test driving ethical question

midnight · #1 (**permalink**) 10-06-2005, 08:27 AM

My boyfriend loves to test drive cars. It's almost a hobby with him. So what I have been doing is picking out car dealers that offer freebies to come into their showroom or for test driving the cars. Boyfriend is happy he can drive new cars, I get freebies and we have an inexpensive afternoon of fun.

Or so I thought. my friend when she heard this said I was "stealing" from the dealerships if I had no intention of buying a car and I should stop doing it immediately. What do you think?

34saving · #2 (**permalink**) 10-06-2005, 08:37 AM

The dealers are betting that you'll love the car soooo much that you'll want one. They know that most of the freebies will be "wasted", but it doesn't have to work very often for them to make money. I see no ethical qualms here. It's the cost of doing business and they wouldn't be doing it if it wasn't profitable. (Same with time shares . . .and loss leaders at grocery stores)

Dingoluv4eva · #3 (**permalink**) 10-06-2005, 09:02 AM

I think your friend nees to have her head examined.

there was a thread earlier about inexpenive ways to have fun..

there u go,, u guys creatively found exactly what to do, u guys both have fun. your friend seems to be jumping to a judgement on what the car dealership 's think of that.... why did she go and ask a dealer about this?

prolly not.

i mean u could jump to an opposite conclussion and say well the dealer would love for u to just show up and show interest, and than tell all your friends about the great car the next day..

u just dont know where they stand on it, until u ask one.
last i checked i never saw a sign at the door.. Freebies only for serious buyers, if u're not one, u're stealing from us!

MrsChambers · #4 (**permalink**) 10-06-2005, 10:01 AM

yeah, I think your friend is a little wacky... When I was a kid, I had a BIG SISTER (big brothers/big sisters) and we would go and test drive cars for fun.. I see nothing wrong with it.

and here is a story for ya about ethical test drives..

So I was in the market a few months back for a car.... so I wanted to rplace my Nissan with another.... but this time I wanted an Xterra.... so this local small town kind of one of those pay cash car lots... well they had this nice Xterra and a GOOD price.... So I was drooling over it for a bit, untill it was the right moment to take the plunge.... So I go and talk to the owner of the lot and told him that I was interested in the Xterra, blah blah blah... so he wanted me to submit my paperwork for financing, I told him okay, but I'm going to pay the price that's on the sticker (sale price) and I wouldn't take an offer that was over a certain percentage..... So I submitt the paper-work and tell him I will be in on Saturday with some cash and a pen to seal the deal..... In the meantime.... My husband goes down to the lot and test drives the Xterra, and apparently while he was test driving it, a rock came up and hit the windsheild and cracked it REAL GOOD... he tells me, but he didn't say anything to the dealer because we were going to buy it anyways, and just thought, OH WELL, we will just have to fix it after we buy it, what can you do?... So all week long I hear nothing, I call, he says, everthing is good, see you soon... so then on thursday, this guy calls up and wants the title to the car that I was going to be trading in... So my mom drops off the title to the dealership for me..a nd while she was there, she was talking to the owner about my deal and she asks him, what kind of interest rate did she get.. so he tells my MOM, that I have creidt issues and that the best rate he could get me was 19%!!!
HOLY WHAT?
well, needless to say, this was FAR MORE Then what I told him I would sign off on.

So I was bugged that this dude talked to my mother about my credit (not that she doesn't know about everything about me anyways) but I was just bugged that this dude can't tell me this crap, but my mom walks in there and he can tell her all this...

So what did I do?

I went down there on Saturday, just as planned, walked in there and asked for my title to my car back... he was like ... HuH? I said, dude, what did you tell my mom? he was speachless... He hummed and hawed to give me the title back, said that that was the best rate he could get.. blah blah blah....

We NEVER did buy that Xterra AND we never said anything about the windshield cracking on the test drive, and I have never felt an ounce of guilt!

went down to the big city that same day and bought myself a newer sweeter yellow Xterra and named her Sunshine!(and got a MUCH better interest rate then I could have DrEaMeD of!)

So tell your friend THAT story about unethical test drives the next time she wants to lay an ounce of judgement on you!

Fern · #5 (**permalink**) 10-06-2005, 10:23 AM

Hey, if you're willing to put up with the sales pitch that comes with the test drive, god bless. I don't like being 'sold' on anything, especially they typically pushy car salesman, but if you don't mind, the freebie/handouts, like someone else said, are built into the costof doing business.

Oh, and Mrs. Chambers, i don't see any reason why you would be expected to purchase a car with a cracked windshield. The dealership owned the car while you were test driving it, so again, that's a random accident and part of THEIR cost of doing buisness, i would think. When you're shelling out $15K or so to purchase a new vehicle, you have more leverage than aty any other time, so i would have just dug in my heels and said no deal unless you fix the windshield! A $15K sale means a lot more to the dealer than a few hundred to fix a windshield.

VJW · #6 (**permalink**) 10-06-2005, 11:04 AM

Speaking of which:

GET A $40 PRE-PAID MASTERCARD

Test drive any Toyota, receive $40 on a MasterCard. No purchase necessary. One gift per addressee. Verified test drive is required. Valid only at Toyota dealerships in AL, FL, GA, NC, and SC on the test drive of any new Toyota by 10/20/2005.

