Car Buying Guide - VI

The car buying mistake of not going on a test drive falls under the heading of I can't believe anyone would do this.

Second only to not going on a test drive would be not test driving with the purpose of doing a critical evaluation of the vehicle.

I mean really.

Why would you not test drive a potential new car for yourself? Believe me, it happens. I sold several cars where the person did not test drive the car. The reasons were varied, but none were valid.

Test drive the damn car. Sorry... but if you don't, I have no empathy for you.

You might even discover some things about the car that you did not know. This, by the way, is one of the reasons for taking the car on a test drive in the first place.

And if you have done some serious shopping and looking around you will want to come back and test drive the car again once you have narrowed your choices down to a chosen few.

Do not try to commit all your thoughts on the car to memory.

This just won't work for you.

Also, insist that you want to take the car on some various road conditions and various speeds. The sales person may push for a specific route, but be firm.

If you have to, speak with the sales manager and politely tell them of your desire to test drive the car thoroughly and that you need to experience different road conditions.

Also, it's a good idea to test drive your car on rainy or bad weather days. This will give you a different perspective as well. And as you are scoring the car on the drive, don't allow the salesperson to comment on or otherwise refute any of your scoring.

The test drive is more than a perfunctory ritual. It is the most important thing you'll do in the car buying process before you actually sit down and start negotiating your deal.

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