how long do you think its acceptable to be out on a test drive in a vehicle from a private seller, before it just becomes a piss take?
franken1,
Sep 23, 12:17am
1/2 hour max.
seadubya,
Sep 23, 12:19am
Half hour unless otherwise discussed - ie 20 minutes away from 100kph zone, booked in with mechanic to do PPI etc. Normally I go along for the ride to answer any other questions that might pop up / make sure they are not taking the piss.
intrade,
Sep 23, 12:20am
Or stolen I never ever let anyone drive off without me inside also Car if it comes back may have done burnouts robbery who knows you never ever ever let anyone drive your car when you can't control what they do.
321mat,
Sep 23, 12:23am
Exactly, NEVER let anyone test drive your car alone, even a dealer.
poppy62,
Sep 23, 12:24am
Up to 15 mins, anymore, then they've stopped to do an inspection or taken it to have it looked at or "broken down". I reckon you really can't tell much about a vehicle after 15mins, other than it's working OK. It usually takes up to a month before you find out everything right and wrong (especially with the older ones).
smurf66,
Sep 23, 12:31am
thanks, just as I thought but good to get other opinions. clearly if they did do a robbery it wasn't a fill up and drive off from the petrol station.
quickbuck,
Sep 23, 12:36am
The ol, "Sorry we took a bit long, so I filled the tank for ya"
kevymtnz,
Sep 23, 1:05am
check license and go with them 5kms
kazbanz,
Sep 23, 1:13am
The proper answer is "it depends" Given all the ground work is done and the test drive is the "deal sealer" then there is no limit. One recent test drive took a total of 3 hours. Home to check driveway Tick Over to be sure Hubbie was happy--Tick then to the bank to get the money out.
tgray,
Sep 23, 1:57am
I have had people gone for over an hour and they turn up with their weekly grocery shop at Pak n save in the back seat. Really!
pandai,
Sep 23, 3:12am
If I'm serious about purchasing, a couple of hours. If it was a private sale I'd leave them my own car keys while gone with theirs.
kazbanz,
Sep 23, 5:14am
But they had "bought it" as far as they were concerned.
carclan,
Sep 23, 5:27am
The last vehicle I test drove (and purchased) the test drive terms and conditions stated you were not to carry anything in it or let anyone else drive it among other things.
stevo2,
Sep 23, 5:44am
I test drove 4 in Auckland on Saturday (3 from dealers) and couldnt go any further than around the block as all 4 of them had the fuel light on.
lookoutas,
Sep 23, 5:50am
Were you out west?
stevo2,
Sep 23, 6:21am
Yep. From East Tamaki to New Lynn and still didnt bring anything home.
richardmayes,
Sep 23, 6:35am
On our recent car purchasing trip we tried out two similar cars.
The first one we tried was the one we ended up buying, just a quick 10 minute drive from the centre of Palmerston North out onto the open road to confirm that there were no noises and everything worked, and then back again.
The second car took about 20 minutes to verify that it was a complete dog by comparison to the first car, because it was located in the dead centre of suburban Wanganui, and it took a while to find a bit of clear road to give it a bit of noise on. Both vendors were happy to just give us the keys.
tgray,
Sep 23, 6:56am
Just curious, why would you need a couple of hours? What are you going to discover in the second hour of driving that you wouldn't after the first hour? Having sold thousands of cars, I have never had someone gone that length of time and personally think it's unreasonable to be gone that long. If two hours had passed and my car wasn't returned, I would be calling the Police.
2sheddies,
Sep 23, 8:40am
Pretty common with some places and has been for years. One or two tests we did with dealer in tow included a pit stop to gas up before the test drive could commence ($5 bucks worth I think lol) One was stone empty and needed a trip to petrol station in another car with a gas can before we could even get it fired up. It's been said many times, the first thing you need to do after the deal is done and you leave the yard is find a petrol station hehe.
stevo2,
Sep 23, 8:58am
I havent shopped for a car in Auckland for years so the other thing that surprised me was that none of the car sales I went into had any Kiwis on board
carclan,
Sep 23, 9:14am
The yard I bought my last car from offered to fill the tank after purchase, funny thing was the young salesman wanted to drive me on the test drive. I don't think he thought I was going to by it considering I turned up on my bicycle
captaink,
Sep 23, 7:58pm
If you want to call the Police if they have been gone too long on a test drive you need a comprehensive signed test drive agreement outlining the limits you have imposed, otherwise the cops will say. 'You gave him the keys, didn't you?' We are not interested, sorry.
cheekypa,
Sep 29, 2:20am
I took one car over night. Had been very interested in it, but was not 100% sure. Was told I could fill up at the gas station over the road if I needed more gas.
Bought it in the morning :-)
brapbrap8,
Sep 29, 2:35am
Seems the more expensive the car, the longer the test drive. When my dad bought his 150k Audi the dealer let him have it for a week while they checked out his trade in etc. I often get demonstrators when my vehicles are getting serviced which can be overnight.
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