(If you don’t even want to bother with the test drive, tell them you want to drive a Prius, since there is a one to two year backorder on them, they likely won’t have any in stock, so they’ll just sign your voucher)

ONLINE FORM:

http://toyotaoffers.com/testdrive/te...e.php?type=car

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cicy33 · #7 (**permalink**) 10-06-2005, 11:46 AM

figures never for my state! I have no problem with test drives. I mean I usually research cars for about a year when I am starting to consider what I want to buy. I will not be rushed into a car purchase if it is more than $2000. By the I mean we did hurry up and buy a 1987 BMW (which I hate, have I ever mentioned that? LOL) but it was really cheap and we were caught at a point of must have a vehicle NOW. and who says you aren't considering it. maybe you are not sure of what kind of vehicle you want. tell your friend to go pay full price at a grocery store.

sweeps · #8 (**permalink**) 10-06-2005, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fern

Hey, if you're willing to put up with the sales pitch that comes with the test drive, god bless.

Yup. You listen to a high-pressure sales pitch, and they pay you for it. I don't see anything unethical.

BAGAGT1 · #9 (**permalink**) 10-07-2005, 08:06 AM

The dealership is playing the averages. If they can get X amount of people to test drive a car, they know they can convince Y% to buy a car. Enjoy your test drives.....

jmjj215 · #10 (**permalink**) 10-07-2005, 02:39 PM

Advertisers pay money to put their ads on during TV shows, some people will act on them, some people won't. They know this when they put up the ad. Slightly different, but same relationship. As someone mentioned earlier, it's simply a cost of doing business.

mjrube94 · #11 (**permalink**) 10-08-2005, 08:32 PM

I agree that there's nothing wrong with it. They're giving you the gift card to test drive the car, not to buy the car. If you test drive the car, you've complied with the requirements to receive the gift card.

Snoopy2645 · #12 (**permalink**) 10-09-2005, 07:53 AM

I do the testdrive offers all the time. Usually I dont have to drive the car I just ask them to sign for awhile I did 2 a month they dont come in the mail as often anymore though. Also sometimes on the radio dealerships around town will offer something for testdriving a car like a free pizza or one time I got a year membership to sams club so I listen for those too. Usually I dont have to drive the car I just ask them to sign & they usually do.

BillsGirl · #13 (**permalink**) 10-09-2005, 10:16 PM

I personally see nothing wrong with it... It's their offer they don't demand a purchase so why not?? it's the same as the time share booking for cheap amusment park tickets or free dinners.... that was sales pitch!! use them because they're going to use you!

dealsaver · #14 (**permalink**) 10-13-2005, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by midnight

My boyfriend loves to test drive cars. It's almost a hobby with him. So what I have been doing is picking out car dealers that offer freebies to come into their showroom or for test driving the cars. Boyfriend is happy he can drive new cars, I get freebies and we have an inexpensive afternoon of fun.

Or so I thought. my friend when she heard this said I was "stealing" from the dealerships if I had no intention of buying a car and I should stop doing it immediately. What do you think?

LOL. Usually it's the car dealer stealing from customers!

VJW · #15 (**permalink**) 11-15-2005, 10:19 AM

$50 AMEX card Mercury Milan Testdrive

Get this by requesting a brochure snail mail from the Milan site. Click "request brochure", not "test drive". Fill in your info and select you are considering a new car in under 3 months. Be sure to request the Milan brochure if there is a choice.

http://www.mercuryvehicles.com/milan/

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jodi · #16 (**permalink**) 11-15-2005, 07:29 PM

Hmmm...I am not usually one to be devil's advocate here (especially in defense of car dealers)...but as I was reading all the posts, I couldn't help but think of my own career as a real estate agent. Granted, I don't offer freebies to show people a house, but I have occasionally run into people who just want to look at a house out of curiousity and TRUELY have no intention of buying. If I find this out ahead of time, I will not show them the house. This is a business, and I have to budget my time with those people who I can actually make money from. By taking up the time of a car salesman with no intention of buying, aren't you theoretically keeping him from potential "real" customers from which he might make some money, assuming he works on commission?
(Sorry, hate to be a naysayer, but I thought it was worth saying)

That being said, I usually don't feel bad about cashing in on any free offers. If they are going to offer it, they should expect people to take it without necessarily getting anything back.

sweeps · #17 (**permalink**) 11-15-2005, 07:37 PM

I think the car salesman is betting even if you don't plan on buying the car initially that he can convince you to buy it. It's a calculated risk.

34saving · #18 (**permalink**) 11-15-2005, 07:38 PM

I've thought about the real estate question too (my sister is a realtor and sometimes I ask her to show me (vacant) houses to try to learn the REI market) . . . I will tell you that I've purchased two homes and in neither case was I planning to buy a house anytime soon. I've got to think car dealers get lucky sometimes too.

jodi · #19 (**permalink**) 11-15-2005, 08:29 PM

Hmm..I've never worked with anyone who was absolutely not looking to buy and did. I know it's a chance that any saleperson who works on commission takes. I have taken it myself and sometimes won, but often lose. I don't mind taking chances - it's part of the business - but those people who are up front about just wanting to see a house (for example, people who want to see an expensive house that I KNOW they cannot buy), I will not waste my time. I guess I feel that if there is absolutely NO WAY you are going to buy a product, no matter what, then it is wasting the salesperson's time. However, if you think you might buy, even if it's not going to be for a year or so, and want to get a feel for what's out there, I don't mind building a relationship and working with a person to get them ready to buy later. JMO.

jodi

sweeps · #20 (**permalink**) 11-16-2005, 08:44 AM

Again, I would argue it's a calculated risk whether you choose to work with someone or not. If you show Joe Blow a 7-figure house, maybe he can't afford it, but maybe he knows a family who can and will refer them to you. Or perhaps he will appreciate working with you and choose you when he buys his next house. Or he may pass along your business card to other people with a positive recommendation.