went to go test drive new evo

[m5rMS3]

My friend just bought a new evo about a month ago. I went with him the first day he looked at them. We went to a dealership and they said no test drive without a downpayment. He said that was fine and disappeared into an office for a few minutes with the salesman. Came back out and said they now refused to let him test drive even with a deposite because the salesman suckered him into talking about what he was trading in and he didn't like what the salesman was offering for his trade. Salesman basically said since you don't like what I'm offering you for a trade you probably wont buy the car so you cant test drive it. Anther day he went to two other dealerships and they all gave him the same no test drive without downpayment. He ended up going back to the first dealership, accepting the trade offer, and doing most of the paperwork before he ever got a chance to drive it. Personally I would never buy a Mitsubishi if I had this experience, but then again I don't like Mitsubishi anyway. It seems like Mitsubishi sent their salesmen to a class on how to not sell.

On a side note I am not impressed with the evo at all, again, I am a bit biased. The car does not feel any faster than my MS3 from a roll. The interior is also no better. It seems like it might be a good car for under 30k, but his was about 38k with only the sight and sound package and body kit. One of my friends even commented how good of a deal the MS3 was over the evo.

 

[4thStroke]

CHICO, The guy was a complete jerk. I have never been treated like I was treated by him. He didnt even want to deal with me. I had to follow him around a short while and didnt even think he was a salesman by the way he was acting when I was around. It was just weird.

One thing about the MS3 that people just dont get, is how affordable it is! I love the fact that they are a limited run sports car, dont turn too many heads on the street, but when you push them, they really shine. They respond so well to mods, a lot of people just have no clue what they are and are even more surprised when you tell them what the sticker is.

 

[zim]

One thing about the MS3 that people just dont get, is how affordable it is! I love the fact that they are a limited run sports car, dont turn too many heads on the street, but when you push them, they really shine. They respond so well to mods, a lot of people just have no clue what they are and are even more surprised when you tell them what the sticker is.

that's the best part! attention is nice but not always. just throw a TBE on the MS3 and it'll turn heads, I'm sure of that.

 

[D_Roc7822]

My dealership experiences have been rather odd myself, when I got my MS3 it had around the 100 mile marker on it. I had to practically beg and plead with the sales guy to test drive it. I told him all the specs that I had, downpayment, how much I made, blah blah blah. And he was still hestitate. I eventually got impatient with him and told him flat out, that if I cant test drive it then theres no way Im gonna buy it. He eventually cracked but had to hand over my license and everything for them to copy or check or whatever they do. Dude was cool as hell from then on out. Granted I spent the entire day @ mazda (which was kinda rediculous I thought) but I think I got pretty good treatment.

 

[Munnugles]

My dealership experiences have been rather odd myself, when I got my MS3 it had around the 100 mile marker on it. I had to practically beg and plead with the sales guy to test drive it. I told him all the specs that I had, downpayment, how much I made, blah blah blah. And he was still hestitate. I eventually got impatient with him and told him flat out, that if I cant test drive it then theres no way Im gonna buy it. He eventually cracked but had to hand over my license and everything for them to copy or check or whatever they do. Dude was cool as hell from then on out. Granted I spent the entire day @ mazda (which was kinda rediculous I thought) but I think I got pretty good treatment.

dont most places that let you test drive a car ask for your liscence?

i had a friend who was looking at an evo8/9 and the new eclipses... dealership did not let him test drive them at all, the evos were used also... they basically talked numbers... lease was like in the 500s and the sales person said it was an amazing deal on a used evo with like 30000 miles on it... he ended getting an new ms6 lease was 300ish i call that a happy ending

 

[stockms3]

They didnt let you look under the hood cuz it was MODDED to get people to buy them evo's and when you actually say YES I WANT ONE......you get a stocker hahahhahahah

 

[boosted3]

Weird, I walked in and told the guy I wanted to drive one. He paused for a moment, grabbed the keys and away we went. Came back, told him I didn't like the car, he thanked me for coming in, gave me his card, we shook hands and I left.(uhm)

 

[daonly1around]

go to a dealership where they don't sell any... then they'll let you drive whatever. My 08 GT was the second one they had, and got a test drive right away.

