendd with out apologizing or anything. then turned around and said where is he. And i looked at him and said im right here. then he was super nice, Basically i got all the finance done and then before i signed the forms i asked if all that paper owrk could transfer to the dealership on the other side of town .. . he said ye sir, and i said good can you fax it to them so i can go pick up a car from them and walked out. No comission for that *** clown. Got my car the same day at the other dealership

 

they wont let you test drive a brand new car.

 

Sorry, guys... I realize I didn't give enough info about me to be helpful.

I'm 30+. I drove into the dealership in a BMW 330 (borrowed from a friend), and I also have a Lexus RX300 (the family car). I don't look like an early 20's kid, though I am Chinese, and have been told that I do look young for my age (which seems pretty common for asians).

Overall, I couldn't come up with any decent reason for them not to let me take a test drive. I test drove a Lotus Elise, an SLK350 Benz, and even the BMW 7 series, and none of these dealerships ever questioned it, even though I was just researching my options and was 2-3 months off from buying at the time.

I'm so mad at the dealership, I've been debating writing a letter to MMNA to complain.

Thanks for all the comments so far... it's been really great.
- Ken

 

i got the same problem in 5 dealerships but i got lucky on 1 they gave me a test drive on a 04 yellow evo that had 1000 miles on it they only let test drive to ppl they think they going to buy it i was dress nice like a business man and they let me drive it for like 30 mins nice ride and i still didnt buy it

 

First time i drove mine was home from the dealership after i bought it... happened to be a 2.5 hour trip out of state. saved me thousands on the crazy markups they had when they first came out and was plenty of time on the way home to get aquainted with my new toy.

 

I bought mine...sight unseen. First drive was into the trailer for the 8 hour ride home.

 

just go to another dealership..i mean this one seems ridiculous..especially if u drove up in a beamer..i test drove mine new before i bought it and all i did was walk up and say i'd like to test drive it but i want black tho (mine is now red which was the one they had)..i hadn't even told them yet that I had 30,000 dollars cash and they still let me take it out..brand new...and they didn't mind that i pushed it a little either..i'm sure if u look u'll find another dealer..anyways..as for mitsu vs bmw..maybe u should think of a used 01 or 02 or 03 e46 M3? beautiful car..still quality even used..and a little more performances than the 330..

 

if you wanna know why dealerships wont let you drive a car its for these simple reasons:

the evo is a delicate car and if you dont know how to drive it you can mess it up pretty bad with a lot of money worth of damage

the person who will ultimately buy the car doesnt want a bunch of test miles

the person who is going to buy it knows what he wants and doesnt need to test drive it. most people who bought the evo havent even test drove it before the final paperwork.

they figure you want to joy ride and if you go in talking about driving it they know you arent serious.

managers are on their *** about that car. the evo is the 1 car that cant be test driven.

people cant drive stick or know how to drive a high performance car responsibly.

insurance issues.

im sure it looks like the salespeople and dealerships are a$sholes, but look at it from their point of view

 

I was all set to buy a 330, seemed nice and comfortable and well built, decent handling and acceleration. The dealer even found me one with the exact options I wanted below invoice. Then at the last minute I test drove an EVO and that was it. I called the BMW dealer and said so sorry I'm buying an EVO. While it doesn't have the luxury features and plushness of the BMW, it will put a wacky grin on your face every time you drive it. I come in to work everyday with a smile on my face and my co-workers just look at me and laugh, cause they know where that grin came from. You need to drive one of these cars before you buy a 3 series. Just have to find the right dealer.

 

also, personally i can care less if i go on a test drive. actually i like going on test drives and pushing the car to its limits, but when i get back and the person walks off the lot i get a yelling and i am called into a meeting everytime and get my *** kicked

 

Don't take it personal. The first dealership I went to told me sorry but no, that "people who buy Evos don't want any miles on them". The second one they let me test drive one and the salesman drove it some himself and he drove it like the cops were after us. I bought it from the third dealership with 9 miles on it. Just go to another dealership.

 

thats actually a good idea

 

If you are thinking about buying an MR then drive an MR, not a GSR, 05 or otherwise...

The MR is night and day from the GSR...especially as far as ride quality and comfort is concerned...sounds like you are trying to strike a balance between comfort and performance...the MR is exactly that...

I drove an 03 GSR and an 04 STi before buying my 03 GSR, but neither dealership was "officially" offering test drives on either car...but I have friends in the business so it worked out...

Later I looked at an 05 STi at another dealership...I never even asked to drive one, but the salesman made it clear right away that there were no test drives...

I would never buy a car without driving it...magazine reviews and word of mouth is not enough for me...if it was I would have probably bought the STI

I drove the MR when it came out... of course I was instantly hooked

I traded in my 03 GSR on the spot...

Find a dealer that wants to sell you a car...but you can see from many of these posts why dealers don't want to let the cars be driven...