I totally agree.

 

I test drove an Evo 10 by myself and the dealer had no problems with it...then again I am over 40 with a sense of responsibility. I baby my Evo 8 and there is no way I am going to trash someone else's car.

 

Who said anything about buying it blindly? Research, pray, talk to a financial advisor, whatever works for you. I'm not saying just go out and splurge on the spur of the moment. IMO, buyer's remorse is just a sign of ignorance and being weak. But now that the credit situation is the way it is, its harder for people without excellent credit to buy cars, even if they can afford them.

Look, there's nothing you can find out on a test drive that will let you know you won't like the car two months, six months down the road, or even the next day. You can't determine if it handles or performs like it does with out breaking any laws or beating on the car and you shouldn't be allowed to do that. There's plenty of cars I know I don't like and would never want to own and a test drive isn't going to change my mind and likewise there's plenty of cars I KNOW I WANT and a test drive isn't going to change my mind.

 

Deja Vu!!! I had the same problem with my X and I was the same age. Except it was at the subaru dealership for the STI. But the same dealership's Mitsu showroom allowed me to test ride a X. I guess its just a matter of finding the right dealership. He did want to know how much I make and all that before he let me test drive it though at the mitsu showroom. I believe it has something to do with young people just wanting a free ride and bashing the new car in ways it shouldn't be.

 

C'Mon man!!! lighten up. That is just not true. My original car was a 2001 toyota camry LE. The moment I test drove the X, I knew what I was missing out on the camry. I test drove Audi and Acura after that but was still hooked to the Evo experience. Some people might not know the difference, but to any driver worth their salt, I am sure they will know through a test drive.

I however agree with your financial planning. It is an absolute MUST in my book too. I would not have bought the X if I did not know i was gonna be able to pay it off in a year or less (8 months in my case).

 

Just my thoughts.

 

ha.

 

The dealer told me their general policy is to not allow test drives unless they think the guy is really serious. They have had far too many people come by just to see what all the hype is all about. Also, they've had serious problems unloading "new" cars with 100+ miles on them

 

Fair enough.

I think it's jokers that test drive (& driving them crazily ) the cars without intention of buying that lead dealers to be reluctant in allowing test drive.

At where I live, there was this joker that has no intention of buying a car, but still went for a test drive in a mx-5. He drove so wildly that it lead to an accident, killing the young female executive that ride with him.

After that, the rules tighten alot with many dealers, higher restriction is imposed on people going for test driving. The Mitsubishi dealer completely disallow test driving of the evo models.

 

When i was looking for my 8 i stopped in a dealer to check out the X's. The salesman had to talk me into driving one, we get out to the car and he runs my DL and comes back out. My manager said we can't do test drives unless you are going to buy the car today. I came in dressed up from work driving a 03 envoy, i would think i could at least check the thing out to see if i liked it.

 

you guys know what it is, it is an evo. what would a test drive tell you? if it is comfy? if it will sit you comfortably, will it make you do a life changing decision to buy it, etc.? If you have no interest in buying it, just do an internet research of the evo and it will tell you that luxury is not its positive points but performance and handling. unfortunately, they don't have a lot of stocks(local dealers) of evo's that they don't want a prospective buyer to back-off because of high test drive miles. you can test drive a lancer, an eclipse, etc with no problems though.

BTW, they offered me a test drive of the vehicle but I declined because I have no interest in buying it yet.

 

I am only 21 (may look older?) but I just walked into a dealership here and asked to test drive one and no problem I had the keys and off we went. I was even told to bag it and drive it like I stole it and that is exactly what I did.. And to boot it was a MR not a GSR.

I did end up buying a MR that day though from them but even my buddies in my class said they were told they could not take one out from the same dealership so it might just depend on who you talk to.
I also just go out to dealerships and test drive random cars if I have nothing to do and I dont know if its just how I present my self or what but typically I have never had a problem testing all kinds of vehicles from a bunch of the SRT line up to the new M3's, pontiac GXP solstice, Audi's etc...

 

I was 33 when I was in the market for my IX MR. I had a similar experience. I told the salesmanager the Chevy dealership begged me to drive their corvette (no lie), but he really didn't seem interested in selling a car. I had my wife with me, and we drove up in a pretty nice car... Needless to say, I bought from another dealer that did let me test drive. The funniest part. I bought the car outright. It would have been his easiest sale ever.

Why a test drive? Gee, I don't know, to get a feel for how it performs? Hell, a minivan has 4 wheels and an engine, but it's completely different, right? Are we just supposed to be fanboys because of what we read somewhere? An EVO drives differently from a WRX, yet they both perform, right?

 

I can get a pretty good look at a T-bone by sticking my head up a bull's ***, but I'd rather take the butcher's word for it.

Nah I'm with you on this. I'm 24 years old and I'm in the market for an Evo X. I have yet to actually go to a dealership (I've been calling around and searching online inventories), but I do believe I'll turn right around and drive a state over, possibly 2 states over to get the X I want and test drive it.

 

I don't get what you're saying. We're not talking minivans here, we're talking high performance vehicles. I've been in the car business for 8 years. I've sold everything from minivans to sports cars, from trucks and SUVs to economy cars to luxury cars. Its the high performance cars that some people show up and want to play with and have no intention of buying, they just want to rag on them. Same with convertibles on a sunny saturday afternoon. Young couples will show up and want to test drive them "alone" and I've been in situations where they'll take the car out for hours, show back up 100 miles later and say "they didn't like it, and will keep looking." Nobody seems to do that with a minivan. If a mom or couple shows up with or without their kids and they want to drive it, maybe go get the kids and put the car seats in, then hell yeah - I totally understand that. That's not what I'm talking about here. Minivan buyers typically don't care if there's a few miles on the vehicles they buy. Every once in a while yes, but most won't notice if there's 50, 150 miles or more. 300-500 miles? No problem, it was a dealer transfer, we drove it from Pensacola or Nashville, whatever. Sign here. Same goes with other common vehicles, a quick test drive around the block, no spinning tires, no drama, just getting aquainted with the car or truck. I totally understand that a lot people need to do that with a common, oridinary car. I don't, but others do.

I'm talking about a grown man who wants a sports car. IF people didn't insist on trying to beat on a car while driving it, maybe things would be different. If so many people weren't picky about buying sports cars with miles on them, things would be different.