 

[oaklandopen]

it's nothing but a game anyway...dealers can tell when someone is coming just to test the car and leave. it's all about the approach, and the overall way you handle yourself with the salesperson (and age helps as well)

you never want to ask to test drive off the bat, if that isn't obvious. i went to one speed dealer and knew that no one was going to let me test one out just by the feeling i got from all of the salespeople, went to the next speed dealer and found a nice (act) guy to talk to a little about the history first, then showed my appreciation for the speed3, then i asked for the key to let me sit in it. it was all very gradual, no mention of a test drive.

i think my story about how "i had the regular mazda3 gt before, and now that i don't i want another 3 again but this time thinking of having a more peppy engine" helped out too...true story but who's gonna know if you're lying about that.

we let it warm up, he drove me to a parking lot (cuz the road there was kinda hairy to get out of) then i took it out and to the street, tested the turbo by only going slightly less than full throttle and only up to like 5k, and then did a quick couple turns of the wheel at speed to test the suspension, nothing crazy.

i tested the evoIV and STi by having the same attitude (in fact when i test drove the STi the route included part of I95)

 

[dkswim]

i didnt get a GTO beacuse the salesperson wouldnt give me the time of day. so i went to the mazda dealership and was driving off the lot within a week. i made sure to stop back by and let the salesperson see my brand new car. i guess some salespeople make too much money and dont want to sell a car.

 

[mckraut]

Before I bought my car, I test drove one months before at a dealership near White Marsh to get a feel for it. The week after that, I wanted my wife to see the car so we went to another place to test drive. They wouldn't even let us near the car (couldn't even sit in it) without running a credit check first. You'd think they'd have some common sense that I'm not going to go joyriding in it. I'm 26 years old (look 30), am married and the goddamn salesman could have come along with us.

 

[SwampAss]

I had trouble test driving the Mazdaspeed3. I was dressed business casual and my wife was in a suit. heh. We're in our mid 30s.

Back in 2002 we went to the BMW dealer in Richmond dressed in normal Saturday attire. They couldn't hand us keys fast enough. I drove a $66,000 M3 convertible with no salesman.
The local dealers here are stingy with test drives. I know why. We have a s*** ton of tire kickers.

 

[iBoost]

same thing happened to me, i went to test drive an MS3, came back a week later ready to buy it but didnt tell them that and asked (another guy this time) if i could test drive it and he said that they dont give test drives. I told him that i just drove the car a week before, he didnt say anything... i came back a few days later (to a third guy this time) and he was really helpful, explained everything and i decided to buy the car the same day... so at the end i think it just depends on the person you talk to.

 

[///M Compact]

My local Mazda dealer(Oxmoor Mazda, Louisville KY) wouldn't allow a test drive without a signed buyer's order. Plus they had a $2K ADM sticker on the cars as well. I drove up to Kings Mazda in Cincinnati and and the salesperson insisted that I take a test drive. When I decided on buying an MS3 Kings found the color I wanted and had the car flatbedded down from Cleveland at no additional charge. And I get free 5K mile oil changes for as long as I own the car...(yippy)

 

[builthatch]

He said downpayment required for test drive.

hmm....what about people who don't put cash down, like me? i'd thank them and leave if they didn't let me drive the car. i am using my time to come in and consider their product for a purchase that over the life of the note will cost me tens upon tens of thousands of dollars; if they want to make it difficult, i'll tell then how i feel, thank them and go elsewhere to drive the car.

the staff should be able to discern between potential customers, and realize who is legitimate and who is not. when i say legitimate, i don't mean who is definately going to buy the car, i mean who is truly interested in the vehicle. if i have an ms3, and go to drive an evo X or STi, i should be seen as legitimate.

if i have a 92 honda civic with a primered body kit, while i could possibly still be legitimate, that would be a warning sign that i'm more of a time bandit as opposed to a potential customer.

