Perhaps dealerships could enforce a stringent test drive policy in which a new Evo is not allowed to be driven hard. I test drove a new 2005 Evo at Fresno Mitsubishi that had 8 miles on the odometer. The salesman and I took it out for a 20 mile spin. During that time, he instructed me to NOT go over 5K rpm and to otherwise take it easy. I wouldn't have had to be instructed to abstain from hard driving. It's all about doing unto others as you would have done to you. If such a policy were enforced and advertised, it would make potential Evo buyers a little more secure about buying a car that had been test driven. And might sell more cars for not having alienated potential customers.

 

"Totally unacceptable with how awful the Evo X is selling though. "

Well, at the current state of the economy, who the hell is really buying a $40,000 car, ya know? lol. The Mitsubishi dealer local to me has about 13 Evo X's just sitting on the lot and they have been all summer long. They ain't going anywhere. I even asked the dealer about that, and they told me that in all the hype, they think they ordered too many too soon, LOL

 

yup, haha. me and my friends all drove our nice car that day.

then we all carpooled in a truck the next time and got no help whatsover.

 

OK my background I have been and am still working with a financing company for 5 years.

It is Illegal if they don't request everyone to fill out a credit app before test driving due to discrimination laws.

so if they don't make everyone fill out a credit app before test driving ANY car on their lot it is illegal to make a person fill out a credit app on a specific car... not to mention it is crappy business practices unless it is a 100k plus car.

in reference to my previous statement there were a couple dealers local to me that were increasing the price of the cars if the customer got approved and their credit was bad. trade or not involve they were skull jacking people because they couldn't get done elsewhere.

For the record legally there are still alot of states that you cannot show negative equity on a bill of sale or contract, and there are A LOT of banks that will not take a deal on a car if negative equity is show.

STevo

 

i was able to test drive one with no questions asked..

 

I think dealerships have every right to dissuade joyriding. But this is a silly practice.

 

damage your credit?? they changed a law regarding that so dealerships can actually inquire multiple credit companies so they can give you the best rate. they checked out 7 companies before i got mine. didn't effect my credit at all.

 

A few weeks after the X came out I went to check them out. I told them I was a serious buyer but had to wait for my insurance check before I could buy a car. They wanted me to fill out a credit app to show that I was a serious buyer before I test drive because "Once you drive it you WILL buy it" is what they told me. I walked out and went to another dealer which wanted to charge me $3k over sticker for a used X with 1k miles. I laughed and walked out. Next dealer I went in and bought my Aero Navi Evo X for $35.8k . I take it to the first dealer I spoke of for service so I am sure I have been seen .

Go somewhere else. This is a tactic. If you are serious then dealers should treat you that way without using tactics. Free country = free to go anywhere else.

 

What I wrote earlier was partially wrong: it's 30-45 days not 14 days.

This is extremely important for people shopping for a car to know!!

from MYFICO.com

What to know about "rate shopping."
Looking for a mortgage or an auto loan may cause multiple lenders to request your credit report, even though youre only looking for one loan. To compensate for this, the score ignores all mortgage and auto inquiries made in the 30 days prior to scoring. So if you find a loan within 30 days, the inquiries won't affect your score while you're rate shopping. In addition, the score looks on your credit report for auto or mortgage inquiries older than 30 days. If it finds some, it counts all those inquiries that fall in a typical shopping period as just one inquiry when determining your score. For FICO scores calculated from older versions of the scoring formula, this shopping period is any 14 day span. For FICO scores calculated from the newest versions of the scoring formula, this shopping period is any 45 day span. Each lender chooses which version of the FICO scoring formula it wants the credit reporting agency to use to calculate your FICO score.

Improving your FICO score.
If you need a loan, do your rate shopping within a focused period of time, such as 30 days. FICO scores distinguish between a search for a single loan and a search for many new credit lines, in part by the length of time over which inquiries occur.


So I say again...don't let those people pull your credit unless you're ready to buy.

 

I am not sure, I am kind of mixed bag on this. I went to three places, before buying the wifes' MR, and was not denied a test drive at any of them. I was up front, told them I was looking, but not convinced, and didn't push to drive the car.

Anyway, back on point, I don't see a problem letting someone run my credit, if I am truly serious about the car. Again, if I am serious, I would want that out of the way, provided I was going to finance.

 

I remember when the IS300 first came out, a couple friends and I went over to the dealership to check out the first ones that arrived. The dealership got 3 of them. We drove up in my buddy's beat-up Civic, asked questions as we checked out the car, but never asked to drive it. The salesman pulled out the keys and said, "Well, let's get going then." So we all took turns driving it. I still have the guy's card, and if I ever find myself wanting a Lexus I know where I'm going first.

Now, even with a giant deposit check in hand, I couldn't get a test drive in a X. I wasn't going to let anyone run my credit, because I get cheap easy financing through my credit union, and if I didn't like the X I was going to have to wait for a local dealership to get an STI in. I walked out of three dealerships that could have had a sale, and ended up just buying at South Coast.

It brings a smile to my face every time I pass one of those dealerships and they still have the exact same Xs on the lot that they had back in April. They deserve it.

 

I've never had a dealership ask for a credit check and if they did, I'd tell them to shove it sideways and go elsewhere. My credit is none of their business.

 

i wouldnt allow them to check my credit since every time someone runs your credit the score goes down.

so they are trying to make you feel like now you have to buy the car from them b/c they already ran your credit.

 

When I bought my Evo the dealership wouldnt let me test drive it. I went back a few days later with my parents and cash and the threw me the keys right away, but they probably saw me as an 18 year old kid that probably had no intention of buying the car and that I just wanted a joy ride.

 

thats what they did to me as i am 18 also

all i did was tell them i would never be spending any of my money at that dealership as i was walking out the door and someone came running out after me telling me that i could test drive the car as long as i had insurance and a drivers license lol