I went by a local Subaru/Mitsubishi dealership and they refused to let me test drive either the STi or Evo without "pre-qualifying" me by having me fill out a credit application and running an inquiry.

I'm 34, carry a mature demeanor, and drove in with a fairly nice vehicle. I asked serious buyer type questions (warranty, etc) and didn't even ask for the test drive until after talking for 30+ minutes. I bought my last Evo from this same dealership and they never once asked to run my credit first.

Has anybody else run into this before? I am completely floored that a dealership thinks they are going to damage my credit just so that I can test drive a car that I might not even like.

 

my dealer asked me for a deposit AND a credit check

 

don't be too suprised... there are tons of threads talking about this...

 

its a sales tactic designed to make you feel obligated and act on impulse during/after the test drive.

many dealerships do this on their "Flagship" models.

 

Unacceptable. These cars arent selling THAT well.

 

never had any problem test driving car here

 

not surprised... fortunately my dealership i visited for my first ever test drive, I was professional and asked for a test drive after speaking with the guy for a while. He had no problem letting me go for a spin.

 

depends on what u roll up in

friend sells cars.. he says if people dont roll up in a decent car he runs credit.. messed up but its just so he doesnt waste his time.. and miss out on an ACCUAL sale

 

/\/\/\ thats also a big reason.

in the car sales world we call those who drive up in a 91 crx a "boag" most of the time I wont even run a credit check just ask them what they feel their credit will allow them to afford. most people know if their credit is good or bad.

 

They had nothing else better to do then give a guy a hassle, but on that note they didn't bother "checking" my credit because I drove up in a Bimmer to trade. I know they still checked though, even though they said that they didn't. Liars. Should've bought that A5 and kept my VIII...........

 

yeah, it depends on what type of dealer you have in the area. Another reason that they are starting this has to new with some new rules and regs that came out (see Red Flag Rules and Regs on any of the 13 govmt sites)-they want to be sure you are who you say-its another (maybe more drastic) step from drivers lic and copy of ins card prior to test drive. They dont like people leaving with cars (it happens more then people say).
I'm confident that if you told them that you are not financing with any of the lenders the dealer works with (you have your own, cash, whatever)-they would skip it-if they dont, make a little scene-you're not obligated to finance with them.

 

haven't had this problem but i for sure wouldn't be interested in buying a car at that particular dealership if that were the case.

 

Well if your not interested in buying and just want to test drive, that is just more miles on the car. Were you thinking about buying or just wanted to see how they drive??? I had to have a credit check as well.

 

Dealerships love to stereotype like this. I got it all the time when I was looking around (20 yr-old Evo driver, at the time). The only thing that would usually even give me a chance was telling them I had the Evo completely paid off. It's funny how the stereotype can work in different ways though. Now if I pull up to a dealership they assume I'm not even there to buy a car (I almost never get approached by sales people) due to the car I'm in.

So, yes, I've run into it a million times. It's their way of seeing how serious you are, and trying to catch you into buying the car right after a test drive (aka weeding out the people who just want a joy ride). Totally unacceptable with how awful the Evo X is selling though. By now all the dealers should have their own demo cars

 

Same thing happened to me yesterday. I didnt even ask for a test drive, nor did I want to take one. As I was finishing up my conversation with the salesman, he said that they can "check my credit and then let me take the thing for a spin." Its stupid, but it seems more dealers are doing this nowadays.