 

[Hyun]

went to nissan dealership, he complimented my car and gave me a key to new v6 coupe altima fully loaded. 28k plus i believe. He was in a back seat and told me he is going to sleep and do whatever i want. Very laid back and cool. That was most interesting salesman i ever had. Needless to say, his the guy im going to see or recommend if i decide on nissan.

 

[avarela86]

at the same time, think of all teh kids that just want to drive it around the block and posibly burn the clutch....

Doesn't come with a clutch this time.

I'm sure this won't be a popular stance but... if
you're TRULY serious about buying the car you'd appreciate this policy. I know it seems a bit off at first but in reality, all they're trying to do is find SERIOUS buyers. We've all feigned interest in a car just to get a test drive.. I'm just as guilty as anyone. And if you're gentle with the car.. it's probably no big deal. But let's face it... everything else aside (like possibly damaging the interior in some way) there's a reason why knowledgeable types break their cars in properly. It increases the lifespan of the car and maximizes performance. Some cars need to be broken in differently than others... even still, I've never heard of romping on a car with 3 miles on it. That sounds like a different kind of 'break' in. Yet, let's face it... most (not just the 'punk kids') do just that when they test drive a car. (especially if they're part of the majority that aren't really serious about buying it.)

So in short... if I had the scratch for an Evo and was 95% sure I wanted to buy one... I'd have no problem putting a (refundable) downpayment down before the testdrive. If it's as good as I think... I'll be buying a car nobody else has driven. If not... I'd simply explain what I didn't like and get my $ back. In a way... I wish more dealerships did this. Virtually every MS3 I've looked at has had at least 15 miles on it... 1 had as many as 113! I was like wtf? dumbass salesman tried to convince me it was from a "handful" of testdrives. haha I was like... you know you took it home for the weekend to impress a chick!

I totally agree. This is why i'm going today to Carmax where two of my buddys work to test drive some cars. LOL

 

[avarela86]

same thing happened to me, i went to test drive an MS3, came back a week later ready to buy it but didnt tell them that and asked (another guy this time) if i could test drive it and he said that they dont give test drives. I told him that i just drove the car a week before, he didnt say anything... i came back a few days later (to a third guy this time) and he was really helpful, explained everything and i decided to buy the car the same day... so at the end i think it just depends on the person you talk to.

sorry for the double post...

Yeah my mom went to a Mercedes dealership and we were taken care of AMAZINGLY. After test driving the car we went to compare a Toyota she wanted and it was a COMPLETELY different experience. Screaming kids, a little desk in a corner somewhere, attacking salesmen. ETC. It's all about where you go I wanna say. Specially if you know someone. Guess what we bought....

 

[Super Unique]

My buying experience was actually a nice change. The salesperson was helpful, test driving the speed 3 was clearly not a problem. I had made it clear I was shopping several different performance oriented compact cars and the speed 3 was high on the list before getting to drive them all. I was serious about buying, but needed some in the seat time to narrow down the playing field. They were fine with that, and the test drive went fine. 1 week later after testing the rest of the field, I came back and made a purchase. In around 4:00pm and drove home before dark in the new car.

Apparently this experience is unusual, when it should be the norm. The dealer I shopped was classic mazda in orlando, FL.

note: while the overall experience with this dealer was good, there was the usual pricing and negotiating shenanigans that goes hand in hand with buying a car. Oh how I grow tired of this dance every time I buy a car, it's a waste of time.

 

[Ebruess]

I remember when I went to buy my MS3 the first dealership I went to turn me down with cash in hand. I maybe 17 but darn...When do you turn down CASH!?
I had to go to a second dealership for buy my MS3 for invoice with cash but inbetween the two I went to the Porsche dealer to look at a GT2 my dad wanted to purchase after his LR2 got trashed by a idiot. They didn't even ask me 3 questions before handing over the keys to me and said enjoy it and I took it for a 10 minute drive. I do remember the guy asking at the end about how much I enjoyed the ride. I told him, "It's got some zip but the F430 I personally like better." I thought his jaw dropped.
Now I own my MS3 for 6 months and have 24k miles on it and lovin' every minute of it. =P

Now only if I could get that prototype Evo X